California Raw Milk Producer Cleared to Continue Production

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Fresno, Calif.-based Organic Pastures passed the most recent health inspections brought on by a finding of "harmful bacteria in samples of butter, cream and cow manure," the Los Angeles Times reports.

Why did Organic Pastures undergo repeated testing?

A May 10 news release by the California Department of Food and Agriculture noted there were 10 illnesses reported because of campylobacter infection. Mostly minors, the patients were found to have the consumption of raw milk products from Organic Pastures in common.

Have there been other recalls involving this dairy?

Food Safety News noted in March that a 2011 E. coli outbreak had been "linked to raw milk produced by Organic Pastures." A 2008 CDFA news release cautioned consumers against the consumption of Organic Pastures' raw cream. The agency issued the recall "following the detection of campylobacter bacteria in the cream." A year before, the Food and Drug Administration warned of a raw cream recall involving Organic Pastures because of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.

Does California regulate the sale of raw milk?

Real Milk summarizes California's raw milk sale rules. The product must meet 1947 Milk and Milk Products Act standards. Dairies must have a state-issued license to sell raw milk. In 2007, the state tightened the rules when it set limits on the presence of coliform bacteria, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Where can California consumers purchase raw milk?

Residents can legally buy raw milk at stores that choose the carry the product. The licensed raw milk producers in California are Organic Pastures and Claravale Farm.

Is there an underground for raw milk?

While Organic Pastures and Claravale Farm are licensed raw milk dairies, savvy entrepreneurs have begun to engage in herd-share programs. Capital Public Radio noted these farmers allow clients to pay a monthly cow-boarding fee; in return, the clients have permission to receive a share of the milk the animal produces. Arguing they are not selling milk to the public, farmers have nonetheless been targeted by the CDFA to end their operations. An estimated 100 herd-share operators are said to have supplied between 10 to 350 clients each with access to a co-owned dairy cow.

Sylvia Cochran is a Los Angeles area resident with a firm finger on the pulse of California politics. Talk radio junkie, community volunteer and politically independent, she scrutinizes the good and the bad from both sides of the political aisle.

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Report: US cancer rates continue downward trend

Cancer rates in the U.S. continue to fall, according to a report released Wednesday.

The rate of new cancer cases has been inching down at a rate of about half a percent each year since 1999. And the overall cancer death rate has dropped by 1.5 percent annually in adults and 1.7 percent in children.

"This is good news," said Dr. Marcus Plescia of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one of four organizations that worked on the report. "There has been positive momentum for several years now and that continues."

The figures come from a report issued annually since 1998 by a group of government agencies and other organizations, including the CDC and the American Cancer Society. The new report includes nearly every cancer case reported in the United States through 2008.

Health officials say cancer rates have been going down thanks to better screening, treatment advances, and efforts to prevent some cancers by reducing smoking and other unhealthy behaviors.

One pay-off from anti-smoking efforts: In 2008, for the second consecutive year, lung cancer death rates declined for women. Lung cancer death rates for men have been falling since the 1990s.

Prostate cancer death rates continued to fall, and colon cancer death rates for men and women continued to drop. Rates of new cases of those diseases fell, too.

The breast cancer death rate also continues to decline, but the rate of new breast cancer cases

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