ST. PASCAL — A Russell County farmer found himself at the centre of an investigation after about 24 people developed bacterial infections from eating unpasteurized cheese curds made by a mobile cheese maker. Eight people consulted a physician.

The Eastern Ontario health unit received reports of people becoming ill at local hospitals in June. After conducting interviews, it turned out that the farmer, Mr. Maisonneuve, distributed the cheese to friends and family members and his son gave some to classmates, which led to several cases of campylobacter infections. Some cheese was sold, a health unit official said.

Ontario laws state that it is illegal to sell unpasteurized milk products; however surplus milk can be kept for a farmer’s personal use. Cheese made from unpasteurized milk can be distributed to non-family members if aged 60 days. The aging requirement does not apply to Quebec, said Health Canada spokesperson Paul Duchesne says.

In this case, a health unit official said that the farmer knew he was using unpasteurized milk and that the cheese had not been aged for 60 days. No charges were laid because of the farmer’s co-operation, the official noted. If charged and convicted, a maximum fine for this offence is $5,000 for each day that the offence is committed.

Maisonneuve was given a warning, ordered to destroy the remaining 100 lbs. of cheese and will be monitored by the Health Unit.

Mobile cheese maker Remi Levac says that the majority of the time he makes cheese from unpasteurized milk and has not seen any cases of people getting sick. "I have been doing this for three years and never had any problems," explains Levac. "People got sick because of the cheese but it was because of the water used. The town has a history of problems with their water. I can’t ensure that farmers do not distribute the cheese or that they wait 60 days before consuming."

Despite the incident, Levac does not feel that it will hurt business. He goes to farms in a van, pulling his kitchen in a trailer. "I have over 50 clients and this is an isolated incident," he said.

Clarence-Rockland’s physical service director Richard Sarazin says, "There have been no recent reports of water problems in the town. However, some farmers are still on wells, which fall out of our jurisdiction and could have potential problems."

The Eastern Ontario Health Unit’s Caroline Kuate says they are taking provisions to avoid future incidents and that there are an average of two cases of people getting sick after consuming raw milk products each year in Eastern Ontario.

A recent OMFRA study took raw milk samples from 1,720 farmers. The study found that 2.7 per cent of the samples contained listeria, 1 per cent contained a bacteria group that includes E coli 0157:H7. Traces were also found of salmonella and campylobacter.

Argues veterinarian and Farmers Forum columnist Dr. Rob Tremblay: "It would be stretching the truth to say that pathogenic bacteria are rare in milk. This is why milk should be pasteurized."