Family says dairy farm operations will continue after E. coli plea deal
Thursday, June 19, 2008 11:32 PM PDT
By Barbara LaBoe
Printable version
E-mail this articleThe Woodland-area couple whose raw milk dairy sickened 18 people with E. coli in 2005 have pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor charge in the case, though they likely won’t face jail time.
Family members also said the case won’t affect the operation of their small, family-run farm on Little Kalama River Road.
Anita and Michael Puckett pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday in a plea deal with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. They each admitted to misdemeanor distribution of adulterated food in connection with the E. coli tainted milk that crossed state lines into Oregon with some of their “cow share” customers.
The couple’s Dee Creek Farm was fined $8,000 in 2006 by the state Department of Agriculture in an administrative hearing. The case resolved this week is a federal criminal matter because the milk crossed state lines, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Parrent. The case was investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Anita Puckett, 49, and Michael Puckett, 56, each face up to one year in jail and up to a $100,000 fine at their Sept. 5 sentencing.
As part of the plea agreement, though, federal prosecutors agreed to recommend the couple receive probation instead of jail time, Parrent said. No specific fine amount was recommended, but the court does take into account the person’s ability to pay, he added.
Judges generally follow such recommendations, but they are not bound by them and could impose a more severe sentence.
The Pucketts’ plea agreement acknowledges they “knowingly” introduced food to interstate commerce and through its preparation, storage or packaging the milk “may have been rendered injurious to health.” The agreement also states that the couple did not intend to harm anyone. Parrent added that they’ve been very cooperative with federal officials.
Thursday, Summer Steenbarger, the couple’s grown daughter and fellow farm operator, said the case will not affect the day-to-day operations of the farm. Even if her parents are jailed, Steenbarger said the farm would continue.
“You bet we would (continue),” she said. “We’ve made it this far.”
The Pucketts did not return telephone calls asking for comment.
The farm first gained public attention in December 2005 when 18 customers — including at least one Puckett family member — became sick with E. coli from the raw cow’s milk. Three children were hospitalized with kidney failure — one for a month. County health officials had to take the Pucketts to court to get their customer list to track other potential victims.
The Pucketts initially denied their milk was to blame, but a state Ag investigation linked the Dee Creek milk to the E. coli strain found in the patients. Ag investigators also found numerous sanitary and packaging violations at the farm — including several that would have forced its closure even without the E. coli outbreak.
Washington requires a state license and regular inspections to sell raw milk. Though they’d been warned by the state in August of 2005 that they were violating the law, the Pucketts claimed they didn’t need a license. They claimed their practice of selling “shares” of their cow in return for regular milk pick ups did not constitute selling milk. The Legislature later changed laws to clarify that cow share programs do require such licenses and to give state officials greater investigatory powers before an outbreak occurs.
The farm has since made substantial improvements and obtained a state raw milk license for goat’s milk but remains prohibited from distributing raw cow’s milk in any way.
A June 11 Associated Press story said that officials across the country are cracking down on raw milk distributions as the popularity for the unpasteurized milk grows. Health officials say raw milk is dangerous because it carries the risk of E. coli, listeria and other diseases. Proponents say that heating the milk during pasteurization removes many of the benefits of milk.
Parrent said this case was prosecuted on its own merits and the seriousness of the crime and could not comment on any national trends.
feistyone wrote on Jun 20, 2008 4:23 AM:
country gal wrote on Jun 20, 2008 10:49 PM:
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