Washington named the Sequim dairy on a web page on July 2. Two months later, not one news outlet has written a word. It is the dairy’s fourth outbreak since 2009. Its milk has been pulled from shelves six times before. Not this time.
Four people got sick with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli after drinking raw milk in late May 2026. The Washington State Department of Health investigated, concluded that raw milk from Dungeness Valley Creamery, a state-licensed dairy in Sequim, Washington, was the most likely source, and on July 2 posted its findings on an outbreak page. Then nothing. No DOH news release that I can find. No news story anywhere, not even in the Peninsula Daily News or the Sequim Gazette, which have covered every recall, alert and all-clear at this dairy for more than a decade. I missed it too. It sat there for two months.
What Washington DOH found
Four people were infected with the same highly related strain of STEC between May 28 and June 4, 2026. Two reported drinking Dungeness Valley Creamery raw milk shortly before they got sick: an Oregon resident who bought it on May 25 and a Snohomish County resident who bought it on May 28. A King County resident drank raw milk but declined to name the brand. A Texas resident tested positive while visiting Washington and could not be interviewed. DOH calls the creamery’s raw milk “the most likely source of exposure.” No one was hospitalized. No one died. There was no recall.
Why there was no recall
The Washington State Department of Agriculture samples every licensed raw milk dairy once a month. Its routine Dungeness Valley Creamery sample, collected June 16, tested negative for STEC, and on that basis DOH says no recall was recommended.
Look at the dates. The last known purchase was May 28. The sample came nineteen days later. Raw milk lasts days, not weeks; the milk those people drank was gone long before the sampler arrived. A negative result on June 16 says nothing about milk bottled in late May.
DOH knows this. In 2018, when two people got sick after drinking this dairy’s milk and every sample came back clean, state health officials told the Peninsula Daily News that the batch that infected them was unavailable for testing. That is the raw milk problem in one sentence: the investigation takes longer than the milk lasts. It happened again in May 2025, when three people were infected with STEC after drinking Cowlitz Hill Guernseys raw milk, one was hospitalized, WSDA’s May 5 sample was negative, and there was no recall.
How Washington announced past outbreaks, and this one
In December 2009, the state put out a news release naming the dairy. In September 2018, DOH issued a press release; the owner told the Sequim Gazette he learned of it from a retailer. In April 2021, DOH issued a release, and KIRO 7, KING 5, MyNorthwest and the Skagit County Health Department carried it within days. In July 2026, DOH posted a page that says it is sharing the information “for consumer awareness.” Awareness requires that someone be told.
Dungeness Valley Creamery outbreaks and recalls, 2009 to 2026
Dungeness Valley Creamery has held a WSDA raw milk license since 2006. The public record:
2009. At least three people were infected after drinking the creamery’s raw whole milk; E. coli O121 was confirmed and O157:H7 suspected. WSDA’s December 2 release said no E. coli was found in the current batch, but its investigation at the dairy turned up the same bacteria that caused one of the illnesses. The Peninsula Daily News has since described that outbreak as under previous ownership: the farm was then run by Jeff and Debbie Brown, whose daughter and son-in-law, Sarah and Ryan McCarthey, worked with them then and own it today.
2013. In February, WSDA warned consumers off the creamery’s raw whole milk, skim milk and cream with best-by dates of March 2 or later after a February 19 cream sample tested positive for STEC. The creamery stopped making cream. No illnesses.
2014. The owners warned customers off milk and cream with a July 2 expiration after a preliminary WSDA result on cream; follow-up tests were negative and sales resumed after three days. No illnesses.
2018. On September 7, DOH announced that a child under 5 from Island County and a person in their 70s from Clallam County had E. coli infections after drinking the creamery’s raw milk; later described as a 2-year-old and a 72-year-old woman, both recovered. The owners said DOH was speculating prematurely. WSDA tested 21 samples, fifteen from stores and six from the dairy; all were negative. Production never stopped. No recall.
2019, twice. In April the creamery recalled whole milk, skim milk and cream with best-by dates of April 6 through 20 after STEC turned up in whole milk dated April 6, one of two positives from late March and early April. More than 1,000 gallons were dumped and WSDA cleared them April 22. In June a sample dated June 5 was positive, the third of the year, and the creamery recalled product with best-by dates of June 5 through 14. Ryan McCarthey told the Peninsula Daily News the dairy had been testing through an independent lab since April. The state cleared them in three days. No illnesses.
2020. In October, after WSDA found STEC in raw cream dated September 29, the creamery advised customers to stop using milk and cream with best-by dates of September 29 and 30. Seven follow-up samples were negative. No illnesses.
2021. In April, five people who drank the creamery’s raw milk, bought in Clallam, Skagit, Kitsap and Clark counties, tested positive for Campylobacter. The creamery recalled all raw milk with best-by dates of April 13 or earlier and stopped distribution. The bacteria were traced to a single cow, which was put down. The owners told the Peninsula Daily News it was their first Campylobacter and added Campylobacter to their testing. Food Safety News called it the dairy’s fifth recall and third outbreak in twelve years.
2026. Four STEC infections. Most likely source. No recall.
Since 2009, Dungeness Valley Creamery has been linked to four outbreaks and fourteen reported illnesses, and its raw milk has been pulled from sale six times. State samples were positive for STEC in 2013, three times in 2019, and in 2020. In three of the four outbreaks, 2009, 2018 and 2026, the state never found the bacteria in the milk. A license and a monthly test do not make raw milk safe. They tell you, after the fact, that something got through, and sometimes not even that.
What should change
First, when DOH names a dairy as the most likely source of an outbreak, it should say so with a news release, as it did in 2009, 2018 and 2021. A page nobody sees is not a warning.
Second, WSDA should publish each licensed raw milk dairy’s sampling and outbreak history in one place a shopper can find. The label on every bottle warns that raw milk may contain harmful bacteria. It does not say this dairy has had four outbreaks and six pulls. Buyers can decide what to do with that. They cannot decide what they are never told.
Third, DOH’s advice bears repeating: children under 5, pregnant people, older adults and anyone with a weakened immune system should not drink raw milk. Mine is simpler, and it has not changed. Nobody should. If you are going to anyway, know who you are buying from.
Four people got sick in May. The state named the dairy, tested a bottle three weeks later, found nothing, posted a page, and moved on. No reporter noticed. Neither did I, until now.
Frequently asked questions
Is Dungeness Valley Creamery raw milk linked to an E. coli outbreak?
Yes. Washington DOH says four people were infected with the same strain of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli between May 28 and June 4, 2026, and that Dungeness Valley Creamery raw milk is the most likely source. No one was hospitalized or died.
Was Dungeness Valley Creamery raw milk recalled in 2026?
No. A routine WSDA sample collected June 16, 2026, nineteen days after the last known purchase, tested negative, and DOH says no recall was recommended.
How many outbreaks and recalls has Dungeness Valley Creamery had?
Four outbreaks with fourteen reported illnesses: E. coli in 2009, 2018 and 2026, and Campylobacter in 2021. Its raw milk has been pulled from sale six times: 2013, 2014, twice in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
How many raw milk outbreaks has Washington had?
DOH counts at least eleven from 2005 through 2024: seven Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, three Campylobacter and one Salmonella. Cowlitz Hill Guernseys in 2025 and Dungeness Valley Creamery in 2026 make thirteen, not counting the ten people sickened by Twin Sisters Creamery raw milk cheese in 2025.