State officials investigate rabies at Elodie Farms
This was not a great story to wake up to this morning! WRAL is reporting that state officials have halted the sales of goat cheese from Elodie Farms and are investigating a rabies incident. From WRAL:
The death of a donkey from rabies has sparked questions about other animals and products from Rougemont-based Elodie Farms.
Owner Dave Artigues said he stopped selling goat cheese at the Durham Farmers Market Saturday after learning that a goat in his herd was sick. State agriculture officials were testing additional animals and milk from Elodie Farms on Monday.
Artigues said the goat milk in his cheese is pasteurized, so it shouldn’t pose a health threat, but he took some unpasteurized milk to a state lab in Raleigh to have it tested.
(Reporter Erin Hartness of WRAL)
I’ve sent an e-mail to Elodie to get their take on the story, and I’ll update this post if I receive a response. This is certainly a PR nightmare for an otherwise successful local producer.
UPDATE 4/13/10 – , officials with the Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services and the Durham County Animal Control have not found any more cases of rabies at Elodie. One goat remains quarantined, and another goat who was ill was euthanized and subsequently tested negative for rabies. Officials say that there will be no restrictions on Elodie selling products, conducting farm tours, or other enterprise.
Thanks for the update. I have to have my Elodie chevre!