A former raw milk cheese maker pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges related to a deadly listeria outbreak between 2016 and 2017, federal prosecutors said.
Johannes Vulto and his New York-based company Vulto Creamery LLC each pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge of causing the introduction of adulterated food into interstate commerce in federal court in Syracuse, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. .
PENNSYLVANIA COURT WITHDRAWS ORDER AGAINST AMISH FARMER WHO SUFFERED IN POLICE RAID
Prosecutors say environmental swabs taken at the Vulto Creamery facility in Walton repeatedly tested positive for listeria bacteria between July 2014 and February 2017.
Piece of mimolette cheese and cheese borer. (Andia/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Vulto closed the dairy and issued a full recall after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2017 linked the dairy's cheese to a listeriosis outbreak that resulted in eight hospitalizations and two deaths, one in Vermont and one in Connecticut.
Listeriosis is a life-threatening bacterial disease caused by eating foods contaminated with listeria monocytogenes. Pregnant women, newborns, the elderly, and other people with weakened immune systems are among those most at risk for serious illness.
Carla Freedman, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, said the unsafe practices of Vulto and his company led to a “totally avoidable tragedy” of illness and death.
“It is crucial that American consumers can trust that the food they buy is safe to eat,” said Brian Boynton, director of the civil division of the US Department of Justice.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Vulto's attorneys did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday. He will be sentenced on July 9.
