By Raul Castillo
06 Mar 2024, 20:14 PM EST
A former raw milk cheese maker, Johannes Vulto, and his company, Vulto Creamery, pleaded guilty Tuesday in connection with a listeria outbreak that occurred between 2016 and 2017, killing two people and hospitalizing six others.
Vulto, 64, opened his dairy in Walton, New York, in 2012, making cheese from unpasteurized milk, which became popular for its flavor and the story of Mr. Vulto, who had been an artist-in-residence at an institution linked to the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Customers began getting sick after consuming the company’s cheeses, with the first cases reported in September 2016, the New York Times reported. Vulto closed its business in March 2017, after the Food and Drug Administration linked its cheese to the listeria outbreak.
According to court documents released by the outlet, Vulto took samples from its facilities on several occasions between July 2014 and February 2017, and 18 of the 20 samples tested positive for listeria.
Listeria, although it does not cause serious illness in most people, can be dangerous for certain high-risk groups. About 260 people die each year in the United States from listeria infections, according to the NYT.
Up to one year in prison
Carla B. Freedman, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, said the investigation and prosecution held Vulto and its company accountable after causing illness and death to consumers in a preventable tragedy.
Vulto and his company face charges of causing the introduction of adulterated foods into interstate commerce, and sentencing is expected on July 9. Vulto could face up to a year in prison, a $250,000 fine and a year of supervised release, according to the New Yprk Times.
The Justice Department also mentioned that criminal charges stemming from adulterated food products are not filed regularly, but they do occur. In 2016, two cheese companies and a cheese company executive pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell adulterated and mislabeled cheese, even though no one had felt sick in that case.
Fernando McMillan, special agent in the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, said in a statement that consumers count on the agency to “ensure their food is safe and healthy.”
“When companies and individuals put themselves above the law by producing food that endangers and harms the public, as happened in this case,” he said, “we will see that they are brought to justice.”
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