E. coli outbreak linked to unlicensed raw milk

California resident Emily Marris purchased unpasteurized goat milk from Moonlight Ridge farm based on a recommendation through a Facebook group. The product was intended for her 17-month-old daughter Brooklyn. Shortly after consuming the milk, the child was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit with a severe E. coli infection and was placed on a mechanical ventilator. Later, another patient — 6-year-old Victoria, who had drunk milk from the same farm — was admitted to the same hospital with a similar diagnosis and required a blood transfusion.

In California, the sale of raw milk for human consumption without a license is a violation of the law, punishable by fines and imprisonment. Moonlight Ridge farm did not hold a state license to sell raw milk, operated outside official oversight, and sold its products in unlabeled containers. Customers purchased the milk based on word-of-mouth recommendations and through social media.

The mother of the affected child provided investigators from the California Department of Food and Agriculture with correspondence showing that farm owner Courtney Baker was aware of the consumer's age and the child's severe illness, yet continued to advertise and sell the products on Facebook. In June 2025, posing as customers, agents conducted an inspection and documented the sale of goat milk by the farm.