A California toddler ended up on a ventilator and dialysis after drinking raw goat milk from an unlicensed farm, and the state agency that investigated the seller never fined her or shut her down. Brooklyn Marris developed a severe E. coli infection after drinking unpasteurized goat milk, and she now requires nephrologist visits every six months as she faces long-term kidney issues.
The case, covered by ProPublica, centers on Moonlight Ridge Farm, owned by Courtney Baker, who sold unlabeled raw goat milk that Emily Marris purchased for her daughter Brooklyn. Brooklyn contracted E. coli O157:H7 on June 6, 2025, according to the outlet's reporting, and went on to develop Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, a condition that can cause acute kidney failure. A second child, Victoria Galindo, developed Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome after drinking goat milk from the same farm and was found to have contracted the identical E. coli strain on June 13, 2025; she now requires ongoing medical monitoring.
A Farm Investigation That Led Nowhere
California regulators visited Moonlight Ridge on June 20, 2025, and the following day collected a half-gallon jug of raw milk from 11 goats for testing, per ProPublica's reporting. The California Department of Food and Agriculture took the lead in investigating the farm, but Baker faced no penalty.
State test results came back negative for several pathogens, including E. coli, on July 2, 2025.
Selling Milk Despite Knowing a Child Was Sick
Baker advertised her raw goat milk as coming from a clean, tested herd and sold it by the gallon as late as June 17, 2025, per the ProPublica account. She knew a toddler was drinking her milk, the outlet reports, and continued advertising raw milk even after learning that Brooklyn had contracted E. coli.
Chris Boman, Marris's chiropractor, shared a photo in a private backyard-farming group, ProPublica reported.
The Farm Remains in California
Moonlight Ridge Farm remained in California.
What California Law Actually Requires
Under state law, California licenses farms selling raw milk for human consumption and requires those licensed operations to undergo sanitation inspections, regularly test batches for pathogens, and put warning labels on anything legally sold. The state currently has a dozen licensed raw-milk farms. California Food and Agricultural Code Section 35891 caps licensed Grade A raw market milk at 15,000 bacteria per milliliter and no more than 10 coliform bacteria per milliliter, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Section 33222 additionally requires any farm producing raw market milk for human consumption to hold an official CDFA or county-approved permit and maintain a minimum score of 90 percent on farm sanitation scorecards.
Selling raw milk for human consumption without a license is prohibited under California law. Unlicensed raw-milk sales can lead to fines of up to $10,000 and jail time of up to one year, though no such penalty was applied in this case.
The Medical Stakes of Pediatric E. Coli
The clinical danger raw milk poses to young children is well documented. Research published in PMC indicates that between 15% and 20% of children infected with high-risk Shiga toxin-producing E. coli strains develop Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, a condition characterized by microangiopathic anemia and acute renal failure.
The broader public health data underscores the stakes. According to CDC surveillance data cited in Hoodline's coverage of a concurrent outbreak, unpasteurized raw milk products caused 202 reported foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States between 1998 and 2018, resulting in 2,645 illnesses and 228 hospitalizations.
That same Hoodline report detailed how, this September, federal and state health officials linked unpasteurized raw milk cheddar cheese produced by Willows-based Sierra Nevada Cheese Company to an E. coli O26:H11 outbreak that sickened 13 people in nine states. Two San Diego County children under age 5 were among those sickened, and three people in the outbreak developed Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome — a separate case illustrating that the risks tied to California raw dairy remain active well beyond the Moonlight Ridge investigation.
