LA business owner sentenced for selling raw cheese

The chefs knew about the importance of raw milk cheese and its nutrient value. And now even the restaurant owners do. Magadelano Mendoza is one such restaurant owner, who got sentenced to 60 days jail today for selling/using raw milk cheese.

A Los Angeles restaurant owner has been sentenced in the sale of unpasteurized cheese that was purchased from a street vendor. City Attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan announced Thursday that Magdaleno Mendoza, the owner of Mariscos Puerto Escondido restaurant, was sentenced after entering a no contest plea to two counts of violating health and safety codes. Judge Robert Vanderet sentenced Mendoza to three years of probation, 60 days in jail or 30 days community labor. The illegal cheese was discovered in the restaurant refrigerator during a random inspection in Aug. 2010. The cheese tested positive for raw milk and for staph and listeria bacteria. Bacteria found in unpasteurized milk and cheese can cause miscarriages in pregnant women, diarrhea, fever and other problems.

Via http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_19310805