Traditional Foods Warehouse controversy continues

Alma Guzman

Traditional Foods in trouble...again.

After an E Coli outbreak this spring linked to raw milk, the Traditional Foods Warehouse buying club featured in Dish last year--a source of raw milk, kombucha, and other natural foodies favorites--was raided by Minnesota Department of Agriculture and shut down earlier this summer. Dairy farmer Mike Hartmann, the supplier of the raw milk thought to be the source of the E. Coli illnesses, is still in court, and now, to top it all off, Warehouse founder Will Winter has been exposed by the StarTribune as misrepresenting the status of his veterinary license.

The paper reports that Winter received his Minnesota veterinary license in 1975 and established a holistic practice in Uptown shortly thereafter. After a series of complaints were filed against Winter in the 1990s, the board suspended his license in 1999. Winter, the state says, continued to identify himself as a veterinarian, which is not acceptable unless he is currently licensed by the state.