Raw Milk Linked to Illnesses in Pennsylvania

Stores pull product from shelves By Dan Flynn | December 10, 2012 Raw milk produced by the Kimberton Farms Dairy and distributed by the four-store Kimberton Whole Foods is making people sick with "severe gastro enteric symptoms," Pennsylvania's Chester County Health Department announced Monday morning. The department said Kimberton Whole Foods has removed the raw milk products from its shelves in Kimberton and Downingtown. The milk sold without taking the safety precaution of pasteurization was packaged under the Camp Hill Village and Kimberton Hills brands. The Pennsylvania Departments of Agriculture and Health have joined in the investigation into the as yet unnamed pathogen making people sick. Chester County health officials are also getting help from adjoining counties. Anyone experiencing diarrhea, vomiting, bloody stool and /or abdominal pain within two weeks of drinking raw milk is urged to contact a physician. Anyone with raw milk from the Kimberton Farms Dairy should dispose of it immediately. Retail stores pulled the raw milk from their shelves after county health officials asked them to take the action. Retail sales of raw milk are legal in Pennsylvania. State law requires that any raw milk sold in the state come from cows certified by the Agriculture Department as being in good physical condition and disease-free. Cows must be tested for brucellosis and tuberculosis at least once a year and milk is tested for bacterial limits. Chester County is located just west of the Philadelphia area. © Food Safety News More Headlines from Foodborne Illness Outbreaks » Tags: Chester County, Kimberton Farms, Kimberton Whole Foods, Pennsylvania, raw milk