Food Poisoning Law Blog

The Pennsylvania Agriculture Department is urging consumers who purchased raw milk from the following dairy farms anytime after March 10 to discard the milk immediately due to the risk of Listeria monocytogenes:

1. Piney Ridge dairy farm in New Bethlehem, Clarion County
2. Clark and Elaine Duncan's farm in Meadville, Crawford Count

Pennsylvania farms selling raw milk must be permitted and inspected to reduce health risks associated with the unpasteurized products. In 2007, a previous case of Listeria monocytogenes was found at Piney Ridge dairy.

"During routine testing, samples taken at the dairies tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes," said Dennis Wolff, Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary. "If consumers have raw milk from these farms, they should discard it immediately."

If you suspect that someone has been sickened by the recalled Piney Ridge Dairy milk or Duncan Farm milk, you should not discard of the milk until you have contacted an experienced Listeria attorney.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has suspended sales of raw milk at the dairies and is requiring corrective action be taken. Samples were taken from the farms on March 31; they tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes on April 4. Multiple laboratory samples must test negative before sales can resume.

No illnesses have been reported as a result of the potential contamination, but if people who consumed the raw milk become ill, they should consult their physicians.  Symptoms of listeriosis are fever, muscle aches, and sometimes gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea or diarrhea. If infection spreads to the nervous system, symptoms such as headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance or convulsions can occur. Infected pregnant women may experience only a mild, flu-like illness, but infections during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage or stillbirth.

Symptoms of listeriosis can appear in four days to three weeks.  And symptoms can take as long as 70 days to appear in rare cases.  This makes tracking a Listeria outbreak extremely difficult.