A prominent dairy producer in the American Midwest has issued an urgent recall for thousands of gallons of milk after discovering potential contamination with industrial cleaning chemicals.
Details of the Contamination and Recall
Prairie Farms, based in Illinois, announced the recall after several lots of its fat-free milk, produced at its facility in Dubuque, Iowa, were found to contain food-grade cleaning agents. While these agents are designed for safe use on food-contact surfaces, they are not safe for human consumption.
The company was alerted to the potential issue on November 24 and initiated the formal recall the following day, November 25. An estimated 320 gallons of the affected product had already been sold across stores in Illinois and Wisconsin before the action was taken.
An investigation was launched immediately, and all remaining stock identified as contaminated has been removed from retail shelves. No illnesses have been reported in connection with the recalled milk to date.
What Consumers Should Do
Shoppers are urged to check their refrigerators for specific Prairie Farms one-gallon containers of fat-free milk. The affected products can be identified by the code date CEC08 and the plant code PLT19-145.
The company advises that consumers who have purchased milk with these codes should not drink it. They should either dispose of it safely or return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.
The milk was distributed to numerous cities, including:
- Illinois: Bloomingdale, Buffalo Grove, Carpentersville, Lakemoor, North Aurora, and Rockford.
- Wisconsin: Appleton, Beloit, Green Bay, Janesville, Kenosha, Madison, Menomonee Falls, Oak Creek, Onalaska, Racine, Sun Prairie, and Waukesha.
Understanding the Risks and Industry Context
Ingesting concentrated cleaning chemicals, even those classified as 'food-grade', can pose serious health risks. Potential symptoms include chemical burns in the mouth and throat, nausea, vomiting, and poisoning. The severity depends on the concentration of the contaminant.
In modern dairy processing, automated systems use specialised chemicals to clean equipment between production runs. Contamination incidents like this typically occur due to a critical failure in the rinsing process, where equipment is not thoroughly flushed with clean water before production resumes, allowing chemical residues to enter the product.
This incident echoes a similar food safety scare earlier this year, when over 200,000 pounds of liquid egg products were recalled due to potential contamination with sodium hypochlorite, a bleach-based cleaning agent.
Prairie Farms has stated that the affected gallons were produced within a narrow three-hour window but has not yet publicly disclosed the exact cause of the contamination or the specific cleaning agent involved.
