March 12, 2009
US dairy farm recalls penicillin-tainted milk
Berkshire, Massachusetts-based High Lawn Farm has voluntarily recalled 25,000 pounds of milk after penicillin was discovered in a sample.
The milk was sold only in Massachusetts, and state and federal health officials said trace amounts of the antibiotic are harmless to people unless they are allergic to the drug.
High Lawn Farm had distributed or was about to deliver its milk to nearly 100 stores, schools, homes and wholesale distributors when farm operators recalled the product.
Products carrying a sell-by date of March 20 or March 21 should be disposed of or returned to the store for a refund, High Lawn Farm said.
Company assistant manager Brad Torrey said a cow treated with penicillin accidentally got into the producing herd, leading to the tainted milk.
A total of 50,000 pounds of milk had been destroyed, Torrey said, adding that the recall has prompted High Lawn to conduct additional testing on a regular basis.
