Breese Hollow Dairy has voluntarily suspended raw milk sales until the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets resamples its milk and indicates that the product is free of pathogens.
Breese Hollow Dairy, located in Hoosick, New York, holds a New York permit to sell raw milk at the farm. A routine sample of milk, taken by a milk inspector from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets on June 22, 2010, was subsequently tested by the Department’s Food Laboratory, and tested positive for listeria monocytogenes and campylobacter on June 30, 2010.
Listeria contaminated products can cause listeriosis, a disease that can cause mild flu-like symptoms in healthy individuals, and more serious conditions in immune-compromised individuals. Pregnant women are also considered a high-risk group, as listeriosis can also result in stillbirths.
Campylobacter is a bacterial infection that can cause diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, nausea, headache, and muscle pain. The illness usually occurs two to five days after ingestion and generally lasts for seven to ten days.
Samples are taken monthly by the State and tested at the New York State Food Laboratory to determine that the milk is free of pathogenic bacteria. Breese Hollow Dairy also participates in a voluntary food borne pathogen bulk tank testing program through Quality Milk Production Services at Cornell University that tests our milk weekly for pathogens.
To date, no illnesses are known by the Department to be associated with raw milk from our farm and we are doing everything possible to work with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.
Source: New York Department of Agriculture & Markets