Fat-Free Milk Recalled in Illinois and Wisconsin Over Possible Chemical Contamination— Check Your Pantry

To protect their consumers from harm, the company has initiated a voluntary recall on select milk products.

UPDATED 1 HOUR AGO

Woman drinking from a glass of milk while standing beside a window (Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | AndresWD)

Prairie Farms Dairy produces several billion pounds of milk each year, which about a quarter of America consumes in the form of smoothies, buttermilk, shakes, ice cream, yogurts, and cheeses. Lately, however, some of their milk products can cause consumers to drool or experience severe bodily issues due to a potential contamination with cleaning agents, which the company employees recently detected. To protect their consumers from harm, the company has initiated a voluntary recall on select milk products, according to a press report by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

The product recalled included the company’s Gallon Fat Free Milk. Fat-free milk, also called “skimmed milk,” is a healthier alternative for most people. The contamination was detected on November 24 during an investigation, following which the company issued orders to the retailers to pull these products from their shelves. With a whopping 5 billion dollar business, Prairie Farms boasts of 600 family farms in the Midwest and the South, where each day, thousands of gallons of milk are obtained from over 150 cows that reside in these farms.

Glass milk bottles in a factory (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Johnny Greig)

Back in the factories sprawling in 18 states, more than 7,000 dedicated employees work on centrifugal machines to split fat molecules from whole milk, per Dairy Foods. The whole milk goes through a complex process of separation, fat splitting, re-mixing of essential fats, homogenization, pasteurization, fortification with vitamins, and ultimately packaging. For the recalled products, some nasty chemicals likely intruded into these manufacturing machines, as a result of which, the products had to be drawn out. Approximately 320 gallons were sold before this issue was discovered.

The recall was initiated by the company on November 25 and was announced by the FDA the following day. The recalled product was produced at the company’s Dubuque, Iowa facility and distributed across Woodman’s stores in several locations including Bloomingdale, Buffalo Grove, Carpentersville, Lakemoor, North Aurora, and Rockford in Illinois, and Appleton, Beloit, Green Bay, Janesville, Kenosha, Madison, Menomonee Falls, Oak Creek, Onalaska, Racine, Sun Prairie, and Waukesha in Wisconsin.

Woman customer standing before the aisle of milk products in a supermarket (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Tang Ming Tung) — A woman standing before the aisle of milk products in a supermarket (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Tang Ming Tung)

According to Healthline, an accidental ingestion of cleaning agents, including soaps of detergents, could trigger a variety of symptoms in the body. Nausea and vomiting to begin with. The symptoms can range from mild and go on to severe, including drooling, shock, or total loss of consciousness. Typically, these agents contain acidic chemicals as ingredients. When these acids seep inside the body, they start burning the internal tissues, starting from the lips to the mouth, all the way to the esophagus and stomach.

Noting the details of the recalled product, the FDA report said, “To ensure complete containment, Prairie Farms is recalling Gallon Fat Free Milk with the DEC08 code date, PLT19-145 plant code produced during the impacted timeframe of 17:51 to 21:23.” While the affected products are removed from the shelves, customers who have bought them already are urged to discard them and return to the retailer of purchase for full refund. This is an isolated recall, and none of the other products of the company are affected. For further queries or questions, customers can contact the company staff at media@prairiefarms.com.

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