HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pa. Department of Agriculture has suspended the permit for Pasture Maid Creamery in New Castle, Pa., Lawrence County, to sell raw milk for human consumption.
The permit was suspended April 5 after testing found campylobacter in its raw milk samples.
The Department of Health recently received new reports of consumers who became ill after drinking raw milk from Pasture Maid Creamery, owned and operated by Adam Dean.
What to do
Anyone who bought raw milk from that farm is urged to discard it immediately and contact their health care provider if they become sick.
Additional samples of milk collected from the farm March 26 were confirmed by the Department of Agriculture laboratory to contain Campylobacter. These are the latest samples from the farm found to contain this organism, which can cause severe diarrhea and vomiting.
Pasture Maid Creamery sells raw milk directly to consumers who sometimes provide their own bottles. The business is not related to Dean’s Dairy in Sharpsville, Mercer County, which produces pasteurized milk for sale in supermarkets.
Symptoms
Onset of illness usually occurs two to five days after exposure, but can be longer. Any person who consumed the raw milk and has symptoms of diarrhea should contact their health care provider to assure appropriate specimens are collected and treatment is administered, as campylobacter can be treated with antibiotics.
Ill individuals can also contact the Pennsylvania Department of Health at 877-PA-HEALTH.
Information on campylobacter is available on the department’s Web site at www.health.state.pa.us.
