Chocolate Milk Recalled After Students Get Sick

Mar 29, 2007 12:49 pm US/Central

(CBS) OLD SAYBROOK, Conn. A New Britain dairy has recalled hundreds of cases of chocolate milk, which may have been contaminated by a cleaning agent, after several Connecticut students fell ill.

Five students at Goodwin Elementary School and one student at Old Saybrook Middle School had symptoms that included nausea, stomach aches, headaches, dizziness and a burning feeling in the throat after drinking the milk at lunch Wednesday, state Department of Agriculture officials said. All were examined and treated by medical personnel and sent home.

The milk was half pints of one-half percent low-fat chocolate milk from Guida Dairy. The company immediately recalled the product, which it identified as Product No. 138 with an expiration date of April 13, 2007. Messages were left with the company seeking comment.

"We are gathering all the facts so we can make an accurate assessment on the product being recalled," the company said in recorded phone message on a special recall line.

Agriculture Commissioner F. Philip Prelli said about 1,200 cases were in the batch and of those only around 400 had been distributed. He said the half-pint sizes were mostly distributed to schools, cafeterias and other food service facilities that purchase in bulk. The smaller container is usually not carried by convenience stores and supermarkets, he said.

"We're on top of it," Prelli said. "I'm sure every school is going to be checking their chocolate milk (Thursday)."

Prelli said it appeared the foreign substance was a sanitizer used to clean production lines. The sanitizer may have still been in the lines when a batch of the milk was processed. Prelli said it's possible that not all 1,200 cases were tainted, but the entire batch has been voluntarily recalled by the company because "nobody wants to take the risk."

Parents were asked to monitor their children through the night and call 911 if they have abdominal pains.

The Agriculture Department and local health officials were testing the milk Wednesday night to determine what caused the children to get sick. The incident was reported to the federal Food and Drug Administration.

"We are working diligently to identify the causal agent and promptly recall any remaining product that may be affected," Prelli said. "We want to ensure the public that all parties are working together to swiftly address the issue."

The company's Web site said it services southern New England and parts of New York and New Jersey, although it was unclear late Wednesday where the affected milk was distributed.


Source : http://cbs2chicago.com/recalls/recalls_story_088135303.html