Raw milk sample from Lee Center contaminated with deadly bacterium

Amy Neff Roth, Utica Observer Dispatch
·1 min read

Don’t drink unpasteurized raw milk from Big Brook Farm in Lee Center, New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard Ball warned.

A milk sample from the farm of Garrie A. Smith was found to contain the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, according to a department statement. Other milk could be contaminated as well.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with the milk.

Raw milk from Big Brook Farm in Lee Center may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, according to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.
Raw milk from Big Brook Farm in Lee Center may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, according to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

A preliminary positive test result on the milk sample came in on March 13 and the department notified the farm. Further tests confirmed the presence of Listeria on March 18.

The farm may no longer sell raw milk until sample testing shows no bacteria in the milk.

Anyone who purchased the raw milk should dump it and call the farm at 315-266-7254.

The bacterium causes listeriosis, a potentially fatal infection in young children, cancer patients, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. It can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths.

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Healthy people may experience short-term, flu-like symptoms, including a high fever, severe headaches, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.

Raw milk is not pasteurized. Pasteurization is a process that kills bacteria that cause a number of illnesses and diseases, including listeriosis.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Listeria moncytogenes found in raw milk from Big Brook Farms