Milk Cartons Contaminated With Sanitizer Sent To Boston Public Schools
BOSTON (CBS) -- Milk cartons sent to Boston Public Schools from Garelick Farms in Franklin were contaminated with sanitizer, WBZ-TV has learned.
The tainted milk was distributed to at least three schools in Boston - Winship Elementary, the Jackson-Mann School and the Rafael Hernandez School, and students made the discovery on April 1.
Garelick Farms told WBZ-TV it received a complaint about a watery substance found in some milk that it delivered to Boston Public Schools.
An inspection report issued Wednesday shows that some younger students reported to a teacher's assistant that the milk "smelled funny" and that one carton "had a very strong smell of bleach." Inspectors do not believe students drank any of the compromised milk, which had a sell-by date of April 10.
"We immediately took action to retrieve any potentially affected product and began testing this product to verify there is no food safety risk associated with this product," Garelick said. "After a detailed review, it was determined that food-grade sanitizer diluted with water was introduced during production of a limited number of Dairy Pure 1% low-fat half-pint cartons."
Garelick added that all cartons that could potentially be affected have been pulled from schools. The affected milk was not available for sale in retail stores.
"This is an isolated incident for Dairy Pure product produced at our Garelick Farms plant that only impacted the Boston Public School district, and a small number of their schools," Garelick stated.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's office praised the schools' response to the incident.
"The Mayor is thankful to Boston Public Schools for taking quick action to protect the health and safety of students," her office said in a statement. "While no BPS student was harmed, it's unacceptable that these contaminated milk cartons ever left the supplier and the Mayor's Office will work with BPS to ensure this won't happen again."
In March, CBS Philly reported that more than two dozen Pre-K students in Camden, New Jersey were taken to a hospital after drinking milk cartons that contained sanitizer. The FDA is investigating that incident involving milk cartons processed at the Guida Dairy plant in New Britain, Connecticut.
