Tainted Milk Is Recalled by Adohr

Santa Ana-based Adohr Farms on Friday recalled more than 30,000 gallons of milk and other dairy products contaminated with penicillin, but as much as 5,000 gallons of the tainted product may have been sold, officials said.

The milk, which contains beta-lactam, an antibiotic residue of penicillin, could cause an allergic reaction in some people, but does not pose a general health risk, state health officials said.

The tainted milk contained levels of penicillin “slightly above legal levels,” said Jan Wessell, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Food and Agriculture. She cautioned that people sensitive to penicillin should avoid the product.

Dairy Cows Suspected

Officials still are trying to determine how the milk was contaminated but have speculated that it could have originated with dairy cows treated with penicillin for various ailments.

Products affected by the recall are one-gallon containers of whole milk dated Sept. 10, half-gallons of nonfat milk dated Sept. 9 and pints and quarts of Nestle’s chocolate milk dated Sept. 12.

Gary San Filippo, vice president and general manager of Adohr Farms, said 30,230 gallons of milk were found to have traces of the antibiotic. He said all but 5,000 gallons had been recovered.

“Of the 5,000 gallons that we have not been able to account for, I would think a good deal has been sold since it had been on the shelves since early Wednesday,” San Filippo said.

San Filippo said the milk was shipped this week to 80 7-Eleven Food stores in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and 40 of the convenience stores in San Diego County.

An Adohr spokeswoman said the recall was a “voluntary precaution,” adding that no illnesses had been reported.

“State (health officials) have said it is not too much to be concerned about because levels in individual cartons are too low to pose a risk,” Adohr spokeswoman Deborah Sarden said. “We are doing this to ensure there are no problems and that nothing could happen.”

An ice cream mix--used to make milkshakes and other products--that was shipped to warehouses, was also found to have traces of penicillin, but company officials believe all of that mix has been recovered, Sarden said.

Company officials said they have not determined how or where the penicillin was introduced into the milk products. The company buys its milk from independent dairies.

Inquiry Opened

The contamination was discovered Thursday, after the state Department of Food and Agriculture conducted tests on the milk.

Adohr officials have begun an inquiry into why the company’s own tests did not reveal the contamination, San Filippo said.

“We have a very strict policy in testing all incoming milk by two different tests that should indicate the presence of antibiotics,” he said. “It appears there was a failure in methodology, either with the people who handled this or with the equipment.”

Meanwhile, state health officials said they are investigating the source of the contamination.

All farmers are supposed to ensure that immunized dairy cows are separated from those used for production, Wessell said. The dairy at fault in this instance could face suspension, she added.

“This shouldn’t have happened. Dairies are supposed to keep this from happening,” Wessell said. “Our concern would be to stop operations until we have assurances that there is an adequate system for segregating cows and that there is no possibility of contamination.”

No Complaints

Karen Minor, a dairy buyer for the San Diego division of Southland Corp., which owns the 7-Eleven chain, said her company had received no consumer complaints or calls from individual stores about the recall.

“I spoke to Adohr at about 8 a.m., and they indicated they had gone out to stores and were reasonably sure the products were all pulled,” Minor said.

She said milk sales at their stores were not disrupted because Adohr was able to deliver fresh, untainted milk the same day.