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Harassment of Raw Milk Farmers in Pennsylvania and New York
A consistent pattern of harassment against raw milk farmers is emerging
in
Pennsylvania and New York. We are sending this Action Alert to all members
because these tactics could be used in other states as well. It is vital
for raw milk farmers to know how to protect themselves from unfair treatment
by inspection agents, and for consumers to protest to the proper officials
that their access to raw milk is being unfairly threatened.
We are watching this situation very closely and will be submitting
Freedom-of-Information requests in both states to obtain test records
and any statements by officials on this situation.
A concerted letter writing campaign by WAPF members can really help
this situation and help ensure a supply of raw milk in these two very
important states. . . so we are asking that everyone pitch in with their
most persuasive writing skills!
Background
Since April, a total of nine farmers have been told that their milk
tested positive
for listeria monocytogenes. The positive tests appear to coincide with
the FDA's
issuance in March of a powerpoint presentation on the "dangers
of raw milk." There are NO reports of anyone getting sick from
drinking the milk of any of these nine farms.
Please note that the generic bacteria listeria is ubiquitous and not
harmful,
although its presence in milk is considered a red flag. Only one strain,
listeria
monocytogenes (l-mono), is considered pathogenic. The standard protocol
is to test milk for listeria and, if the test is positive, to then test
for the specific
bacteria listeria monocytogenes, a process that takes five days or more.
According to a lab technician employed by Mosely Laboratories in Indianapolis,
which uses the standard protocol for detecting l-mono, results are 100
percent accurate. The technician stated that of the fifty tests on raw
milk that he has run for l-mono over the past two years, not a single
one has been positive.
Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is using a new testing
system, Called
Vidas 30, which they claim can determine the presence of l-mono in 48
hours "with 98 percent accuracy." (The Vidas 30 system is
also said to detect the presence of salmonella, e.coli and campylobacter.)
The first case involved a raw milk dairy in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
According
to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA), the milk tested
positive for
l-mono on April 13 and sales of the milk were banned. The PDA issued
a press
release, warning about the milk from the dairy, but nothing in the press
release
indicated that there was a positive test for l-mono. After three subsequent
negative tests, sales were reinstated at the farm. PDA did not issue
a press
release after reinstatement of sales.
The second case involved a farm in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The
statewide PDA press release stated that milk tested positive for l-mono
on May 10. According to the farmer, PDA claimed the 48-hour test results
showed the milk was positive for l-mono. Subsequently, the agency reversed
its position and concluded that the milk was negative for l-mono. PDA
took a second sample of milk from the farm on May 17, which also tested
negative, and sales were reinstated on May 24. At the request of the
farmers, PDA issued a press release stating that the milk from the farm
had tested negative for l-mono, but sent it only to a local television
station.
A third case involved a farm in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. The PDA press
release stated that milk from Green Acthe farm tested positive for listeria
on June 1. PDA told the farmer that the preliminary test showed the
milk was positive for l-mono. Final test results indicated that it was
positive as well. The farmer sent a milk sample from a different batch
to an independent laboratory, Mosely Lab of Indianapolis, and the test
results were negative for l-mono. Subsequently, PDA took a second sample
of milk and that sample was negative for l-mono. The farmer took a sample
from the same batch, sent it to Mosely Lab, and that sample also tested
negative for l-mono. Even though PDA usually requires three negative
tests from its own laboratories to let a farm resume sales, it evidently
accepted the results from Mosely and required no further tests for l-mono.
The second sample PDA took showed that the milk had a high coliform
count, and when a follow-up sample showed that the coliform count was
at an acceptable level, the state permitted sales to resume on June
13.
A fourth case involves a farm in Clarion County, Pennsylvania. The
PDA press
release stated that the milk from the farm tested positive for listeria
on June 14.
PDA contacted the farmer on June 15 to tell him that his milk had tested
positive
for l-mono. On June 20 the farmer sent a sample of milk to Biotech Labs
in New
Castle; and, even though the milk tested positive for listeria, final
tests results
showed that it was negative for the l-mono strain. On June 26, the farmer
sent two samples of milk to Mosely Lab and a week later the test results
came back negative for l-mono. PDA is supposed to be running another
test for l-mono; but as of this date, it has yet to take a sample so
raw milk sales at the farm have not resumed.
New York Cases
In New York, five different farms have tested positive for l-mono,
according to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.
The first involved an Allegany County farmer whose milk tested positive
for
listeria, and which prompted a December 26 warning from the New York
State
Agriculture Commissioner Patrick H. Brennan against drinking unpasteurized
milk.
One case involved Dawn and Jeffrey Sharts of Beech Hill Farms. The
farm has sold milk into the conventional market for over thirty years.
Last year the farm
obtained a permit to sell raw milk, at which time, says Dawn Sharts,
"the inspectors suddenly began treating me like I was selling toxic
waste." When the milk from the Sharts' farm tested positive for
l-mono last spring, the department put a press release on its website
announcing the positive test. Several weeks later, when subsequent tests
showed the milk to be negative, the department refused to take the press
release off the website.
Unlike Pennsylvania, the Sharts' believe the problem with testing in
New York is
that the department uses antiquated manual measurement methods to test
instead of electronic measurement. A sample taken by the state and tested
for somatic cell count had ten times the level than did a sample taken
that same day tested by a lab for Sharts' pasteurization plant. They
also accuse inspectors of using careless testing methods, for which
they have videos of the inspectors' actions at the farm to back up this
claim.
Action to Take
1. We are asking all members to alert their farmers about what is
going on. Any
time the state takes a test sample, the farmer should send his own sample
to an
independent laboratory. It is probably not a bad idea to videotape any
sample
taking and inspections. If the farmer is accused of having l-mono in
his milk, he
should immediately contact the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund at
(703-208-FARM)
2. Please contact the following officials by email. If you live in
Pennsylvania or
New York, it would be very good to send a snail mail letter to the officials
in your
state. The tone of the letter should be polite but concerned. Points
to include:
- Describe how you and your family depend on raw milk for your health.
- Protest the unfair treatment to farmers doing their best to comply
with the law (this is especially true in Pennsylvania, where the PDA
has campaigned to get farmers to obtain licenses.)
- Demand that the state issue a press release when the farm has been
given
permission to resume sales, to be posted on the department's website
and sent to the same media list that received the initial press release.
- Point out that the present testing for listeria is an overreaction
to a problem
that does not exist. According to a certified report from the Centers
for Disease Control on foodborne illness caused by raw milk 1972-2005,
there is not a single outbreak due to listeria in raw milk or raw
milk products other than three cases involving Mexican-style raw milk
cheeses smuggled over the border (known as "suitcase cheese").
- In Pennsylvania: Ask that only the preferred methodology as outlined
by the FDA be used in testing for l-mono, which has a greater accuracy
than the new testing system used by the Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture. In New York: Ask that inspectors use careful and standardized
testing procedures.
People to Contact
Honorable Edward G. Rendell
Governor, State of Pennsylvania
225 Main Capitol Bldg.
Harrisburg, PA 17120
717-787-2500
717-772-8284 (fax)
Honorable Dennis C. Wolff
Secretary of Agriculture
2301 North Cameron Street
Harrisburg, PA 17110
717-772-2853
717-783-9709 (fax)
Mr. Bill Chirdon
Director, Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services
2301 N. Cameron Street
Harrisburg, PA 17110
717-787-4315
717-787-1873 (fax)
Honorable Eliot Spitzer
Governor of New York
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224
Email through website - http://161.11.121.121/govemail
518-474-8390
518-474-1513 (fax)
Patrick Hooker
Commissioner,
New York Department Agriculture and Markets
10 B Airline Drive
Albany, NY 12235
518-457-8876
518-457-3087 (fax)
Will Francis
Dairy Division Director
New York Department of Agriculture and Markets
10 B Airline Drive
Albany, NY 12235
518-457-1772
518-485-8730 (fax)
Another Way You Can Help
We would like to file a Freedom of Information Action (FOIA) for each
of the
farmers, which will request information on testing procedures and test
results.
This should ideally be done by a customer of the farmer, and at least
by someone
living in the respective state. We have drafted language and can help
with the
filing. So we need nine volunteers to file the requests. If you would
like to
volunteer for this task, please contact Cathy Raymond at
.
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