Contaminated Milk Raises Questions Among Local Consumers

In August, bacteria was to blame for  and now the Beaver County Times is reporting that it was the result of cross-contamination in laboratory testing, according to the state Department of Agriculture.

 from the shelves of Emma's Deli and Market in nearby Upper St. Clair after government agencies commenced an investigation of the Aliquippa dairy.

According to documents obtained by the newspaper, Yersinia enterocolitica found in a sample of pasteurized, homogenized skim milk in a one-gallon glass bottle taken on Oct. 12 matched the control in the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's laboratory test, but did not match the bacteria that caused several local people to become ill last summer.

The 180-year-old dairy stopped processing milk voluntarily after 16 people reported being sick after drinking its milk. 

The newspaper reports the dairy was cleared to resume milk production on Oct. 1, after the agriculture department found no traces of Yersinia in samples taken during a short run of whole milk in September.

Nearly a month later, production was suspended again after the department said the bacteria was found in milk during overnight testing, according to The Times.

Court records show Brunton Dairy is facing two lawsuits in Allegheny County by individuals who said they became sick after consuming the dairy's products. 

In December, the agriculture department announced that the dairy was cleared to resume producing milk and ice cream at its processing facility, pending a routine inspection, but officials refused to comment on what had caused the contamination, according to the newspaper. 

After passing the final inspection, the dairy recently posted on its Facebook page that the family is getting ready to begin processing milk again.

Herb Brunton, a partner in the business, told the newspaper no specific production date has been set. 

In the meantime, a Support Brunton Dairy Facebook page has been created, and has garnered nearly 2,000 fans.