Pennsylvania Suspends Raw Milk Sales Over Bacteria Contamination

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture in the US has suspended raw milk sales permits of two firms as test samples showed harmful pathogen levels.

The department urged consumers to discard raw milk for human consumption purchased from Elmer Z, Martha B King and Cedar Hollow farms.

The agency found samples of the King farm containing listeria monocytogenes, while samples taken from Cedar Hollow Farm tested positive for campylobacter, it said.

Symptoms of listeriosis are fever, muscle aches and sometimes gastrointestinal complications, such as nausea or diarrhoea.

Campylobacter is a bacterial infection that affects the intestinal tract and can sometimes enter the bloodstream and other organs.

The department said the permits will be suspended until multiple laboratory samples from each farm test negative for pathogens.