The State Milk Board, in conjunction with the Missouri Department of Agriculture and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, announced today that Green Hills Harvest dairy of Purdin, Mo. is voluntarily withdrawing some of its whole milk from the marketplace.
Test results received today, Dec. 8, indicate levels of alkaline phosphatase above the standard for Grade "A" pasteurized milk. Alkaline phosphatase may indicate potentially unpasteurized or improperly pasteurized milk, which can contain harmful pathogens. The sample was collected Dec. 5 during a randomly scheduled, routine inspection and tested in the Springfield-Greene County Health Department Laboratory.
The Green Hills Harvest plant permit to sell milk and milk products in Missouri has been temporarily suspended, pending the results of the investigation by the State Milk Board and Missouri departments of Agriculture and Health and Senior Services.
The withdrawn milk is packaged in one-half gallon, glass bottles. labeled Grade "A" and marked with the code '12-14' on the bottle's cap. This affects less than 500 gallons of milk and does not include two percent or skim milk or any other dairy products from Green Hills Harvest.
The whole milk may have been sold in the following locations:
•HyVee stores in Columbia, Mo.
•Gerbes Stores on Nifong Blvd. and Broadway in Columbia, Mo.
•Schnucks on Forum Blvd. in Columbia, Mo.
•Eastgate Foods & Party Shop in Columbia, Mo.
•The Root Cellar in Columbia, Mo.
•Café Berlin (restaurant) in Columbia, Mo.
•Fresh Connect (home delivery) in St. Joseph, Mo.
•Marsh's Sun Fresh Market in Westport-Kansas City, Mo.
•New Natural Grocers in Lawrence, Kan.
•Community Mercantile in Lawrence, Kan.
•Whole Foods stores in Overland Park, Kan.
The Missouri State Milk Board continues to review the company's records to determine when consumers may have purchased the product. Anyone who has purchased the whole milk may return the unused portion to the store from which they purchased the product.
Copies of Missouri's regulations for Grade "A" milk are available online at mda.mo.gov/animals/milk.
Source: Missouri Department of Agriculture
