Post by Christine on Jan 4, 2008 6:30:27 GMT -5
Halt of milk processing was voluntary
Whittier stopped production on listeria news
By Linda Bock TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
lbock@telegram.com
SUTTON— Wayne Whittier, one of the owners of Whittier Farms, said yesterday he voluntarily shut down milk production at the Shrewsbury plant upon hearing that a listeria outbreak may have been linked to the dairy. State Department of Public Health officials informed him just a couple of hours before the public learned on Dec. 27, according to Mr. Whittier.
“I am that one who told them I would voluntarily shut down,” Mr. Whittier said. “We had coolers filled with milk … none of it went out. We stopped, we immediately recalled, and we said, ‘Let’s find out what happened.’ ”
The state has said four people became ill from the disease, and two of them, both men in their 70s, died. One of the other victims, a woman in her 30s, miscarried. The state said all of the illnesses were from bacteria identical to bacteria found in a bottle of coffee-flavored milk produced at Whittier Farms.
The farm has stopped bottling its milk until it gets state clearance.
Mr. Whittier said the fifth-generation family farm business in Sutton and Shrewsbury has a proud tradition of quality milk products and strictly follows regulations. Furthermore, he said, state health officials subject the business to routine quarterly inspections, all of which are public record.
“My whole family works — my wife, kids, my brother, my mother,” Mr. Whittier said. His father, also a dairy farmer, died a few years ago. “My dad was born and raised here, and he worked here his whole life. He had dreams for this farm for all of us.”
Whittier Farms has a retail store and farm at 90 Douglas Road in West Sutton, and a retail store and processing plant at 237 West Main St. in Shrewsbury. The stores are open to sell fresh fruits and vegetables, jams, jellies, relishes, honey, baked products, and chicken and turkey pot pies, but not milk.Mr. Whittier said the community has been supportive. “We have some really good neighbors, and when I say neighbors, I just don’t mean people up and down the street.”
The state’s investigation continued yesterday into how the milk produced at Whittier Farms became contaminated with listeria. The DPH said the listeriosis victims were a 75-year-old man who died in June, a 78-year-old man who died in October, an 87-year-old man who fell ill in November, and a 34-year-old pregnant woman who became ill and miscarried.
Donna Rheaume, spokeswoman for the health department, declined to identify the victims. She said yesterday that all four were Worcester County residents, and no new cases have been reported.
However, Medway Health Agent Bill Fisher said yesterday a man in his 80s fell ill with listeriosis around Thanksgiving. Mr. Fisher said the milk was from Whittier Farms and milk samples were taken after the man’s illness. Mr. Fisher did not identify the man.The state health department collected more than 100 production-line samples from the dairy Wednesday and yesterday. Ms. Rheaume said the test results are not expected back until next week.
While tests on a coffee-flavored bottle of milk produced Dec. 17 were positive for listeria, small samples taken from nine other bottles were negative, said state disease specialists. They intend to evaluate larger samples of milk taken from the Whittier stores in Shrewsbury and West Sutton.
Mr. Whittier said he has spent hours with state investigators. He said one thing that came up very quickly after Dec. 27 was what to do with the 130 cows, which produce about 1,000 gallons of milk every day. He said Whittier has been able to sell its raw milk to a different processor.
“There’s no off-switch for the cows,” he said.
The state has four inspectors reviewing operations at the processing plant, including how the dairy washed the glass bottles it used. Whittier earned a following in large part because it produced bottled milk in different flavors and with different fat contents that other distributors would home-deliver under names such as Schultz, Balance Rock, Spring Brook, Model Dairy and Maple.
“As a business and a neighbor, we have an obligation to do everything in our power to find answers quickly and get everything straightened out,” Mr. Whittier said. He said the public has a right to know, and said the family was cooperating fully with the state’s investigation.
State Rep. Jennifer M. Callahan, D-Sutton, said the state is conducting a complex investigation with the family’s cooperation, and she wants to work as a facilitator.
“Whittier Farms is a family business that has been producing milk for thousands to consume for generations,” Ms. Callahan said. “My role is to help the family business and the state find answers, validate those findings and communicate those findings to the public as soon as possible. We all want to quickly restore the public’s confidence in what has escalated into a major health scare. The family has resolved to find answers, and so has the state.”
Donna Boynton of the Telegram & Gazette staff contributed to this report.
Whittier stopped production on listeria news
By Linda Bock TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
lbock@telegram.com
SUTTON— Wayne Whittier, one of the owners of Whittier Farms, said yesterday he voluntarily shut down milk production at the Shrewsbury plant upon hearing that a listeria outbreak may have been linked to the dairy. State Department of Public Health officials informed him just a couple of hours before the public learned on Dec. 27, according to Mr. Whittier.
“I am that one who told them I would voluntarily shut down,” Mr. Whittier said. “We had coolers filled with milk … none of it went out. We stopped, we immediately recalled, and we said, ‘Let’s find out what happened.’ ”
The state has said four people became ill from the disease, and two of them, both men in their 70s, died. One of the other victims, a woman in her 30s, miscarried. The state said all of the illnesses were from bacteria identical to bacteria found in a bottle of coffee-flavored milk produced at Whittier Farms.
The farm has stopped bottling its milk until it gets state clearance.
Mr. Whittier said the fifth-generation family farm business in Sutton and Shrewsbury has a proud tradition of quality milk products and strictly follows regulations. Furthermore, he said, state health officials subject the business to routine quarterly inspections, all of which are public record.
“My whole family works — my wife, kids, my brother, my mother,” Mr. Whittier said. His father, also a dairy farmer, died a few years ago. “My dad was born and raised here, and he worked here his whole life. He had dreams for this farm for all of us.”
Whittier Farms has a retail store and farm at 90 Douglas Road in West Sutton, and a retail store and processing plant at 237 West Main St. in Shrewsbury. The stores are open to sell fresh fruits and vegetables, jams, jellies, relishes, honey, baked products, and chicken and turkey pot pies, but not milk.Mr. Whittier said the community has been supportive. “We have some really good neighbors, and when I say neighbors, I just don’t mean people up and down the street.”
The state’s investigation continued yesterday into how the milk produced at Whittier Farms became contaminated with listeria. The DPH said the listeriosis victims were a 75-year-old man who died in June, a 78-year-old man who died in October, an 87-year-old man who fell ill in November, and a 34-year-old pregnant woman who became ill and miscarried.
Donna Rheaume, spokeswoman for the health department, declined to identify the victims. She said yesterday that all four were Worcester County residents, and no new cases have been reported.
However, Medway Health Agent Bill Fisher said yesterday a man in his 80s fell ill with listeriosis around Thanksgiving. Mr. Fisher said the milk was from Whittier Farms and milk samples were taken after the man’s illness. Mr. Fisher did not identify the man.The state health department collected more than 100 production-line samples from the dairy Wednesday and yesterday. Ms. Rheaume said the test results are not expected back until next week.
While tests on a coffee-flavored bottle of milk produced Dec. 17 were positive for listeria, small samples taken from nine other bottles were negative, said state disease specialists. They intend to evaluate larger samples of milk taken from the Whittier stores in Shrewsbury and West Sutton.
Mr. Whittier said he has spent hours with state investigators. He said one thing that came up very quickly after Dec. 27 was what to do with the 130 cows, which produce about 1,000 gallons of milk every day. He said Whittier has been able to sell its raw milk to a different processor.
“There’s no off-switch for the cows,” he said.
The state has four inspectors reviewing operations at the processing plant, including how the dairy washed the glass bottles it used. Whittier earned a following in large part because it produced bottled milk in different flavors and with different fat contents that other distributors would home-deliver under names such as Schultz, Balance Rock, Spring Brook, Model Dairy and Maple.
“As a business and a neighbor, we have an obligation to do everything in our power to find answers quickly and get everything straightened out,” Mr. Whittier said. He said the public has a right to know, and said the family was cooperating fully with the state’s investigation.
State Rep. Jennifer M. Callahan, D-Sutton, said the state is conducting a complex investigation with the family’s cooperation, and she wants to work as a facilitator.
“Whittier Farms is a family business that has been producing milk for thousands to consume for generations,” Ms. Callahan said. “My role is to help the family business and the state find answers, validate those findings and communicate those findings to the public as soon as possible. We all want to quickly restore the public’s confidence in what has escalated into a major health scare. The family has resolved to find answers, and so has the state.”
Donna Boynton of the Telegram & Gazette staff contributed to this report.