ALBANY – The State Agriculture Department warned consumers in Sullivan County and surrounding area on Wednesday to not to drink unpasteurized raw farm milk from the Richard Dirie Farm due to possible Listeria contamination. The Dirie Farm is located at 1345 Shandelee Road in Livingston Manor.
A sample of the milk, collected by an Ag department inspector on April 7 was tested by the department’s food lab and discovered to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
On April 9, the producer was notified of the preliminary positive test result and he voluntarily suspended raw milk sales until the ample results were confirmed. On April 15, additional testing confirmed the presence of Listeria in the raw milk sample.
The producer is now prohibited from selling raw milk until future sampling indicates the product is free from the harmful bacteria.
Listeria is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, cancer patients, elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. People with healthy systems may suffer short-term, flu-like symptoms such as a high fever, severe headaches, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Listeria can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant woman.
To date, the department knows of no illnesses from this product.
