WASHINGTON TWP. — The state Department of Agriculture has confirmed raw milk from a farm, about six miles north of Tunkhannock on Ellsworth Hill Road, is tainted with Listeria monocytogenes.
On March 26, tests conducted by the state indicated that listeria may be in raw milk sold at the farm, owned by Charles and Beth Bartels.
The Bartels were told Thursday they couldn’t sell their raw milk until it tested free of the bacteria.
Additional tests results released Tuesday show the raw milk to be tainted, according to state Department of Agriculture spokesman Chris Ryder.
“The ban in sales remains in place,” Mr. Ryder said. “At this point the diary has an opportunity to clean the facilities and to submit more samples.”
The state advises anyone who has purchased raw milk from the Bartels’ farm since March 1 to discard it as a precaution.
Symptoms of a listeria infection include fever, muscle aches, nausea, diarrhea and even convulsions. The bacteria can be found in milk that isn’t pasteurized.