Don’t drink this fat free milk—it might contain cleaning agents that can make you sick

Major dairy producer Prairie Farms has announced a recall of select gallons of its popular Fat Free Milk due to concerns that the beverage may be contaminated with food-grade cleaning agents, which could make consumers ill if ingested. Here’s what you need to know.

Prairie Farms recalls select Gallon Fat Free Milk

Last week, Prairie Farms announced that it had initiated a voluntary recall of select Prairie Farms Gallon Fat Free Milk products produced at its Dubuque, Iowa, facility.

The reason for the recall is that select gallons may have been contaminated with “food-grade cleaning agents,” according to the recall notice posted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The cleaning agents have the possibility of causing illness in individuals if consumed.

What Prairie Farms milk is being recalled?

Given the popularity and widespread availability of Prairie Farms milk, news of a recall may cause significant concern. However, the company says the recall is limited to one product and only a subset of the gallons produced.

Specifically, Prairie Farms says that the impacted product is the following:

Product Information:

• Prairie Farms Gallon FAT FREE Milk
• Code Date: DEC08
• Plant Code: PLT19-145
• Facility: Dubuque, Iowa
• Impacted Production Window (Timestamp): 17:51–21:23
• UPC: 7273023117

In the recall notice, Prairie Farms states that only a specific segment of the product run DEC08 was affected by the cleaning agent.

“The affected product was processed between 17:51 and 21:23, representing a portion of that day’s production,” the notice explains. “To ensure complete containment, Prairie Farms is recalling Gallon Fat Free Milk with the DEC08 code date, PLT19-145 plant code produced during the impacted timeframe of 17:51 to 21:23.”

The company says that “approximately 320 gallons” of the milk product were sold before the discovery of the possible cleaning agent contamination.

Where was the recalled Prairie Farms milk sold?

Prairie Farms says the recalled milk was distributed to Woodman’s stores in Illinois and Wisconsin.

The company says the remaining product distribution locations include:

Illinois

• Bloomingdale
• Buffalo Grove
• Carpentersville
• Lakemoor
• North Aurora
• Rockford

Wisconsin

• Appleton
• Beloit
• Green Bay
• Janesville
• Kenosha
• Madison
• Menomonee Falls
• Oak Creek
• Onalaska
• Racine
• Sun Prairie
• Waukesha

What should I do if I have the recalled Prairie Farms milk?

Prairie Farms says that if you have the recalled milk, you should not consume it.

Instead, you should return it to its place of purchase or safely dispose of it.

Full details of the recall can be found on the FDA’s website here.