FDA busts Pennsylvania gang selling dangerous, illegal white liquid to children
This is another one of those stories that sounds as if it was cooked up in the minds of the guys over at the Onion. Unfortunately, it’s 100% true.
The Washington Times reports the shocking details:
A yearlong sting operation, including aliases, a 5 a.m. surprise inspection and surreptitious purchases from an Amish farm in Pennsylvania, culminated in the federal government announcing this week that it has gone to court to stop Rainbow Acres Farm from selling its contraband to willing customers in the Washington area.
Unindicted co-conspirator in the FDA's Pennsylvania drug bust
The product in question: unpasteurized milk.
It’s a battle that’s been going on behind the scenes for years, with natural foods advocates arguing that raw milk, as it’s also known, is healthier than the pasteurized product, while the Food and Drug Administration says raw milk can carry harmful bacteria such as salmonella, E. coli and listeria.
“It is the FDA’s position that raw milk should never be consumed,” said Tamara N. Ward, spokeswoman for the FDA, whose investigators have been looking into Rainbow Acres for months, and who finally last week filed a 10-page complaint in federal court in Pennsylvania seeking an order to stop the farm from shipping across state lines any more raw milk or dairy products made from it.
The farm’s owner, Dan Allgyer, didn’t respond to a message seeking comment, but his customers in the District of Columbia and Maryland were furious at what they said was government overreach.
“I look at this as the FDA is in cahoots with the large milk producers,” said Karin Edgett, a D.C. resident who buys directly from Rainbow Acres. “I don’t want the FDA and my tax dollars to go to shut down a farm that hasn’t had any complaints against it. They’re producing good food, and the consumers are extremely happy with it.”
C’mon, folks, this is one of those cases where we have to get behind the Food and Drug Administration. We cannot allow the lawless Amish to run loose on the country lanes of America. Next thing you know they’ll be terrorizing law abiding citizens with those damn horse drawn buggies.
The International Ag Giants want to push Soy & Flax products, which benefits the International PHARMA Giants, whose Trillions are made Treating Symptoms caused by Eating UNHEALTHY processed foods. The other Conspirator is International PETROLEUM Giants, whose Petroleum is USED to make Pharmaceuticals, (Only 40% of each Barrel of Crude Oil is used for FUEL, the 60-70% goes to manufacture of almost EVERY PRODUCT we use!
Before pasturization, many people were sickened and died from disease, the ones listed plus brucellosis, TB and others. While I feel an Amish farm is probably careful enough for their raw milk to be safe, I don't trust huge dairy cooperatives to maintain the level of cleanliness and health of their cows to make this feasible for the larger population. Look what they have done to meat? If you raise an slaughter your own beef, pork, fowl, there is no problem, but big production is delivering meat that is contaminated every day. Hell a few years ago a child DIED from drinking unpasteurized apple juice. It was contaminated with E. Coli. Nope, though I miss the richer taste of raw milk and cheese, I am not willing to risk an epidemic from factory farms trying to kill us all.
You make an excellent point, hence why I believe that small farms should be left alone UNLESS they are not being clean or appropriate with their products. If a small farm IS being responsible with their products this type of government instrusion is wrong. I am not lauding for big corporations to go with the unpausterized stuff at all, my gripe is stressing the small farmers (like the ones in this story) whom by all accounts are being responsible with what they are doing.
agreed.. farmkids can do it, they build immunities (my daddy grew up on farms). Not every kid is that fortunate
I have to admit that it's been many years since I left the farm, but inspections used to be rigorous. A bacteria count that came in over legal limit was grounds to have milk sales suspended. I knew I had to get those cows clean or there would have been hell to pay with the illustrious farmer father.
The Mongol hordes drank fermented horse milk and still do to this day! Just let the FDA try to clamp down on them. Grrrrrrrrrrr!
Our family farm had a small dairy herd, 35 head of Holsteins, w/pipline, bulk tank and produced Grade A milk. Seven kids grew up drinking that raw milk, ate our own chickens and their eggs, and ate meat from our own beef and hogs, veggies from our garden, mulberries, apples, cherries from our orchard. Occasionally we rode into town on our horses and robbed the bank or general store for kicks. That of course was after 4-H, FFA and baseball practice!
Was it uphill both ways to your school, too?
Y'all just don't get it.!! The FDA is in cahoots with the NLRB and these cows are not UNION cows!! These cows are working in a free range environment not in a union shop with ankle deep union excrement, where they, of course, belong!!
It has to be something. If it is a union situation then this makes this whole thing clear.
I dont get it. Keep things clean and prevent contamination and you are good to go. If people are not complaining do what you are doing and don't get lazy on quality and purity of products. Centuries ago people lived their lives just fully and nicely on unpausterized milk and cheeses. Go to France (and other places) delicious. What's the problem? This sounds a little too China to me. I am not like this at all.
Don't you get it KQ? Due to the dilligent efforts of the Federal Dumbass Agency, at least 40 people will NOT get sick from eating or drinking contaminated dairy products! They will be considered Heros of The Nation!
They conveniently forget to mention the millions of people who eat or drink raw dairy products every day and never get sick.
I read about a few studies that were done examinng the e-coli in cows that were grass fed versus the cows that were penned and grain fed. The grass fed cows were clean of e-coli, and their penned conterparts where e-coli free after 30 days of being let out of pens and grass fed.
The penned cows were given hormones to increase milk production, they also suffered matitis, which is horribly painful, and their milk was contaiminated.
I just think in this country quality suffers for the dollar, we have alot of land and could benefit greatly from healthy raw milk, but its illegal to have if you dont own the cow in many states. But these huge milk farms make a great profit and their animal's health suffers. And its encouraged by the FDA to continue, probably not because of health but because their pockets are in it. I was looking into sheep because they dont require as much space as cows, the sheep's milk has a higher fat ratio so the cheese yeild would be twice that of goats. But i am concerned that if i give my daughters raw milk, protective services would take them away for "endangerment by milk". I honestly dont know if its worth it.
Quit drinking the kool-aid babydoll. These "studies" are done by people who get a government paycheck. Do you really think they are going to say the FDA is wrong?
Actually, the problem isn't that the farmers make so much money -- farm after farm are going under. There's darned little money in agriculture, and most dairy herds have to be *huge* to make any money at all. That, and most dairy farmers are half nuts from sleep deprivation. Cows gotta be milked when they are ready. If you don't, then they won't make milk anymore.
...and, yes, editor, I, too have milked cows -- 180 at a time.
Mastitis is kinda gross, but the real problem is that when you treat the cow for it, you can't use the milk until the antibiotics are out of her system. If you miss, they can detect it, and the buyer will pour out the whole tank of milk -- which can be tens of thousands of gallons down the drain. and, no, you don't get paid for that.
I'm not so scared of hormones, and I certainly am not scared of using regular dairy milk -- but if the milk is unpasteurized, things have to be kept *very* clean, and I just am not 100% sure that's possible anywhere. An organic farmer has more time to screw with it, but he may also be milking into buckets, and trust me, "things" and "stuff" fall into buckets, so I'm good with pasteurizing it when possible.
I seriously dislike this unimportant minor amount of people who complain about something and mess a good thing up for hundreds or thousands of people. That really pisses me off. However unless I am mistaken I dont think anyone complained here did they? So what is going on? Unless there was a complaint from selfish person. It must have been someone who hates this particular group of people OR are envious that they are getting business? Some people are just a waste of space.
It's crony capitalism at its worst.
The sad part is the farmers will never see the benefits of a de facto embargo of foreign dairy products -- just a few well-connected individuals. Politicians are just like magicians -- they try to distract you from watching what they are *actually* doing.
What on earth did our forefathers (and mothers) do without the FDA to protect them??!! Un-freaking-believable!
Well, if you think about it, most of our ancestors are now dead. Must have been all that raw milk.
That is a very good description of liberal logic.
“It is the FDA’s position that raw milk should never be consumed."
Oh, really?
So what did my Mother feed to me when I was new-born? She never told me that she'd had her boobs pasteurized.
LOL! Absolutely right. Guess what? They are coming for Mother's milk I am sure of it at some point.
Careful......you never know where a comment like that is going to take you. Someone from the FDA is going to read that and a light bulb is going to go off!! :)
Of course, it will be a very, very dim bulb.
LOL!!
This is what they are wasting time and money on when they could be hunting down all the illegals in this country? Wow... just wow.
Dear FDA,
Please get a brain, you flipping morons. And while your at it, see if you can spare a few cells for the rest of the idiots in Washington.
Sincerely,
CurtisHx.
Yes raw milk is dangerous. These criminals trying to provide a product desired by the public need to be stopped. A prime example is my father who grew up on a farm and drank only raw milk for most of his first 30 years. He is going bald!!!!
(As a side note, otherwise his health is excellent and he is going strong. He is 94.)
As for me, I drank a lot of raw milk in my younger days and have had two, count em two knee surgeries. But I think that is due to global warming.
Now I know who to blame my bad knees on. And all this time, I thought it was just that I had abused my body with multiple injuries. And of course, raw goat milk must be even worse.
Goat cheese is delicious..... *salivates* in a panini with roasted red peppers and maybe turkey or ham uhm deliciousness..
Seriously? Someone gave me a thumbs down? It is hilarious.
cheese haters. That's what it is.
Mmmmm. Valbreso cheese and fresh *real* tomato on toasted french bread with *real* butter. *drools*
"Fetch hither the fromage de la Belle France!"
I know it is ALL good as far as French sandwiches are concerned. I love French cheeses it is so good and so illegal to bring here (the unpasteurized ones) and it is so unfair. Absinthe is also illegal I mean I know the French sometimes get on my nerves, but what is it with this food hate?
LOFL!!!
I also grew up on a dairy farm and drank nothing but raw milk until I went away to college. Took me a long time to get used to that watery, homogenized, pasteurized stuff.
How many times did your mother take after you with a switch or belt for spooning out a big glob of cream? Fresh cream, skimmed off the top of the fresh milk, nothing tasted better and it was worth all the whacks my mother gave me!
I wonder what these Federal Dumb Asses, the FDA, would have done to my grandmother when they found out she made cottage cheese, buttermilk and butter out of the raw milk that we squeezed out of our dairy cows teats? And I mean squeezed by hand, we did not have any fancy milking machines, never did.
Looking back I know that it was an idyllic childhood, but at the time all I could think of was that I wanted to live in town like all my buddies. Now I'm really glad I didn't. Getting up at 4 a.m. to squeeze between thousand pound shit-covered animals was great motivation to go to college. I must note, though, that I've never broken the habit of getting up early. It's 4:14 as I write this. The illustrious farmer father would have found that amusing.
Same here, I couldn't wait to get away and now I wish I could go back. We didn't have much when we were growing up, I have four younger brothers, but we never went hungry and had boots on our feet.
In most ways that simple life was the better life, we just have to live a lot of life before we realize it.
I wish I could go back and walk on the farm, but it's now covered with a shopping center. That's been the fate of most southern California farms.
Were you able to wean yourself from habit of squeezing teats?
Ahahahaha! Hilarious!
I might think about weaning myself in a few years. Like after I have to start taking Viagra, then need a seeing-eye dog because I am going blind, and can no longer be sure it is a teat I am squeezing.
View Comments (49)
The International Ag Giants want to push Soy & Flax products, which benefits the International PHARMA Giants, whose Trillions are made Treating Symptoms caused by Eating UNHEALTHY processed foods. The other Conspirator is International PETROLEUM Giants, whose Petroleum is USED to make Pharmaceuticals, (Only 40% of each Barrel of Crude Oil is used for FUEL, the 60-70% goes to manufacture of almost EVERY PRODUCT we use!
http://www.totalityofbeing.com/FramelessPages/Articles/SoyPoison.htm
http://www.totalityofbeing.com/FramelessPages/Articles/fibroidsindustryspin.html
Before pasturization, many people were sickened and died from disease, the ones listed plus brucellosis, TB and others. While I feel an Amish farm is probably careful enough for their raw milk to be safe, I don't trust huge dairy cooperatives to maintain the level of cleanliness and health of their cows to make this feasible for the larger population. Look what they have done to meat? If you raise an slaughter your own beef, pork, fowl, there is no problem, but big production is delivering meat that is contaminated every day. Hell a few years ago a child DIED from drinking unpasteurized apple juice. It was contaminated with E. Coli. Nope, though I miss the richer taste of raw milk and cheese, I am not willing to risk an epidemic from factory farms trying to kill us all.
You make an excellent point, hence why I believe that small farms should be left alone UNLESS they are not being clean or appropriate with their products. If a small farm IS being responsible with their products this type of government instrusion is wrong. I am not lauding for big corporations to go with the unpausterized stuff at all, my gripe is stressing the small farmers (like the ones in this story) whom by all accounts are being responsible with what they are doing.
agreed.. farmkids can do it, they build immunities (my daddy grew up on farms). Not every kid is that fortunate
I have to admit that it's been many years since I left the farm, but inspections used to be rigorous. A bacteria count that came in over legal limit was grounds to have milk sales suspended. I knew I had to get those cows clean or there would have been hell to pay with the illustrious farmer father.
The Mongol hordes drank fermented horse milk and still do to this day! Just let the FDA try to clamp down on them. Grrrrrrrrrrr!
Our family farm had a small dairy herd, 35 head of Holsteins, w/pipline, bulk tank and produced Grade A milk. Seven kids grew up drinking that raw milk, ate our own chickens and their eggs, and ate meat from our own beef and hogs, veggies from our garden, mulberries, apples, cherries from our orchard. Occasionally we rode into town on our horses and robbed the bank or general store for kicks. That of course was after 4-H, FFA and baseball practice!
Was it uphill both ways to your school, too?
Y'all just don't get it.!! The FDA is in cahoots with the NLRB and these cows are not UNION cows!! These cows are working in a free range environment not in a union shop with ankle deep union excrement, where they, of course, belong!!
It has to be something. If it is a union situation then this makes this whole thing clear.
I dont get it. Keep things clean and prevent contamination and you are good to go. If people are not complaining do what you are doing and don't get lazy on quality and purity of products. Centuries ago people lived their lives just fully and nicely on unpausterized milk and cheeses. Go to France (and other places) delicious. What's the problem? This sounds a little too China to me. I am not like this at all.
Don't you get it KQ? Due to the dilligent efforts of the Federal Dumbass Agency, at least 40 people will NOT get sick from eating or drinking contaminated dairy products! They will be considered Heros of The Nation!
They conveniently forget to mention the millions of people who eat or drink raw dairy products every day and never get sick.
I read about a few studies that were done examinng the e-coli in cows that were grass fed versus the cows that were penned and grain fed. The grass fed cows were clean of e-coli, and their penned conterparts where e-coli free after 30 days of being let out of pens and grass fed.
The penned cows were given hormones to increase milk production, they also suffered matitis, which is horribly painful, and their milk was contaiminated.
I just think in this country quality suffers for the dollar, we have alot of land and could benefit greatly from healthy raw milk, but its illegal to have if you dont own the cow in many states. But these huge milk farms make a great profit and their animal's health suffers. And its encouraged by the FDA to continue, probably not because of health but because their pockets are in it. I was looking into sheep because they dont require as much space as cows, the sheep's milk has a higher fat ratio so the cheese yeild would be twice that of goats. But i am concerned that if i give my daughters raw milk, protective services would take them away for "endangerment by milk". I honestly dont know if its worth it.
Quit drinking the kool-aid babydoll. These "studies" are done by people who get a government paycheck. Do you really think they are going to say the FDA is wrong?
Actually, the problem isn't that the farmers make so much money -- farm after farm are going under. There's darned little money in agriculture, and most dairy herds have to be *huge* to make any money at all. That, and most dairy farmers are half nuts from sleep deprivation. Cows gotta be milked when they are ready. If you don't, then they won't make milk anymore.
...and, yes, editor, I, too have milked cows -- 180 at a time.
Mastitis is kinda gross, but the real problem is that when you treat the cow for it, you can't use the milk until the antibiotics are out of her system. If you miss, they can detect it, and the buyer will pour out the whole tank of milk -- which can be tens of thousands of gallons down the drain. and, no, you don't get paid for that.
I'm not so scared of hormones, and I certainly am not scared of using regular dairy milk -- but if the milk is unpasteurized, things have to be kept *very* clean, and I just am not 100% sure that's possible anywhere. An organic farmer has more time to screw with it, but he may also be milking into buckets, and trust me, "things" and "stuff" fall into buckets, so I'm good with pasteurizing it when possible.
I seriously dislike this unimportant minor amount of people who complain about something and mess a good thing up for hundreds or thousands of people. That really pisses me off. However unless I am mistaken I dont think anyone complained here did they? So what is going on? Unless there was a complaint from selfish person. It must have been someone who hates this particular group of people OR are envious that they are getting business? Some people are just a waste of space.
It's crony capitalism at its worst.
The sad part is the farmers will never see the benefits of a de facto embargo of foreign dairy products -- just a few well-connected individuals. Politicians are just like magicians -- they try to distract you from watching what they are *actually* doing.
Similarly in WA State two wonderful artisan cheese makers have been/are being put out of buisness http://www.foodrenegade.com/artisan-cheese-under-attack/ http://cheesemonger.wordpress.com/2010/12/26/sally-jackson-to-close-down-a-sad-ending-for-a-pioneer-artisan-cheesemaker/
What on earth did our forefathers (and mothers) do without the FDA to protect them??!! Un-freaking-believable!
Well, if you think about it, most of our ancestors are now dead. Must have been all that raw milk.
That is a very good description of liberal logic.
“It is the FDA’s position that raw milk should never be consumed."
Oh, really?
So what did my Mother feed to me when I was new-born? She never told me that she'd had her boobs pasteurized.
LOL! Absolutely right. Guess what? They are coming for Mother's milk I am sure of it at some point.
Careful......you never know where a comment like that is going to take you. Someone from the FDA is going to read that and a light bulb is going to go off!! :)
Of course, it will be a very, very dim bulb.
LOL!!
This is what they are wasting time and money on when they could be hunting down all the illegals in this country? Wow... just wow.
Dear FDA,
Please get a brain, you flipping morons. And while your at it, see if you can spare a few cells for the rest of the idiots in Washington.
Sincerely,
CurtisHx.
Yes raw milk is dangerous. These criminals trying to provide a product desired by the public need to be stopped. A prime example is my father who grew up on a farm and drank only raw milk for most of his first 30 years. He is going bald!!!!
(As a side note, otherwise his health is excellent and he is going strong. He is 94.)
As for me, I drank a lot of raw milk in my younger days and have had two, count em two knee surgeries. But I think that is due to global warming.
Now I know who to blame my bad knees on. And all this time, I thought it was just that I had abused my body with multiple injuries. And of course, raw goat milk must be even worse.
Goat cheese is delicious..... *salivates* in a panini with roasted red peppers and maybe turkey or ham uhm deliciousness..
Seriously? Someone gave me a thumbs down? It is hilarious.
cheese haters. That's what it is.
Mmmmm. Valbreso cheese and fresh *real* tomato on toasted french bread with *real* butter. *drools*
"Fetch hither the fromage de la Belle France!"
I know it is ALL good as far as French sandwiches are concerned. I love French cheeses it is so good and so illegal to bring here (the unpasteurized ones) and it is so unfair. Absinthe is also illegal I mean I know the French sometimes get on my nerves, but what is it with this food hate?
LOFL!!!
I also grew up on a dairy farm and drank nothing but raw milk until I went away to college. Took me a long time to get used to that watery, homogenized, pasteurized stuff.
How many times did your mother take after you with a switch or belt for spooning out a big glob of cream? Fresh cream, skimmed off the top of the fresh milk, nothing tasted better and it was worth all the whacks my mother gave me!
I wonder what these Federal Dumb Asses, the FDA, would have done to my grandmother when they found out she made cottage cheese, buttermilk and butter out of the raw milk that we squeezed out of our dairy cows teats? And I mean squeezed by hand, we did not have any fancy milking machines, never did.
Looking back I know that it was an idyllic childhood, but at the time all I could think of was that I wanted to live in town like all my buddies. Now I'm really glad I didn't. Getting up at 4 a.m. to squeeze between thousand pound shit-covered animals was great motivation to go to college. I must note, though, that I've never broken the habit of getting up early. It's 4:14 as I write this. The illustrious farmer father would have found that amusing.
Same here, I couldn't wait to get away and now I wish I could go back. We didn't have much when we were growing up, I have four younger brothers, but we never went hungry and had boots on our feet.
In most ways that simple life was the better life, we just have to live a lot of life before we realize it.
I wish I could go back and walk on the farm, but it's now covered with a shopping center. That's been the fate of most southern California farms.
Were you able to wean yourself from habit of squeezing teats?
Ahahahaha! Hilarious!
I might think about weaning myself in a few years. Like after I have to start taking Viagra, then need a seeing-eye dog because I am going blind, and can no longer be sure it is a teat I am squeezing.
Not going there.