BIRD IN HAND, Pa. — Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry announced Tuesday that her office, in collaboration with the state Department of Agriculture, has filed a complaint against a Lancaster County farm for its alleged sale of illegal raw milk.
Miller's Organic Farm, its owners, and related businesses are named in the filing, an action Henry said was taken "after years of attempts by state and federal officials to bring the farm into compliance with the law."
The farm is located in Bird In Hand.
The AG's Office and the state Department of Agriculture filed an emergency motion for an injunction. On Wednesday, the filed motion was granted and a hearing against the farm has been scheduled for Friday, Jan. 26.
Tuesday's complaint outlines alleged violations of Pennsylvania’s Milk Sanitation Law, Food Safety Act, Retail Food Facility Safety Act, and Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. The alleged violations include failing to obtain licenses and permits, selling illegal raw milk products, and selling raw milk and raw milk products outside of Pennsylvania, Henry said.
Two recent E. coli illnesses reported by other states’ departments of health are suspected to have originated from Miller’s Organic Farm's raw milk or raw milk products, Henry claims.
Additionally, samples of raw milk and raw milk products collected by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture earlier this month recently tested positive for Listeria, which is a bacteria that poses serious health risks, especially to young children, older people, and people with weakened immune systems, Henry said.
“For years, this business has brushed off efforts to bring its commercial farm operation into compliance with the law — as all commercial farms are required to do,” Henry said. “We cannot ignore the illnesses and further potential harm posed by distribution of these unregulated products.
"We have long had food safety laws in this Commonwealth to protect the public from harm. Pennsylvanians should know what is in the products they and their families are consuming.”
Henry said efforts to bring the farm into compliance date back several years.
In 2019, in a case involving violations of federal laws concerning meat and poultry handling, a federal court ordered Miller’s Organic Farm to comply with Pennsylvania licensing requirements and all applicable food codes.
After multiple findings of contempt for failure to follow that order, Henry said, Miller agreed to a consent decree in August 2023, which remains in effect today, in which he affirmed his “independent responsibility for complying with relevant provisions of the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
The farm was also searched last month by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Food Safety following a supposedly linked case of STEC (Shiga toxin-producing E.coli).
