School milk handling questioned

State agriculture and local health officials are investigating the handling and storage of milk in the Spokane school district after it sickened several students at Rogers High School on Friday.

At least four students vomited after drinking milk that had soured, even though the pull date on the carton, Oct. 19, had not passed, a school official said. Milk typically remains fresh up to a week after the pull date if it has been handled properly.

“There were a number of students who consumed it and just went ‘Yuck,’ ” explained Doug Wordell, director of nutrition services for the district.

The students were taken to Holy Family hospital, where they were examined and released. But the incident prompted a new look at how Spokane Public Schools handles the 20,000 half-pint pouches and cartons of milk it serves in 49 schools each day.

Laboratory tests conducted Monday showed no bacterial contamination of the milk, said Cathy Cochrane, a spokeswoman for the Spokane Regional Health District. Initial inspections of district logs showed milk had been held at proper temperatures of 40 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.

But an inspector was being sent to monitor proper handling of the milk, including using older cartons first, Cochrane added.

Wordell said he also had asked the distributor of the district’s milk, Terry’s Dairy in Colville, and the packager of the milk, Inland Northwest Dairy in Spokane, to identify milk that arrives close to the pull date.

In addition, officials from the Washington State Department of Agriculture are investigating whether the milk was properly stored and handled during the packing and distribution process.

“They’re looking at the whole transport system from the dairy to the schools,” Cochrane said.

Letters were sent Friday to parents and guardians of Rogers High School students explaining the incident.

Sour milk is not palatable, but it’s not dangerous, either, Wordell noted.

“Milk’s a very safe food item,” he said. “You’re not likely to get a foodborne illness from milk. It might taste yucky, but that’s it.”