- Homestead Creamery is issuing a voluntary recall of several of its products over concerns that the product smells like a sanitizing agent.
- No illnesses have been reported, but the fact that milk, lemonade, and egg nog smell like sanitizer is obviously concerning.
- You can find a full list of the recalled products on the recall bulletin page.
The FDA has warned us about meat, onions, and peaches, so it was only a matter of time before they came for our milk, too. Well, that day has come, and the FDA just posted a new recall bulletin from Homestead Creamery of Virginia announcing the voluntary recall of a whole bunch of its milk and other dairy products.
The company distributes a variety of dairy products from milk to egg nog, as well as some non-dairy products like lemonade. Many of the company’s products are sold in reusable glass bottles which are then returned, refilled, and distributed again. That, apparently, is where the problem lies, as the company believes there may have been an issue in the sanitization process of the bottles which left them smelling strongly of sanitizer.
This is one of the very rare cases of a recall in which there doesn’t appear to be an immediate health concern. The strong sanitizer odor isn’t harmful in and of itself, but it may indicate that the bottles weren’t adequately rinsed after sanitization, potentially leading to illness from the presence of a sanitizing agent in the product itself.
Homestead Creamery of Wirtz, VA is voluntarily recalling glass bottled products because of a suspected issue with the bottle sanitizing process. Glass bottled product in question may have a strong sanitizer odor which may affect the taste and quality of the product. There is no known health risk associated with the issue at this time.
Some of the products sold in non-returnable glass bottles are also included in the recall. All told, there are a total of 21 products included in the recall, with “Best By” dates ranging from November 4th through December 20th.
From the official recall bulletin, here are the states in which the various products were sold:
These returnable glass bottles were distributed in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York in October through retail stores, direct delivery, and wholesale distributors. Shipments of this product started on October 15, 2020.
Eggnog and custard round, non-returnable glass bottles with the best by date of Nov 15 were distributed to The Fresh Market stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Shipments of this product started on October 14th, 2020.
If you think you have some of the affected products, you can return them to the store you purchased them from for a full refund. There is also company contact information on the recall bulletin page, in case you have any additional questions or concerns.
