Ice Cream from Brunton Dairy Also Found to be Tainted

The Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Allegheny County Health Department issued a joint health advisory Friday, adding ice cream to the list of tainted products that the Brunton Dairy in Independence Township sold.

A positive culture for Yersinia enterocolitica was uncovered in an unopened container of Brunton Dairy ice cream that a consumer provided to the health department. Additional testing on ice cream products from the dairy is still under way through the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. 

The health departments are advising consumers and retailers to discard all ice cream purchased from the dairy as a precautionary measure. .  

To date, 16 cases of Yersinia enterocolitica have been reported as a result of the outbreak − nine from Beaver County and seven from Allegheny County. 

Any person who consumed a product from Brunton Dairy and has symptoms of diarrhea is advised to contact their health care provider to assure appropriate specimens are collected and treatment is administered. Yersinia infections can be treated with antibiotics.

Ill individuals, health care providers or laboratories can contact the Pennsylvania Department of Health at 1-877-PA-HEALTH (1-877-724-3258) or the Allegheny County Health Department at 412-687-ACHD (2243).

In other news, WTAE reported Thursday that a fire destroyed a building on the dairy farm; the cause of the fire has not been released.