Parents Sue Guida's Dairy Over Contaminated Milk With Sanitizer in Camden Preschools

Three parents of the preschool children in Camden, New Jersey, who accidentally drank contaminated milk with a sanitizer, have launched a class-action lawsuit against Guida's Dairy, the milk manufacturer and supplier.

In the document filed with the U.S. District Attorney of New Jersey, the parents claimed that their children had not recovered from the incident during a morning snack break at their school on Wednesday, March 30. Aside from their physical ailments, the parents said that children have also been impacted emotionally.

Mom Dominique Wilson told 3 CBS Philly that her daughter has since developed issues with eating or drinking. The kids, who are mostly 4 and 5 years old, were examined and treated at hospitals right after the accidental ingestion, but the parents said no one is certain of the long-term effects of the contaminated milk on their health.

"It Shouldn't Have Happened"

The parents recalled the chaos after learning that dozens of kids from at least two preschools were brought by 911 first responders to different local hospitals.

Mom Tiffanee Gould said that, in the chaos, her son had to have a label of a "big black C" on his hand to indicate Cooper Medical Center. She believes that this incident should not have happened had Guida's Dairy taken measures to prevent a foreign substance from tainting the children's milk.

The hospital workers determined that the contaminated milk had Vortex, a cleaning agent. A spokesperson for Guida's Dairy said they immediately took action when they were informed of the incident. They believed that the sanitizer meant to clean the milk cartons was not properly washed off before the milk was added and sealed.

The company tested the contaminated products and verified that there were no serious risks. They also said they would be pulling out and disposing of the rest of the milk cartons with an April 11 sell-by date.

Guida's Dairy, a Connecticut-based company, does not sell the milk commercially but only supplies schools and other facilities.

According to WFSB, the incident was not just distressing to the kids. One parent lost her job since she had to take care of her child at home during the recovery. Thus, the class-action lawsuit asks for monetary compensation and an apology from the milk manufacturer.

Contaminated Milk with Sanitizer Found in Boston Schools

Meanwhile, Boston Public Schools had to pull out batches of contaminated milk with sanitizers at school cafeterias due to a mixup with the supplier. Garelick Farms issued an apology and promised "corrective actions" after receiving a complaint from one of the schools on Friday, April 1.

Fortunately, none of the kids were able to drink the tainted milk, but Boston Public Schools dropped their milk supplier. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said this mistake was unacceptable and added that none of the bad batches of milk should have left the supplier's site, as per Boston 25 News.

As with the incident in New Jersey, the contaminated milk had an odd odor and a different taste because it was mixed with food-grade sanitizer during the production. Garelick Farms, however, said that isolated incident does not reflect the company's standards or quality.