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Students were recently given spoiled milk after the school's supplier reportedly had issues with a packer.
Parents sparked concern over the situation after hearing from students about the bad dairy. Elgin Independent School District was investigating the incident as of last week, according to a letter to parents and staff March 28.
“Elgin ISD Child Nutrition Services was recently informed of possible premature spoilage of milk with March 2023 expiration dates,” said the district's communication's team. “Out of an abundance of caution, cartons with March dates were immediately isolated and replaced with cartons containing April dates.”
District personnel soon learned Florence ISD experienced a similar issue. Both school districts receive milk from Hiland Dairy Foods, which operates in Austin.
In a statement, Hiland Dairy acknowledged that milk cartons delivered to 20 locations had possibly spoiled before their expiration date.
“This product was produced by a co-packer partner and not at a Hiland manufacturing location,” said Joe Penaloza, Hiland Dairy Foods general manager for Austin and south Texas operations. “We immediately contacted our co-packer and following their internal investigation, they found an issue with one of their half-pint carton-filling machines.”
As a result, shelf life for the milk was reduced. The co-packer assured Hiland that the cause of the issue was fixed.
“We will review our co-packer's ability to produce high-quality products and adhere to effective communication procedures,” added Penaloza. “We have not yet identified issues in cooling. However, since milk stores above 45 degrees will spoil prematurely, we will review the proper cold chain procedures throughout the supply chain.”
For more questions, call Elgin ISD Child Nutrition Services at 512-281-9755.
