“At this time, there have been no known illnesses associated with the product. Currently, the Department is embargoing all bottles of milk that were produced in the affected lot. The action came following the confirmed detection of high levels of an enzyme that indicate improper pasteurization,” stated AZDA officials.

The AZDA says Tirrito Farms is taking steps to recall the 28 gallon and 48 half gallon bottles of whole milk and requests that if you purchased a gallon or half gallon of the whole milk with an expiration date of Nov. 21, 2021 to return to to the point of sale for a full refund. The whole milk can also be returned to Tirrito Farms.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “Pasteurization is a widely used process that kills harmful bacteria by heating milk to a specific temperature for a set period of time. First developed by Louis Pasteur in 1864, pasteurization kills harmful organisms responsible for such diseases as listeriosis, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, diphtheria, Q fever, and brucellosis.”