we will be exonerated says Trent Hendricks

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Dairy farm owner: "We will be exonerated'

The owner of Franconia dairy farm that the state has linked to a few cases of people being sickened by raw milk products said it would be cleared by test results due to be released Tuesday.

Trent Hendricks, owner of the Hendricks Farms and Dairy, said in an e-mailed statement Saturday that there was "no conclusive evidence" linking the farm to the illnesses.

"We are disappointed that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has chosen to disregard our history, and in spite of the fact that no conclusive link has been made to HF & D, they elected to release a public advisory," Hendricks said.

On Friday, the state Department of Health reported seven confirmed cases in Pennsylvania and a neighboring state in which people from unrelated households who consumed raw milk or raw milk products from Hendricks were found to have gastrointestinal illnesses attributed to campylobacter, one of the most common bacterial causes of diarrhea.

Holli Senior, a state health department spokeswoman, said there were no new cases to report on Saturday. The investigation was ongoing, she added.

The Montgomery County Health Department confirmed Friday it was aware of two residents who were infected, including one in Towamencin.

The state subsequently issued a warning advising people to discard any raw milk or raw milk products purchased from Hendricks, and the Department of Agriculture suspended the dairy's raw milk permit until tests of two raw milk samples drawn at least one day apart were negative.

Hendricks said the dairy was "very concerned" about the illnesses and that the company was "willingly complying" with the temporary suspension of sales. Its farm store remains open, and it continues to sell all of its other products.

"We continue to comply with all regulations and guidelines, and we remain optimistic that we will be exonerated when the test results become available Tuesday of next week," Hendricks said. "Our track record and history consist of stellar test results and we have never had a positive pathogen test in our seven-year history."

The Department of Agriculture confirmed that test results were expected Tuesday.

Raw milk, which is not pasteurized, is permitted to be sold in Pennsylvania, and Hendricks said it sells more than 600 gallons of it per week.

Raw milk proponents say it is healthier than pasteurized milk because the pasteurization process kills beneficial bacteria, enzymes and vitamins in addition to harmful bacteria. But the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates milk, "strongly advises against" drinking raw milk because it may be unsafe, no matter how carefully it is produced.

The state health department has advised anyone who became ill from raw milk products purchased at Hendricks to see a doctor, a step it said was not necessary if there were no symptoms, which usually occur two to five days after the bacteria is consumed.

Specific medical treatment is often not required unless the symptoms lead to severe dehydration or the infection spreads from the intestines.Dom Cosentino can be reached at or dcosentino@....