District U-46 and Community Unit School District 300 have temporarily stopped serving milk in their school cafeterias after issues arose this week, including reports of some students becoming ill after drinking it, officials said.
U-46 Superintendent Tony Sanders, in a letter sent to parents this week, said several children at Ellis Middle School in Elgin were sent home Tuesday after telling the school nurse they were sick.
District officials believe the illnesses could have stemmed from the milk served at school, Sanders said in the message. The brand of milk was not identified.
“Some of the chocolate and strawberry milk containers offered to students at Ellis showed signs of being spoiled, although the expiration date on these packages is Sept. 17,” he wrote.
The district did not receive reports of illnesses at other school buildings, Sanders said. Families who believe their children became sick after drinking spoiled milk at school should contact district officials, he said.
Symptoms of spoiled milk consumption are vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps. A link to a webpage on spoiled milk from the Missouri Poison Center was provided to parents as part of Sanders’ note.
Until the situation is resolved, U-46 schools are serving water and juice instead of milk and the district is working with public health inspectors to find the source of the problem, officials said.
Michael Isaacson, executive director of the Kane County Health Department, said they are “gathering information to assure there is not a threat to the health of the students.”
Kane County spokeswoman Julie Mann said there have been no reports of milk making students sick at other county schools, but Algonquin-based District 300 — with schools in Kane and McHenry counties — has reported that “incorrectly formulated” chocolate milk cartons were delivered to school cafeterias this week.
In a letter to parents from Superintendent Susan Harkin, the bad milk was dropped off Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, according to their food service provider Aramark.
The company told officials the milk “contained an increased amount of sugar, which altered the consistency of the beverage into gel-like thickness,” Harkin wrote.
One student posted a video on social media in which they showed a carton of the thick, chunky milk being poured into a garbage can.
“Providing students with proper food and beverage options is among District 300’s highest priorities,” Harkin said in her letter. “Unfortunately, the delivery of the incorrectly formulated chocolate milk to our schools is not in alignment with our commitment to our student food service program and, quite simply, is unacceptable.”
Aramark has stopped serving chocolate milk at all of its school cafeterias until the milk distributor, Prairie Farms, can confirm the production issue is resolved, she said.
Harkin asked Aramark to prepare a complete account of the situation.
Gloria Casas and Mike Danahey are freelance reporters for The Courier-News.
