Food Firm Investigated in Dumping of Milk in Sewers

A food chain that sold milk blamed for an outbreak of salmonella poisoning is under investigation for dumping the product into sewers and storm drains after pulling it from store shelves.

Law enforcement officials said they feared that the dumping could cause a new health hazard. Authorities said that 2,827 cases of food poisoning have been reported and that they expect more in the next few days.

Investigators today have been trying to determine how much milk pulled from store shelves as a safety measure was poured into sewers and storm drains by employees of Jewel Cos. Inc. A Jewel spokesman said today that he had received reports of milk being dumped outside seven stores.

“It was not our intent, nor did we instruct anyone to put the milk anywhere but in the store drains,” Jewel spokesman William Newby said. “It’s very important for people to understand that we don’t suspect there was anything wrong with that milk.”

Danger to Pets, Children

If any of the milk was contaminated, it could pose a danger to pets who drink from a nearby creek or children who play in the area, said Metropolitan Sanitary District officials in Chicago.

Two deaths have been linked to the salmonella outbreak in five states, and Illinois Public Health Department officials said 2,827 cases of food poisoning were reported with 2,214 confirmed. All the victims had drunk 2% milk sold by Jewel, authorities said.

Patricia Larsen, Illinois Department of Public Health spokeswoman, said the number of cases could rise to 10,000 if people infected by the contaminated milk spread the highly contagious salmonella bacteria, which can linger in a person’s system up to five weeks. The disease is not generally considered dangerous to people in good health, although it can be uncomfortable.

Jewel pulled all milk products off the shelves Tuesday, and some employees began dumping it in storm sewers and drains in the Chicago suburbs of Alsip, Schaumburg, Lombard, Hoffman Estates and Arlington Heights, officials said.

From Drain Into Creek

At one store in suburban Alsip, employees poured the milk into a storm drain that runs into a creek.

“We’re worried about it,” said James Dencek, field operations supervisor for the agency, adding that Jewel has agreed to immediately pump the milk out of the creek.

Cook County State’s Atty. Richard Daley launched an investigation of the dumping Wednesday after seeing a picture in the newspaper of Jewel employees pouring the milk into a sewer.

If Jewel is found to have improperly disposed of the milk, it could be charged with reckless conduct or improper disposal of hazardous waste, a spokesman for Daley’s office said.