Parents of preschoolers sickened by tainted milk in Camden County are speaking out after filing a lawsuit against the milk manufacturer.
“To get to the school and see EMTs and stretchers and police and firefighters all in their suits and stuff – I didn’t know what to do. I started panicking,” says mother Tiffanee Gould.
Gould was one of several parents who got a call last week telling them that their child drank tainted milk at school. The milk was contaminated with Vortex – a colorless sanitizer used in the manufacturing process.
Dominque Wilson got the same call from her 4-year-old daughter’s teacher.
“She said, ‘She drank it and we’re not really sure how much, but I know for a fact she drank it,’” Wilson says.
Officials say that 33 children were taken to the hospital, and 64 were impacted overall.
Gould and Wilson say their children experienced symptoms such as stomach pain, cramping, nausea and vomiting. They say some of these symptoms are lingering.
The parents have filed a lawsuit against Connecticut-based Guida Seibert Dairy, the company that manufactured the milk.
“We’re going to have medical bills for this, because it wasn’t paid for by the school or anything,” says Gould.
The parents say that the lawsuit is not only to protect their children, but to prevent this from happening to any other child again.
"You just can't make a mistake like that when you're distributing something that not only are people going to consume, but children, preschool children,” Gould says.
The lawsuit was filed by Lento Law Group last Friday.
"It's important that these food manufacturers pay attention and understand that they are obligated to ensure their food is safe and if they're negligent they will be held accountable,” says attorney Samuel D. Jackson.
A spokesperson for Guida Seibert Dairy says in statement, "Nothing is more important than the well-being and health of those we serve. Once we were made aware of this issue, we took immediate action and tested impacted product to verify there is no food safety risk associated with this product."
The Connecticut Department of Agriculture is investigating.