Tucker Adkins Dairy

Tucker Adkins Dairy is a York, S.C. dairy that sells grade A raw milk, eggs, and butter. It is owned by Tommy and Carol Adkins. In 2011, it was accused of being the source of a food poisoning outbreak but samples of the milk tested negative for the bacteria.

Unsubstantiated Accusations of Contaminated Raw Milk
On July 16, 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an advisory warning consumers not to drink raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy, because "three confirmed cases and five probable cases of campylobacteriosis in North Carolina are associated with raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy." The alert continues, saying:


 * "The FDA is working with officials in North Carolina and South Carolina to investigate an outbreak of campylobacteriosis in three people who consumed raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy in York, S.C. The three confirmed cases and another five probable cases are from three different households and each case reports that prior to becoming ill they consumed raw milk that was obtained from Tucker Adkins Dairy on June 14, 2011. The onset of illness in these cases occurred in mid June. One person was hospitalized."

Within weeks, the dairy was exonerated, when all of the raw milk samples tested by the government came back negative for Campylobacter. However, the FDA continued its search for the source of the Campylobacter, which they assert "could have been at the dairy or in the transportation of the milk."

Carol Adkins said of the incident: "There is no way to say it except they are trying to get rid of a small business."

About the Dairy
Tucker Adkins Dairy raises Guernsey cows.


 * "Their York County dairy farm is a simple operation. There are four stalls where Guernsey cows are milked. Before - and after - each cow is milked, their utter and teats are cleaned.


 * "An electronic milker collects milk in a stainless steel container. Milk from that container is then poured into another stainless steel container with a spigot. Carolyn Adkins opens the spigot, filling plastic gallon jugs. The milk sits for a few seconds as it foams.


 * "The gallons of raw milk are chilled in ice, then put in a cooler. Keeping the milk at a consistent, cold temperature is key to fighting bacteria, she said."

Contact Information

 * Tucker Adkins Dairy
 * 7245 Park Place Rd.
 * York S.C. 29745.
 * Ph: (803) 327-7477 or 242-4743

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Raw Milk
 * Raw Milk Raid Timeline

External articles

 * "Tucker Adkins Dairy Asks FDA for Reputation Back: Test Results Vindicate Raw Milk and Dairy Farm," Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, August 3, 2011.
 * Don Worthington, "York County dairy's milk OK'd by FDA; No bacteria found: FDA, DHEC did not find bacteria that made three people sick," Herald Online, July 27, 2011.
 * David Gumpert, "Tuning Out: Negative Lab Tests on SC Dairy Further Undermine FDA Safety Credibility; Friend in a High Place?," The Complete Patient, July 27, 2011.
 * Foodborne outbreak associated with raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy of York S.C., U.S. Food and Drug Administration, July 16, 2011.