Feds Win Lawsuit Against West Michigan Dairy Farm

(Detroit-WWJ) A federal judge in Detroit rules that a western Michigan farm illegally sold cows for human food with unacceptably high levels of antibiotics.

U.S. District Judge Gordon Quist did not impose a penalty but directed Scenic View Dairy and government regulators to work out a settlement by the end of this month.

The judge wrote that products sold by Scenic View "have the potential of creating disaster for individuals and even loss of confidence in the nation's food supply." But Quist said it is not his intent to put the farm out of business.

The Allegan County farm's primary business is dairy, but dozens of cows are sold to slaughterhouses each week to become human food. Government inspectors detected high levels of antibiotics at least 11 times since 2002.

There have been no reported illnesses. Scenic View lawyers denied any health threat and said the violations against the farm were outdated and insignicant.

(Copyright 2011 WWJ Newsradio 950. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press Contributed To This Story)