Baltimore County students looking for a sweet sip at lunch are out of luck for now. Baltimore County Public Schools has pulled chocolate milk from cafeterias across the district after officials flagged a quality problem with cartons supplied by local processor Cloverland Farms Dairy. White milk is unaffected and will stay on the menu.
According to the district, the flavored milk is on pause while the dairy figures out what went wrong and proves it can meet BCPS quality standards again.
District Hits Pause On Chocolate Milk
In an email to families, BCPS cited “an issue with the quality of chocolate milk from Cloverland Farms Dairy” and said all schools have removed the flavored milk “until quality standards are met,” according to WBAL‑TV. The district said it is investigating the problem with its vendor and directed questions to the Office of Food and Nutrition Services. Parents were told that regular white milk will keep being served with school meals.
Dairy Traces Problem To Faulty Parts On The Line
In a March 10 letter to BCPS, Cloverland said it reviewed production, lab, and processing records and used tests of retained samples to reproduce the issue, writing, “we were able to duplicate what you see in one of our retain samples,” per the Cloverland letter. The company reported finding two “questionable seal/gaskets” on its processing line, which it replaced, followed by a full cleaning and sanitation of the line. The letter was signed by Phil Forshlager, Cloverland’s director of quality assurance.
What Parents Need To Know At Lunchtime
The district says white milk is not affected and will remain available with school meals. Families with questions can reach the Office of Food and Nutrition Services at 443‑809‑7855 or [email protected], according to the district’s Food and Nutrition Services page. Cafeterias will keep serving regular meals while chocolate milk sits out this round. BCPS said it will let families know when the flavored cartons meet its quality standards and are cleared to return.
Flavored Milk Has Been Benched Before
This is not the first local dustup over flavored milk. Baltimore City removed flavored milk from several schools in 2022 after complaints, with vendor testing and fixes following that decision, as reported by Baltimore Brew. Temporary pauses like these are a standard move when districts want to double-check product quality before pouring it back out to students.
Next Steps For Getting Chocolate Milk Back
Cloverland told the district it is “highly confident” that the gasket replacements and sanitation will fix the sporadic problems and said it will continue to monitor product quality, according to the Cloverland letter. For now, students who usually reach for chocolate milk will have to settle for white milk until the dairy and the district agree the flavored version is safe to roll back into cafeterias.
