Plainview Milk Products Cooperative Institutes New Policies and Procedures

Plainview Operates 80 Percent of Plant While Making Improvements to Dry
Ingredients Area

MINNEAPOLIS, July 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Plainview Milk Products Cooperative,
Plainview, Minnesota, continues to execute a voluntary recall of instant
nonfat dried milk, whey protein, fruit stabilizers and gums (thickening
agents) while making improvements to the dry ingredients production area in
preparation for reinspection. Testing by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture of the Plainview products
affected by the recall has not found any contamination and there have been no
reports of illness related to the product, which is not sold directly to
consumers.

According to Dallas Moe, general manager, Plainview Milk Products Cooperative,
"Product safety is our first priority. We're making more improvements every
day to our dry ingredients operation. It's important for our customers and our
patrons to understand that we are still operating 80 percent of our business
and we're doing everything we can to return to full production."

On July 7, the company received a letter from Greg Pitmann, food supervisor,
Dairy and Food Inspection Division, Minnesota Department of Agriculture. The
letter reaffirms Plainview's clearance to operate the remainder of the plant.
The letter states, "The fluid Grade A raw milk, Grade A pasteurized cream, and
Grade A pasteurized condensed nonfat products produced at Plainview Milk
Products facility . . . are not included in the voluntary recall initiated on
June 23. The only products that are part of the recall are instantized dry
dairy products or other ingredients."

Employees at the plant are being retrained on safety and security procedures
including the installation of a key-card entry system that restricts access to
certain areas of the plant and a boot program that does not allow any employee
to wear street shoes in the plant. They must change into disinfected boots
when they start work and leave those boots inside the plant when they leave.

Plainview has completely disassembled the dry product processing equipment in
question for cleaning and has implemented other precautionary remedial
measures such as the use of anti-microbial surface coatings in order to ensure
environmental safety. Company officials are working with an environmental
consultant and their chemical supplier to review all of the plant's cleaning
standard operating procedures.

Plainview has suspended production of the dry dairy products in question and
is working with the FDA, USDA, and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to
develop procedures which will allow the company to resume production.

"Plainview has been making high-quality dairy products since 1899 and we've
only had one other recall during the 1960s," added Moe. "We're proud of our
outstanding safety record and we're working hard to get our dry ingredients
operation back up again."

SOURCE Plainview Milk Products Cooperative

Glenn Karwoski, +1-612-342-9649, cell, +1-651-338-8115,
g.karwoski@creativepr.com, or Jill Spiekerman, +1-515-971-9613,
j.spiekerman@creativepr.com, both of Karwoski & Courage, for Plainview Milk
Products Cooperative