Farmer Facing Additional Charges Over Raw Milk

GAYLORD (AP) - A Minnesota farmer is accused of violating his probation by selling unpasteurized milk.

Prosecutors say Michael Hartmann is once again facing charges of selling raw milk in his long-running legal battle over state regulations.

The 59-year-old rural Gibbon farmer is charged with selling raw milk, improper food labeling and selling produce without a license. Hartmann was fined $585 last year and placed on probation after pleading guilty to two misdemeanors in an agreement with prosecutors.

State officials searched Hartmann's farm in 2010 after people allegedly got sick from consuming his milk, cheese and ice cream. The agriculture department began to investigate after the health department established his farm was the source of an E. coli outbreak that required at least eight Minnesota residents to get medical treatment.

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