A Minnesota jury has found farmer Alvin Schlangen not guilty on all three criminal misdemeanor counts for violations of the state food and dairy code. The case was referred by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and brought by the Hennepin County prosecutor's office. The Department alleged that Schlangen sold raw milk off the farm, that he handled food without first possessing a food handler's permit, and that he distributed misbranded and/or adulterated dairy products. A fourth charge on a labeling violation was dropped at the beginning of his criminal trial.

Hartmann faces similar charges as Schlangen did and is expected to be tried this fall. He also faces a lawsuit filed by the father of a boy who got sick from drinking raw milk.

Schlangen, an organic egg farmer from Freeport, Minnesota, doesn't produce milk himself but operates Freedom Farms Co-op, a private club with roughly 130 members who buy various farm products, including raw milk. Schlangen picks up the milk products from an Amish farm and delivers them to members.

He was charged in 2010 after MDA inspectors discovered his products at Traditional Foods, a south Minneapolis natural foods outlet.

Under Minnesota law, milk that hasn't been pasteurized can be sold only in limited amounts on the farm where it's produced.

Schlangen, who testified on his own behalf, maintained that he was operating a private cooperative and not a business. He also noted that no one got sick from the milk he distributed.

Schlangen faces a second criminal trial in a different jurisdiction, Stearns County, on six misdemeanor counts for alleged violations of the Minnesota food and dairy code.

A pre-trial hearing in the case is scheduled for Nov. 2. PD

—Compiled from a Star Tribune article and a Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund news release. Click here to read the full article in the Star Tribune.