The parents of three Camden students who drank milk contaminated with a sanitizer while at school this week filed a federal class-action lawsuit Friday against a dairy company after dozens of kids were sent to area hospitals and the product was pulled from cafeterias statewide.

Guida-Seibert Dairy Company, which has headquarters in Connecticut, was negligent because it failed to prevent the milk from being contaminated, according to the suit filed in New Jersey.

A peroxyacetic sanitizer was found in Guida’s 1% low fat milk in four Camden City School District schools.

Health officials called for the milk to be pulled statewide, according to the New Jersey Department of Health.

The parents who filed the suit Tiffanee Gould, Dominique Wilson and Deborah Pollitt have children who attend the Early Childhood Development Center and Riletta T. Cream Elementary School in Camden.

Their kids were among more than 30 students taken to Cooper University Hospital in Camden on Wednesday after they all had symptoms that included severe stomach pain and cramping, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and flatulence after drinking the milk, according to the suit.

“Ultimately, the children were discharged from the hospital, but as their ingestion of the chemical cleaning agent is still so recent, it is unknown to plaintiffs how this event may affect their children moving forward, as children of several of the currently known plaintiffs continue to experience stomach pain,” the suit stated.

The suit also alleged that the company violated New Jersey’s Products Liability Act, and that the company negligently inflicted emotional distress both on the children who drank the tainted milk and their parents.

The suit asked for a declaration that Guida acted with negligence, compensatory and punitive damages for the plaintiffs and any other members of the class action suit and for attorney’s fees to be paid.

“No parent should ever have to doubt whether the food their young children are served at school is safe,” Samuel D. Jackson of the Lento Law Group, one of the lawyers for the parents, said in a statement. “The alleged wrongdoing by Guida-Seibert Dairy Company described in this complaint should be a wake-up call for all milk processors and food service companies serving schools that their negligence could injure young children and cause long-term negative health issues.”

Guida’s officials did not immediately respond to a phone message and email seeking comment on the suit Friday evening.

Guida previously confirmed the company is disposing of 1% low-fat half-pint milk cartons with a sell by date of April 11. The milk is not available at retail stores.

“A food-grade sanitizer diluted with water was inadvertently introduced during production,” Guida Dairy said in a statement. “A chemical smell is associated with the product.

“It was determined that the substance found in the cartons is a non-toxic consumable sanitizer that runs through the vendor machines prior to milk,” the school district said in a series of posts on Twitter.

School officials in Camden said 95 cartons of Guida’s Dairy milk were pulled and eight were contaminated with the substance, made by Vortexx.

Camden County health officials have said if parents have any concerns that they should contact their primary care physician or visit a medical clinic, or call the county hotline at 856-549-0530.

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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.

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