Fairlife, a popular brand of ultrafiltered milk, will be pulled from shelves at all Jewel-Osco stores after an animal welfare group released an undercover video showing alleged abuse of calves at the milk company’s flagship dairy farm in Indiana, the grocery chain announced Wednesday.

UPDATE: What we know about the alleged animal abuse at Fair Oaks Farms »

The video released Tuesday by Animal Recovery Mission was taken by an undercover investigator posing as a calf care employee at Fair Oaks Farms, located about an hour and a half from downtown Chicago in Jasper County, Ind.

Fair Oaks promotes its animal welfare practices and hosts Dairy Adventure tours where people can get a “fun-filled look at the life of a cow.” Owner Michael McCloskey, a veterinarian, issued a statement Wednesday expressing disappointment, disgust and shock at the footage capturing some employees mistreating the animals.

The video, taken during the investigator’s three months of employment at the farm, shows newborn calves being thrown in and out of their huts by employees, young calves being kicked in the head and the carcasses of dead calves piled together in the dirt. The footage additionally shows employees striking calves with their hands and steel rods and burning them with branding irons.

In a report released with the video, Miami-based Animal Recovery Mission said it has never seen this level of daily abuse to newborn animals in its nine years of investigations. It has submitted its findings to the Newtown County Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating.

Itasca-based Jewel-Osco, which has 187 stores and is the largest grocery chain in the Chicago area, said it is removing all Fairlife products as a result of the “inhumane treatment of animals” shown in the video.

“At Jewel-Osco we strive to maintain high animal welfare standards across all areas of our business, and work in partnership with our vendors to ensure those standards are upheld,” the company’s statement said. “We apologize for any inconvenience.”

Chicago chain Tony’s Fresh Market also said it is pulling Fairlife out of its stores.

Fairlife, based in Chicago, said in a statement that the dairy shown in the video, Fair Oaks’ Prairies Edge North Barn, represents less than 5% of its total milk supply. It said it would immediately suspend milk deliveries from that dairy and conduct independent third-party audits at its 30 other supplying dairies within the next month to verify animal husbandry practices.

Fairlife was formed in 2012 as a partnership between McCloskey’s co-op of dairy farmers, called Select Milk Producers, and Coca-Cola, which distributes the product.

Coca-Cola said in a statement that it expects "suppliers to operate with the highest degree of integrity and comply with all laws, including animal welfare laws," and expressed support for the “proactive approach” Fairlife and Fair Oaks were taking.

"We have been in contact with Fairlife about this situation and have full confidence in their management team to urgently address this issue with Fair Oaks Farms, which is a third-party supplier to Fairlife," the company said. "They recognize the seriousness of this situation as their founding principles are grounded in a strong commitment to sustainability, transparency and the highest standards of animal welfare."

McCloskey, in a statement posted to the Fair Oaks Farm Facebook page, said he learned of the investigation a couple of months ago but didn’t know what it had found until the release of the video Tuesday. Of the five people shown committing “multiple instances of animal cruelty,” he said, three were employees who were fired before the company became aware of the investigation, after colleagues reported them being abusive to animals.

A fourth employee was being terminated this week after his involvement became known. A fifth person shown in the video was a third-party truck driver who was transporting calves and will not be allowed on the farm again, he said.

"As a veterinarian whose life and work is dedicated to the care, comfort and safety of all animals, this has affected me deeply," McCloskey said. "I am disappointed for not being aware of this kind of awful treatment occurring, and I take full responsibility for what has happened. I also take full responsibility to correct and ensure that every employee understands, embraces and practices the core values on which our organization stands."

A portion of the video also showed what appeared to be an employee using cocaine in a work vehicle on site, while other footage showed what appeared to be marijuana plants being grown on the property.

McCloskey said allegations that the farm grows or sells drugs are false, and described the plants as an invasive perennial species.

The Newton County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Wednesday that it has requested the names of the now-fired workers and the person who shot the footage. The agency said it would work with the county prosecutor's office to determine if any criminal charges will be filed.

"We acknowledge the need for humane treatment of animals and the need to hold individuals that have gone beyond an acceptable farm management practice accountable for their actions," the sheriff’s office said in its statement.

The Associated Press contributed.

aelejalderuiz@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @alexiaer

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