Because of the avian flu virus, California health officials have warned against consuming a second round of raw milk.
The California Department of Public Health announced in a press release on Wednesday that it had found the avian flu virus in a second retail sample of cream top, whole raw milk from Raw Farm LLC.
Raw Farm, a Fresno County-based company, voluntarily recalled the impacted lot (code 20241119) with a “best by” date of December 7 at the state’s request.
No incidences of disease linked to the product have been found, according to health officials. “Any leftover merchandise should be returned right away by customers to the original retailer. According to the announcement, pasteurized milk is still safe to consume.
It follows the health department’s announcement on Sunday that it had found avian flu in a number of people with a “best by” date of November 27. Earlier this week, Raw Farm announced a voluntary recall for that lot.
The Santa Clara County Public Health Laboratory, which examines raw milk products from retail establishments in the county “as a second line of consumer protection,” found this second case of avian flu during testing.
Raw Farm’s milk processing plant was visited by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) on Wednesday in order to gather “additional samples of stored bulk tank milk and bottled products.”
Raw milk is not pasteurized, which involves heating it to a high temperature in order to destroy dangerous bacteria and viruses. Due to the increased risk of foodborne disease, public health experts warn that eating raw milk can pose major health hazards, particularly for some vulnerable groups.
“Eating raw dairy products has been linked to outbreaks of Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, toxin-producing E. coli, Brucella, Campylobacter, and many other bacteria,” the statement stated.
The state has had 29 human cases of bird flu since October, and 28 of those cases included direct contact with dairy cows that were afflicted.
As of right now, neither the state nor the United States have reported any instances of avian flu spreading from person to person. None of the instances need hospitalization, and all had moderate symptoms, mostly eye infections. As part of its reaction to avian flu, the state tests raw milk from dairy farms on a regular basis.
When raw milk from an infected cow is consumed, splashed into the eyes, nose, or mouth, or touched with unwashed hands after coming into contact with raw milk from an infected cow, bird flu can be caught.
While hundreds of herds in California have been impacted by bird flu, Raw Farm declared in a statement released Thursday that “all of the cows at Raw Farm are healthy and do not show signs or symptoms of HPAI or Bird Flu.”
On the other hand, some of the cows in one of our herds could be asymptomatic shedders. According to the statement, none of our cows are exhibiting any symptoms or indications of disease. “To ensure that our products are free of pathogens, Raw Farm tests all of our milk in our pathogen lab every day.”
According to Raw Farm, the firm is dependent on partners at the CDFA and the state veterinarian’s office and is not “permitted to access or perform” avian flu tests for its raw milk.
The statement stated, “We are working relentlessly with all of our scientific contacts and technology to work through this process and restore delicious healthy raw dairy products that enhance the immune system to a shop near you.””
The CDFA “has placed a quarantine on our herd, and all milk must be sold for pasteurization until the quarantine is lifted,” Raw Farm added in a second statement.
In the state, 436 dairies have been found to have avian flu, according to the CDFA. After the farms have recovered completely, those dairies will be removed from quarantine and added to a monitoring list for weekly testing.
The H5N1 bird flu outbreak, according to the CDFA, started in poultry in 2022 and was initially discovered in dairy cattle in the United States in March 2024. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that infected cattle herds have been found in Utah and California.
