State health officials have issued another warning to Californians not to consume raw milk after the bird flu virus was detected in a second retail sample from Raw Farm LLC.
The Fresno-based company has issued a voluntary recall of the affected milk lot code number 20241119, which has a Best By date of 12/07/2024 printed on the packaging.
The second recall comes after the same company issued a voluntary recall of all quart and half gallon-sized milk products produced on Nov. 9 earlier this week. Those impacted products expire on Nov. 27. The batch’s lot ID is 20241109.
The state is currently investigating a link between bird flu detections in retail raw milk and the spread of bird flu in dairy cows, poultry and “sporadic” human cases, according to the California Department of Public Health.
No illnesses associated with these lots of cream top raw milk have been reported, the department said.
Symptoms of bird flu in humans include:
- Eye redness or discharge
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Muscle or body aches
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Trouble breathing
- Fever
The California Department of Food and Agriculture was onsite at Raw Farm’s milk processing facility on Wednesday, collecting additional samples of stored bulk tank milk and bottled products. The results from that additional testing are pending.
When a cow is infected with bird flu, high amounts of the virus can be detected in its milk. However, the Food and Drug Administration says that pasteurization kills or inactivates the virus.
Raw milk, on the other hand, is not pasteurized. “Raw milk can be contaminated with harmful germs that can make you very sick,” the CDC says on its website. Consumers who drink or “accidentally” inhale raw milk containing the avian influenza virus may be at risk for illness, according to the CDPH.
