Bird flu in raw milk prompts recall and warning in California

A batch of raw milk has been recalled for bird flu after an outbreak in California among dairy cows. Health officials are stepping up testing. Image (c) ConsumerAffairs

The bird flu was first detected by officials in Santa Clara County

Raw Farm has recalled a single batch of cream top, whole raw milk after inspectors detected bird flu, following an outbreak of the virus among dairy cows, the California Department of Public Health said Sunday.

What are the product details of the recalled raw milk?

  • Product name: Raw Farm
  • Lot number: 20241109
  • Best by date: 11/27/2024

Where was the raw milk with bird flu sold?

Raw Farm's milk sold in cities including Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and Oakland, the CDPH said.

The CDPH provides lists of where recalled products were sold on its website.

The County of Santa Clara Public Health Laboratory first detected the bird flu in the milk at a retail location, the CDPH said Nov. 25.

On Nov. 26, the CDPH said further testing by Santa Clara County inspectors found bird flu in a second sample of Raw Farm's raw milk at a retail location.

What to do

California officials said the public should avoid drinking raw milk since it has the danger of being contaminated with bird flu and other harmful germs.

Pasteurization, or the heating of milk, kills harmful contamination that can be in raw milk, the CDPH said.

What are the health risks of bird flu?

Since early October, there have been 29 cases of the bird flu in California, but 28 were among people with direct contact with dairy cows, the CDPH said.

To date, no person-to-person spread of bird flu has been detected in California or the U.S., the CPDH said.

All cases have reported mild symptoms, such as eye infections, and nobody has been hospitalized, the CPDH said.

How was the bird flu found?

Health officials detected bird flu in the raw milk after testing.

Californian health officials have stepped up their testing of raw milk to weekly testing of bulk tanks in response to a recent outbreak of bird flu in dairy herds, the CPDH said.

The CDPH said they will now test Raw Farm's raw milk twice a week.

How many any illnesses from the raw milk?

The CDPH said there have been no reported illnesses from the raw milk as of Nov. 24, 2024.