Virus spread continues at local dairy and poultry farms
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) as of November 25, is warning the public to avoid consuming one batch of cream top, whole raw milk produced and packaged by Raw Farm, LLC of Fresno County due to a detection of bird flu virus in a retail sample. At the state’s request, the company has issued a voluntary recall of the affected raw milk with lot code 20241109 and Best By date of 11/27/2024 printed on the packaging.
No illnesses associated with this lot of raw milk have been reported.
Out of an abundance of caution, and due to the ongoing spread of bird flu in dairy cows, poultry, and sporadic human cases, consumers should not consume any of the affected raw milk. Customers should immediately return any remaining product to the retail point of purchase. CDPH is also notifying retailers to remove the affected raw milk from their shelves.
The County of Santa Clara Public Health Laboratory has been testing raw milk products from retail stores as a second line of consumer protection. The county identified bird flu in one sample of raw milk purchased at a retail outlet. The testing was then verified by the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System.
Virus spreading here
Meanwhile, bird flu continues to spread in Central Valley dairy and poultry farms.
The current strain of avian flu has been spreading in Central California dairies over the past two months and as of November 22 the number of affected dairies jumped by 66 in California infected with bird flu putting the number of Valley dairy farms impacted at over 400.
On the poultry front, cases in the Central Valley are increasing as well with the latest discovery reported by USDA November 22 in Merced County where an egg ranch with more than 500,000 birds had to be destroyed to stop the spread. New finds were also discovered in Tulare County on that date with a detection at a farm with almost 100,000 ducks. There were other finds announced the same day in Madera County with no number listed. New finds were also announced in Idaho, Arizona,Oklahoma and Utah as of Nov 21.
Consumers are noticing the rapid increase in egg prices at their local grocery store due to around 3.6 million hens in California being lost in the past week. That is about one third of the state’s flock of egg laying hens.
Risks Associated with Raw Milk
Public health experts have long warned consumers against consuming raw milk or raw milk products due to elevated risks of foodborne illness. Outbreaks due to Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, toxin producing E. coli, Brucella, Campylobacter, and many other bacteria have all been reported related to consuming raw dairy products. Raw milk products are not pasteurized, a heating process that kills bacteria and viruses such as bird flu.