Health officials are stepping up testing of raw milk
Another batch of raw milk has tested positive for bird flu following an outbreak in California of the virus among dairy cows,the California Department of Public Health said Wednesday.
It marks the second recentwarning and recall about bird flu in raw milk afterarecall on Sundayfrom the same producer: Raw Farm of Fresno, CA.
Raw Farm has now issued a second recallfor its cream top, whole raw milk sold in 32-ounceplastic jugs, the CDPH said.
Raw Farm didn't immediately respond to a ConsumerAffairs request for comment sent through its website.
What are the product details of the recalled raw milk?
- Product name:Raw Farm
- Lot number:20241119
- Best by date:12/07/2024
Where was the raw milk with bird flu sold?
TheCounty of Santa Clara Public Health Laboratory first detected the bird flu in the milk at an unnamed retail location, the CDPH said Sunday.
On Wednesday, the CDPH said further testing by Santa Clara County inspectors found bird flu in a second sample ofRaw Farm'sraw milk bought at a retail location.
The CDPH didn't say which retail locations sold the raw milk, but is tellingretailers to remove all the raw milk from their shelves.
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.
Still, the CDPH said "bird flu viruses can change and gain the ability to spread more easily between people."
How was the bird flufound?
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 tanksin response to a recent outbreak of bird fluin dairy herds, the CPDH said.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture has followed up with Raw Farm for immediate sampling and additional testing after these last two detections of bird flu, the CDPH said.
How manyany illnesses from the raw milk?
The CDPH said there have been no reported illnesses from the raw milk as of Nov. 24, 2024.
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2024-11-29 21:46:07
