Bird flu detected in second lot of raw milk sold in California, health officials say

California health officials have issued a warning against drinking a second lot of raw milk due to the bird flu virus.

The bird flu virus was detected in a second retail sample of cream top, whole raw milk from Raw Farm LLC, the California Department of Public Health said in a news release Wednesday.

At the state’s request, Raw Farm, based in Fresno County, issued a voluntary recall of the affected lot: code 20241119, with a “best by” date of Dec. 7.

Health officials noted that no cases of illness associated with the product have been detected.

“Consumers should immediately return any remaining product to the store where it was purchased. Pasteurized milk remains safe to drink,” the release said.

It comes after the health department said Sunday it detected bird flu in a lot with a “best by” date of Nov. 27. Raw Farm issued a voluntary recall for that lot earlier this week.

This second instance of bird flu was detected in testing by the Santa Clara County Public Health Laboratory, which tests raw milk products from retail stores in the county “as a second line of consumer protection.”

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The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) visited Raw Farm’s milk processing facility Wednesday to collect “additional samples of stored bulk tank milk and bottled products.”

Raw milk is not pasteurized, a process that includes heating to a high temperature to kill harmful germs and viruses. Public health officials say that consuming raw milk can lead to serious health risks, especially for certain vulnerable populations, 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,” the release said.

Since October, there have been 29 human cases of bird flu in the state, and 28 of those people had direct contact with infected dairy cows.

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Thus far, there’s been no person-to-person spread of bird flu detected in the state or in the U.S. All of those cases reported mild symptoms, primarily eye infections, and none required hospitalization. The state is regularly testing raw milk from dairies as part of the its bird flu response.

Bird flu can be contracted when drinking raw milk from an infected cow, when raw milk from an infected cow is splashed into the eyes, nose or mouth, or by touching the eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands after contact with raw milk from an infected cow.

Raw Farm said in a statement shared Thursday that while bird flu has affected hundreds of herds in California, “all of the cows at Raw Farm are healthy and do not show signs or symptoms of HPAI or Bird Flu.”

“However, it is possible that some cows in one of our herds may be an asymptomatic shedder. None of our cows are symptomatic and showing any signs of illness,” the statement said. “Every day, Raw Farm tests all of our milk in our pathogen lab to assure our products are pathogen free.”

Raw Farm said it’s not “allowed to access or perform” bird flu testing for it’s raw milk, and the company instead relies on partners at the CDFA and the state vet’s office.

“We are working tirelessly with all of our scientific relationships and technology to work through this process and return delicious nutritious immune system building raw dairy products to a store near you,” the statement said.

In a separate statement, Raw Farm said that the CDFA “has placed a quarantine on our herd, and all milk must be sold for pasteurization until the quarantine is lifted.”

According to the CDFA, bird flu has been detected in 436 dairies in the state. Those dairies are under quarantine, which will be released as the farms fully recover and then are placed on a surveillance list for weekly testing.

The CDFA said the nationwide outbreak of H5N1 bird flu began in poultry in 2022 and was first detected in U.S. dairy cattle in March 2024. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, cases of infected livestock herds have been reported in California and Utah.