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California state officials have suspended sales of a company’s raw milk to retailers due to ongoing concerns about bird flu.
Raw milk sales by Fresno-based Raw Farm were blocked from distributing raw dairy products beginning Thursday Los Angeles Times reported. However, their products already on the shelves can still be sold, the newspaper said.
The independent has contacted Raw Farm for comment.
On Sunday, the state Department of Health warned residents against drinking the batch of whole raw milk from Fresno County’s Raw Farm LLC and advised consumers to return the product to where it was purchased. Raw Farm LLC has initiated a voluntary recall for affected lot code 20241109.
A Raw Farm batch bottled on November 9 was also recalled Times reported.
The sales suspension comes amid conflicting bird flu test results this month. County public health officials found bird flu in raw milk purchased at stores, while government officials did not find the virus in bulk tests. Times reports. A new round of testing on Raw Farm products returned a positive result on Wednesday and officials suspended sales.
Raw Farm owner Mark McAfee told the Times that his cows are indeed infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus. However, he said he only became aware of it this week because the cows “are so healthy that they are not showing the classic signs or symptoms.”
The sales suspension comes as cases of the dangerous H5N1 bird flu in humans have increased across the country.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there were 55 cases in seven states as of Friday. The majority of cases are in California.
The agency reported the first H5 avian flu virus infection in a child in the US last week. The child’s condition is still unclear.
The rise in bird flu comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, continues to promote the consumption of raw milk. Kennedy has promised that what he described as the “aggressive suppression” of raw milk is about to end and revealed that he drinks raw milk.
Scientists have warned in recent days that the virus may be more widespread than previously thought.
“We are in a virus soup. I mean, there’s a virus all around us right now,” said Dr. Marcela Uhart, an animal veterinarian at the One Health Institute at the University of Cal-Davis, earlier this month. “This virus is circulating left and right among mammals and birds, and as far as we know, some of them are showing no signs of disease.”
The virus is spread to humans via various routes. Farmworkers can inhale infected particles, pick up germs from sick animals and other surfaces, and then touch their faces and eyes. Consumers can also get it by drinking raw cow’s milk.
Those who have had no contact with infected poultry or other sources of contamination are likely to be at very low risk of infection. No infections have been reported from eating properly cooked poultry or poultry products or from properly handling poultry meat.
With reporting by Julia Musto
