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The California Department of Public Health issues a second recall in response to bird flu in Raw Farm dairy’s raw milk product.
As the threat of bird flu in raw milk continues to grow, we are likely to see more recalls like this across affected states. Mounting concern about bird flu infecting dairy cow farms has put a stress on the industry as waves of this mutation leading to contaminated milk cross the country.
How does bird flu get into cow’s milk and what does it mean to you?
Here’s what we know about bird flu in Raw Farm dairy raw milk led to a recall and how it could impact you.
On November 24, 2024, The California Department of Public Health announced a recall for bird flu in Raw Farm dairy that included one lot. This voluntary recall included a single lot of cream top, whole raw milk with lot code 20241109 with a Best By date of 11/27/2024. This information was printed on the packaging.
This product is subject to recall because bird flu was detected in a retail sample.
Testing performed on
Days later, a second retail sample tested positive for bird flu. This recall includes lot code number 20241119 with a Best By date of 12/07/2024.
This second recall has prompted some changes in an already vigorous California Department of Public Health screening process.
Raw Farm, LLC Recalls:
Lot: 20241109 Best By: 11/27/24
Lot: 20241119 Best By: 12/07/24
In addition to normal dairy testing activities, The County of Santa Clara Public Health Laboratories has increased testing activities for raw milk. As a “second line of consumer” protection, in addition to bulk tank testing of raw milk (initially conducted weekly after bird flu was found in California dairy herds), retail store products are now being tested.
The results of these tests have identified bird flu in at least two retail products Despite testing activities of bulk tank milk finding no bird flu. Consequently, The County of Santa Clara Public Health Department will now begin testing for bird flu twice a week on these bulk milk tanks.
Existing threats in raw milk have always loomed overhead. Outbreaks due to Brucella, Campylobacter, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, toxin-producing E. coli, and other foodborne germs have been related to raw dairy products.
Now public health officials warn of this new threat.
Bird flu!
Raw milk, unlike pasteurized milk, does not undergo a heat processing step proven to kill pathogens. Minimal processing occurs between removing milk from the cow, to placing it in containers for the end customer.
This missing heat processing step is what makes raw milk more susceptible to bird flu.
Pasteurization is a widely used process in the dairy industry. The technology, dating back to 1864, to the namesake inventor, Louis Pasteur identified a way to treat beverages to kill harmful microorganisms that are responsible for diseases such as listeriosis, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, diphtheria, Q fever, and brucellosis.
The original purpose, however, was not for milk. Instead, it was used to help increase the shelf life of things like beer, wine, and other beverages. Though now it is most commonly associated with milk.
As a result of increasing popularity of this technology, the number of milk-related outbreaks has dropped from the 25% of annual outbreaks prior to mainstream pasteurization to only 1% now. Now, most of that 1%, does not include pasteurized milk. Data shows that 70% of those milk-related outbreaks were linked to raw milk.
Pasteurization involves heating the liquid to a minimum temperature of 145 °F for at least 30 minutes. Other methods have developed to achieve this same result faster.
A modern procedure to do this is known as continuous flow pasteurization and involves heating at a High-Temperature, Short Time (HSTS) parameter. This method increases the temperature to 161 °F but shortens the required time to just 15 seconds.
This heating process kills bird flu and other microorganisms that lead to spoilage and illness.
According to the California Department of Public Health, the state of California has reported 29 confirmed cases of bird flu. Of those 29, 28 had direct contact with infected dairy cows. All infected people had mild symptoms and none required hospitalization.
So far there has been no recorded person-too-person spread of bird flu in the United States.
The flu virus easily mutates. This is why it has been able to move from bird, to cow, and now to humans. For this reason, the severity of symptoms and transmissibility could potentially change. This is why public health officials have made a move to put preventative measures and monitoring activities in place.
While consumption is one of the more logical ways people can get bird flu from raw milk, there are other routes of infection. People in contact with infected cows or raw milk from infected cows should be aware of these risk factors.
You can become sick by touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands after contact with raw milk from an infected cow, or other contaminated items or surfaces. If raw milk from an infected cow is splashed into the eyes, nose, or mouth, you can also become infected. Additionally, drinking raw milk from a cow infected with the bird flu virus can also infect you with bird flu.
Bird flu in humans often presents mild symptoms similar to typical human flu.
Common symptoms include:
If you have consumed these lots of raw milk (or any raw milk) and begin experiencing these symptoms, contact your health care provider or local health department right away!
If you have become sick from bird flu in Raw Farm dairy products and wish to make a legal claim, The Lange Law Firm, PLLC has a food poisoning lawyer that can help.
Reach out by phone at (833) 330-3663 or send an email here for a free, no obligation consultation to go over the details of your situation.
By: Heather Van Tassell (contributing writer, non-lawyer)
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