The H5N1 avian flu has been detected in a lot of whole raw milk sold across California. The department of public health is now advising those who have purchased the affected milk to discard it.
The whole raw milk from Raw Farm, LLC, which had a best before date of Nov. 27, was tested and confirmed to contain the virus. The company has since issued a recall for the entire batch.
Fortunately, not one has contracted the bird flu from consuming this batch of milk, according to the state’s department of public health. Out of an abundance of caution, however, individuals should not drink any of the affected cream top, whole raw milk.
Unlike most milk that you can find in supermarkets, raw milk has not undergone pasteurization, meaning it has not been heated to a high temperature to kill viruses and germs.
Experts say that drinking raw milk can lead to various health risks, particularly for seniors and other vulnerable groups. Rather than raw milk, people are encouraged to consume milk and other dairy products that have been pasturized.
In addition to the H5N1 bird flu virus, raw dairy products can also contain harmful bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Brucella, all of which can lead to severe disease.
Interestingly enough, the new head of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who was recently selected by Donald Trump, has a habit of drinking raw milk. Last month on X (formerly Twitter), he criticized the Food and Drug Administration for ‘aggressively suppressing’ it.
According to the news release, the bird flu virus was detected in the raw milk during testing by the Public Health Laboratory of Santa Clara, which was done as a second line of protection for consumers. The results were then verified by the Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System in California.
Once the milk was confirmed to contain the virus, the Department of Food and Agriculture conducted further testing at the farm’s two locations, which showed negative results for the bird flu. They will continue to perform testing at raw milk farms twice a week.
While no one has gotten ill from the batch of affected milk, the California Department of Public Health said there is a small chance of illness from inhaling or consuming raw milk with the bird flu virus. Touching your face after coming into contact with affected raw milk can also result in infection.
Since October, the state has reported nearly 30 cases of bird flu in humans, most of which came from cattle. Of those who were infected, 28 came into direct contact with infected animals. Fortunately, none of the individuals had to be hospitalized and only experienced eye symptoms.
