California state officials have halted the company’s sale of raw milk to retailers due to ongoing concerns about bird flu.
Raw milk sales Raw Farm, located in Fresno, has been barred from distributing its raw milk products since Thursday, Los Angeles Times report. However, their products that are already on the shelves can still be sold, according to the newspaper.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture is now investigating.
“All activities of the Raw Farm are currently in isolation, from the herd of cows to the bottles, which means that the distribution of raw milk has been stopped,” said the spokesperson of the department in a statement. The Independent.
The Independent has contacted Raw Farm for comment.
On Sunday, the state Department of Public Health warned residents against drinking large quantities of cream top, 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 issued a voluntary recall for affected area code 20241109.
A batch of Raw Farm bottled on November 9 was also recalled, i Times report.
The suspension of sales comes amid controversial bird flu test results this month. Public health officials in the state found bird flu in raw milk purchased from stores, while state officials did not detect the virus in mass testing, Times reports. New tests on Raw Farm products emerged Wednesday, and officials halted sales.
Raw Farm owner Mark McAfee told the newspaper Times that his cattle are indeed infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus. He said he didn’t know until this week, because the cows are “so healthy that they don’t show any old signs or symptoms.”
Fresno County-based Raw Farm issued a voluntary recall of a large amount of raw milk this month (California Department of Public Health)
The sales freeze comes as human cases of the deadly H5N1 bird flu surge across the country.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there have been 55 cases in seven states as of Friday. Most of the cases are in California.
The agency reported the first avian influenza H5 virus infection in a child in the US last week. The child’s condition is 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 recommend the use of raw milk. Kennedy has pledged to end what he described as a “brutal crackdown” on raw milk and revealed that he drinks raw milk.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a proponent of raw milk (AFP via Getty Images)
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 is a virus everywhere around us right now,” said Dr. Marcela Uhart, a veterinarian at the University of Cal-Davis’ One Health Institute, earlier this month. “This virus is circulating left and right in mammals and birds, as far as we can see, some of them are showing no signs of illness.”
The virus is spread to people in many ways. Farm workers can inhale infected particles, pick up germs from sick animals and other surfaces and touch their face and eyes. Consumers can also get it by drinking raw cow’s milk.
Those who have never had contact with infected chickens or other sources of infection are likely to have a very low risk of infection. No illnesses have been reported from eating properly cooked chicken or chicken products or handling chicken properly.
With reporting from Julia Musto
