California officials have suspended a company that sells raw milk to consumers amid growing concerns about bird flu.
The sale of raw milk by Raw Farm, located in Fresno, has closed to distribute its dairy products since Thursday, Los Angeles Times reported. However, their products already on the shelves can be sold, according to the newspaper.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture is investigating.
“The entire Raw Farm process is currently closed, from the cow to the bottling product, which means that the distribution of the dairy product has been suspended,” a spokesperson for the department said in a statement. The Independent.
The Independent He contacted Raw Farm for comment.
On Sunday, the State Department of Agriculture warned residents not to drink a batch of cream top, whole milk from Fresno County’s Raw Farm LLC and advised consumers to return the product to where it was purchased. Raw Farm LLC issued a voluntary recall of the affected product code 20241109.
The batch of Raw Farm that was closed on November 9 was recalled, too The time reported.
The suspension of sales comes amid controversy over the bird flu response this month. County health officials were finding bird flu in store-bought milk, while state officials were not finding the virus in most tests, The time reports. A new test for Raw Farm products came back positive on Wednesday, and officials halted sales.
Raw Farm owner Mark McAfee told The time that in fact his cattle were infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus. He said he didn’t know that until this week, though, because the cows are “so healthy they don’t show any of the old symptoms.”
The Fresno County-based Raw Farm issued a voluntary recall of the raw milk batch this month (California Department of Public Health)
The suspension of sales comes as human cases of the dangerous h5N1 bird strain have risen across the country.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there are 55 cases in seven states as of Friday. Most of the cases are in California.
The agency reported the first case of avian influenza H5 in a child in the US last week. The child’s condition is still unclear.
The uptick in bird flu comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services, continues to promote the consumption of boiled milk. Kennedy promised that what he described as the “brutal suppression” of boiled milk is about to end and revealed that he drinks boiled milk.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. raw milk advocate (AFP via Getty Images)
Scientists have warned in recent days that the virus may spread more than previously believed.
“We are in a virus soup. I mean, there are viruses all around us right now,” Dr. Marcela Uhart, a wildlife biologist with the University of Cal-Davis’ One Health Institute, said earlier this month. “These viruses are going around left and right in mammals and birds, as far as we can tell, some of them are not showing up. disease.”
Viruses spread to people in many ways. Farm workers can inhale infected particles, pick up the virus from sick animals and other surfaces and then touch their face and eyes. Consumers can also get it by drinking raw cow’s milk.
Those who have never been exposed to contaminated chicken or other contaminants are likely to be at a lower risk of infection. No infection has been reported from eating undercooked chicken or chicken products or handling chicken meat.
With a quote from Julia Musto