Raw Farm Recalls All Unpasteurized Whole Milk and Cream Products

A Fresno dairy recalled all of its unpasteurized whole milk and cream products following “multiple bird flu detections in the company’s milk and dairy in the past week,” said the California Department of Public Health. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control confirmed the 32nd human case of bird flu in the state.

“Raw Farm milk products have tested positive for bird flu at both retail and dairy storage and bottling sites in the past week,” said the state health department. The voluntary recall covers all containers of Raw Farm milk and cream produced from Nov. 4 to 27. No human cases of bird flu have been linked to the products.

State officials said the new case of bird flu was someone “with dairy cow exposure.” All but one of California’s cases have been dairy or poultry workers with direct exposure to infected animals. The CDC says that 58 people in seven states have contracted bird flu since the disease was first identified in dairy cattle in Texas in late March.

Bird flu has been confirmed in 493 dairy herds in California, including 12 on Tuesday, according to a USDA database. There are about 1,100 herds in the state. Nationwide, the disease has been identified in 707 herds in 15 states.

More than 112 million birds in domestic flocks have died of bird flu or in efforts to prevent the spread of the H5N1 avian flu virus since it appeared in the United States in February 2022. The most recent outbreaks include a broiler chicken farm with 237,100 birds in Fresno County, in central California, on Tuesday.

The bird flu outbreaks are the largest animal disease event in U.S. history.