Voluntary recall issued for a single lot of RAW FARM milk following Bird Flu detection

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The California Department of Public Health is warning consumers not to drink one specific batch of raw milk due to the detection of bird flu.

RAW FARM, the Fresno County-based raw dairy farm, issued the voluntary recall Sunday at the state's request.

The milk was sold in quart and half gallon sizes and an expiration date of November 27th.

The CDPH says the bird flu virus was detected in a retail sample.

On Monday, Action News spoke to the CEO of Raw Farm, Mark McAfee, who shared his perspective.

"This is done by the California Department of Public Health, which is an arm of the FDA, and it's one sample collected by an Independent County Health department in Santa Clara that they believe tested positive for a fragment of H5N1," said McAfee.

Here's the problem, the fragment does not mean you have a living organism that actually will cause a disease."

McAfee says another state agency, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, tests their products twice a week and has yet to find anything concerning.

He says his company agreed to the voluntary recall because they wanted to move beyond it.

But now, he wants to know what was found.

"What we're saying is, we want to know if there was a live piece, and we know they're probably not going to find it because the antibodies in the milk kill it," explained McAfee.

"So, this is a battle of is it food, medicine, or more drugs medicine."

The CDPH says they wanted to issue the recall out of an abundance of caution, adding that 'drinking or accidentally inhaling raw milk containing bird flu virus may lead to illness.'

However, no illnesses have been associated with this lot of raw milk.

While health officials have long been concerned about the potential for bird flu to cross over into raw milk, it hasn't impacted sales.

In fact, McAfee says they have skyrocketed since the beginning of the year when bird flu was first detected.

"There are no products in the stores right now. Everything is sold out. We are doubling up our delivery, and having a hard time keeping ahead of demand," said Mark.

To learn more about RAW FARM USA, click here.

For the latest information from the CDHP on the Bird Flu, click here.

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