California health officials discovered the virus in a batch of unpasteurized whole milk last week
Public health officials have discovered bird flu in a batch of raw milk being sold in California stores.
The Santa Clara County Public Health Department discovered the contamination in a batch of “cream top, whole raw milk” produced by Raw Farms LLC. The California Department of Public Health warned consumers not to drink the raw milk and asked retailers to remove the affected batch from their shelves. Raw Farms issued a voluntary recall at the state’s request.
The CDPH noted that, so far, no illnesses associated with this batch have been reported. But the agency warned: “Out of an abundance of caution, and due to the ongoing spread of bird flu in dairy cows, poultry, and sporadic human cases, consumers should not consume any of the affected raw milk. Customers should immediately return any remaining product to the retail point of purchase.”
Bird flu was first detected in U.S. dairy cows back in March, which prompted a whole bunch of federal health and safety agencies — the CDC, FDA, and National Institutes of Health — to issue new warnings against consuming unpasteurized dairy products. Of course, this somehow managed to just further inflame the growing culture war in the dairy aisle, as raw milk has steadily become a bizarro totem for a coalition that spans the conservative to the crunchy.
One of the most prominent raw milk evangelists is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s nominee to head up the Department of Health and Human Services. It’s also been promoted by tradwives and homesteaders on social media, and even Gwyneth Paltrow, who says she puts raw cream in her coffee. Over the summer, Charlie Kirk’s right-wing youth organization, Turning Point USA, started selling “Got Raw Milk?” T-shirts (which first featured an illustration of a bull, not a cow).
There is, of course, no solid evidence that drinking unpasteurized milk has any health benefits. There are, however, a ton of risks since the whole point of pasteurization is to kill harmful bacteria and viruses.