Raw milk farm closed after officials found bird flu in products

A California producer of unpasteurized raw milk, the milk of choice for Health and Human Services Secretary candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was forced by the state to suspend operations after officials discovered the bird flu virus in its products.

All operations at Raw Farm — a Fresno-based producer of raw milk, cheese, pet food and other dairy products — are “currently under quarantine, from herd to bottled product, meaning all distribution of raw milk products is suspended,” Steve Lyle , director of public affairs for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said in a statement Monday.

The bird flu virus, or H5N1, was found in samples collected late last month, Lyle said.

“CDFA dairy inspectors collected milk samples from bottled products and from milk storage facilities at the Raw Farm bottling plant on Wednesday, November 27, and laboratory test results released on November 28 indicated the presence of the avian influenza virus,” he continued. “All milk tested by CDFA remained at the Raw Farm facility and was not released to consumers.”

Lyle said state, county and federal officials continue to investigate Raw Farm’s operations.

The suspension comes shortly after Raw Farm voluntarily recalled two of its raw milk batches after the Santa Clara County Health Department found avian influenza in them.

Despite these ongoing problems, Raw Farm told CNN on Monday that Kennedy, who was picked by President-elect Donald Trump to lead HHS, has asked the company’s CEO, Mark McAfee, to apply for the position of “FDA advisor for the development of raw milk guidelines and standards”. ”

Raw milk is milk that has not undergone the pasteurization process, which simply heats the milk to a minimum temperature for a specific period of time to kill harmful bacteria and other pathogens that could sicken consumers with bird flu, E. coli, etc. Listeria and other serious illnesses.

According to the World Health Organization, while cases of bird flu in humans are rare, thanks in part to pasteurization, the viral infection can be fatal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly discourages people from consuming raw milk because it is harmful to health.

Kennedy is a proponent of raw milk and said in October that the Food and Drug Administration’s regulations on unpasteurized milk amounted to “aggressive oppression” and a “war on public health.” The FDA’s only major raw milk regulation subject to HHS is an interstate sales ban.

In 2022, Kennedy said that he only consumed raw milk last year.

The FDA has rejected claims about the benefits of raw milk touted by its advocates, saying there is no evidence that the bacteria in raw milk have a positive effect on gastrointestinal health and there is no evidence that they cause asthma or treat allergies or cure lactose intolerance or is more effective than pasteurized milk in warding off osteoporosis.

The sale of raw milk is banned in several countries, including Canada and Australia, as well as in several U.S. states, including much of the South and several red states.

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