California Suspends Distribution of Raw Milk Products

By Leah Douglas and Lisa Baertlein

(Reuters) – California has paused the distribution of raw milk products from Raw Farm after two samples tested positive for bird flu, according to state officials on Tuesday.

Bird flu has spread among U.S. dairy cattle since March, infecting nearly 500 herds in California, as reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Public health officials have warned against the consumption of raw milk due to potential pathogens, including bird flu.

Raw Farm is the largest U.S. raw milk dairy, with 1,700 cows producing 70,000 gallons (265,000 liters) of milk weekly, according to its owner, Mark McAfee. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that pasteurized milk products are safe, as pasteurization eliminates the bird flu virus.

Thirty states permit the sale of raw milk. No human infections from raw milk consumption have been reported, but cats have died after ingesting it, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Raw milk accounts for less than 1% of U.S. milk sales. This product, along with psychedelics and sunshine, has been mentioned by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump's pick to run Health and Human Services, as being suppressed by the FDA.

The California Department of Public Health issued recalls for two batches of Raw Farm products last week after retail tests in Santa Clara County. The California Department of Food and Agriculture announced that the farm is under quarantine and distribution of its raw milk is suspended. Dairy inspectors sampled the milk on November 27, which tested positive for bird flu the following day, according to spokesperson Steve Lyle.

McAfee said he is being vetted by Kennedy’s team for a potential FDA position and noted that Kennedy consumes his products. Kennedy must be confirmed by the Senate after Trump takes office in January. A spokesperson for Kennedy did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

McAfee anticipates that the distribution pause will last one to two months and is redirecting his milk to bulk supply for pasteurization and sale under different labels.

Santa Clara County is the only county in California testing retail milk products for bird flu, according to the state health department. The county’s public health department has tested a retail container of raw milk from every dairy selling raw milk each week since June.

In October, the USDA announced plans for a national bulk milk testing effort to help contain the spread of the virus among dairy cattle.

Nearly 60 people in the U.S. have contracted bird flu this year, including 31 in California—most of whom were farmworkers exposed to sick poultry or cattle, according to the CDC.