Bird flu detected in batch of California raw milk, company issues recall, health officials say

The virus, also known as Avian influenza A (H5N1), was detected in one batch of cream top, whole raw milk produced by Raw Farm in Fresno County, the California Department of Public Health said on Sunday. The company issued a voluntary recall of the milk product, which has a best buy date of Nov. 27. 

No one has been reported sick, the agency said.

The Santa Clara Public Health Laboratory has been testing raw milk products from various retail stores as a "second line of consumer protection," the CDPH said. 

Raw milk is not pasteurized, a process that includes heating to a high temperature to kill harmful germs. Public health officials warn against drinking the product, which can result in illness and serious health risks, especially for certain vulnerable populations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Touching the eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands after touching raw milk with bird flu virus may also lead to infection, officials said. Symptoms include eye redness or discharge, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, diarrhea, vomiting, muscle or body aches, headaches, fatigue, trouble breathing and fever. 

Mark McAfee, the owner of Raw Farm, told the Los Angeles Times that the tests he and the California Department of Food and Agriculture have conducted on his milk, since he started voluntary testing in late April, have all been negative.

"In the last two days CDFA has collected extra dairy samples from our farm bulk tanks and even retail samples and they are all officially Negative for HPAI," he wrote in a statement. HPAI is the acronym for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Raw Farm. In a video posted on its YouTube channel, a farm spokesperson noted that the recall was voluntary and that no one has been reported ill. 

"We decided to just do the right thing and not have any cause or concern and just recall it," the spokesperson said.

"FDA's war on public health is about to end. This includes its aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapies, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, clean foods, sunshine, exercise, nutraceuticals and anything else that advances human health and can't be patented by Pharma," he wrote on X. "If you work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you: 1. Preserve your records, and 2. Pack your bags."

Fox News Digital's Angelica Stabile contributed to this report.