City Health Officer Advises Residents to Avoid Raw Milk Products Following Notice of Voluntary Recall

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PRESS RELEASE

Long Beach, CA - Long Beach City Health Officer, Dr. Anissa Davis, has advised residents to avoid consuming voluntarily recalled raw milk due to a detection of H5 bird flu virus in a retail sample. Many retailers in Los Angeles may have sold recalled raw milk that may be contaminated with H5 bird flu virus.

The Raw Farm, LLC issued a voluntary recall, at the request of the state, of the affected cream top, whole raw milk with lot code 20241109 and best by date of 11/27/2024 printed on the packaging. Customers should not consume and immediately return any remaining product to the retail point of purchase. This recall has been issued out of an abundance of caution; to date, no illnesses resulting from this recalled milk have been reported.

Los Angeles Department of Public Health has reported multiple locations where the product has been sold including one location in Long Beach: Vitamin City, 6247 E. Spring St.

Additional retailers may be confirmed as the investigation continues. If there are further impacts locally, the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services will provide updates to the public.

Drinking or accidentally inhaling raw milk containing bird flu virus may lead to illness. In addition, touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands after touching raw milk with bird flu virus may also lead to infection. Symptoms of bird flu infection in humans include eye redness or discharge, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, diarrhea, vomiting, muscle or body aches, headaches, fatigue, trouble breathing and fever.

Anyone who has consumed these specific products and is experiencing these symptoms should immediately contact their health care provider.

About Raw Milk
Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized to kill harmful bacteria. In addition to H5 bird flu, raw milk and products made from it, such as queso fresco, can carry harmful germs such as listeria, salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli, viruses and parasites. These germs can cause diarrhea, stomach cramping and vomiting. Additionally, people could develop severe or even life-threatening diseases, including pregnancy loss; blood infection; hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can result in kidney failure, stroke and even death; Guillain-Barré syndrome, which can cause paralysis and even death. The people at the highest risk for severe illness include people who are pregnant, adults 65 years and older, children younger than 5 years and people with weakened immune systems.

The safest dairy products to consume are those that use pasteurized milk. Pasteurization is the process of heating milk to a high enough temperature for enough time to kill harmful germs and make milk safe to drink. This process does not eliminate milk's nutritional value.

Media inquiries can be directed to Jennifer Rice Epstein, Public Affairs Officer, Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, 562.441.3590 or [email protected].

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