Warning issued for contaminated raw milk sold in L.A. County stores
Public health officials announced Tuesday that raw milk contaminated with the bird flu virus may have been sold at stores in Los Angeles County.
On Sunday, officials said they had confirmed that a batch of milk bottled on Nov. 9 by the Fresno-based Raw Farm's Raw Milk showed evidence of bird flu contamination.
Subsequent samples collected by the raw milk farm's owner, Mark McAfee, as well as the California Department of Food and Agriculture, have all been negative for the virus.
In a statement from Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, officials warned residents to avoid consuming Raw Farm milk with a lot code of 20241109 and best by date of 11/27/2024.
Read more: Bird flu virus detected in California raw milk
McAfee said products included "cream top" whole milk sold in half- and quarter-gallon sizes.
Retailers that may have sold the product include:
Back Door Bakery, 8349 Foothill Blvd., Sunland, 91040
Eataly, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, 90067
Erewhon Market, 475 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena, 91101
Erewhon Market, 26767 Agoura Rd., Calabasas, 91302
Erewhon Market, 4121 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, 90029
Erewhon Market, 7660 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, 90036
Lazy Acres, 1841 N. Western Ave., Los Angeles, 90027
Vitamin City LB, 6247 E. Spring St., Long Beach, 90808
Vitamin City, 642 W. Arrow Hwy., San Dimas, 91773
The Whole Wheatery, 44264 10th St. W, Lancaster, 93534
There has been no known or reported illness associated with the contamination.
In an interview, McAfee said the milk would no longer be on shelves at stores.
“We take back anything that doesn’t sell after seven days," he said.
Read more: Despite warnings from bird flu experts, it's business as usual in California dairy country
Twenty-nine people in California have been infected with H5N1 bird flu this year. All but one of those cases involved dairy workers. Last week, state health officials said that a child in Alameda County had been infected — they have been unable to determine the source.
Most recent cases of H5N1 have been mild — with people exhibiting conjunctivitis or mild respiratory symptoms. However, historically, the disease has been associated with severe symptoms and death.
In British Columbia, a teenager is in critical condition with the disease. It is still unclear where the teen picked it up, although public health officials say genetic sequences shows it's closely related to a virus found in wild geese in British Columbia's Fraser Valley.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
