Lab tests have confirmed the presence of Campylobacter bacteria in raw cream from Claravale Farm in California, according to state officials who have quarantined and issued a statewide recall notice for all the raw milk, raw nonfat milk and
Lab tests have confirmed the presence of Campylobacter bacteria in raw cream from Claravale Farm in California, according to state officials who have quarantined and issued a statewide recall notice for all the raw milk, raw nonfat milk and raw cream produced by the San Benito County dairy.
“Consumers are strongly urged to discard any raw milk products in their refrigerators with code dates of March 27 and earlier, and retailers are to to pull those products immediately from their shelves,” said California State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Whiteford.
In the announcement Friday, California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) officials said the state Department of Public Health is continuing to conduct an epidemiological investigation into a cluster of Campylobacter infections, although no illnesses have yet been conclusively linked to Claravale raw milk.
Food Safety News reported earlier this week that authorities are investigating at least nine cases of campylobacteriosis associated with consumption of unpasteurized milk products from Claravale Farm. Many of those sickened are children.
Claravale Farm voluntarily stopped distributing its raw cow and goat milk products this week after the CDFA made a preliminary finding of Campylobacter in the dairy’s raw cream.
In February, Claravale also temporarily halted milk sales as CDPH began investigating the possibility that some of its products were contaminated with Campylobacter.
Claravale Farm is one of two state-licensed commercial raw milk dairies in California. Organic Pastures, the state’s other major raw milk dairy, is implicated in a 2011 outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 that sickened five children and a 2006 E. coli outbreak in which six children were infected.
All milk is susceptible to becoming contaminated, especially from manure, which can carry a wide variety of germs, including E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Listeria and Campylobacter. Heat treating milk — pasteurization — provides a significant measure of safety from these harmful bacteria.
Raw milk products account for about one percent of dairy production in the U.S., but raw milk dairies are linked to 60 percent of milk-related disease outbreaks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that raw milk and raw milk products are 150 times more likely than their pasteurized counterparts to sicken those who consume them.
States that permit raw milk sales have more than twice as many illness outbreaks as states where raw milk sales are not legally allowed, the CDC said.
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