Another day, another recall to be aware of. If you live in California, there’s a statewide milk recall you should be aware of. Specifically, Dr. Anette Jones, the state’s head veterinarian, recently issued a recall for raw goat milk due to a contamination issue with a bacteria known as campylobacter.
Campylobacter, per the CDC, is a bacteria responsible for nearly 1.5 million illnesses every year. Moreover, these infections typically occur after a person eats raw or undercooked poultry.
What milk is involved in the recall
The recall involves unpasteurized and raw goat milk from Valley MIlk Simply Bottled of Stanislaus County. The recalled item comes in half-gallon plastic jugs and is marked “Valley Milk Simply Bottled Raw Goat Milk.”
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) adds that impacted bottles have a code date of August 28, 2021. The presence of campylobacter bacteria was found during an ordinary sample collection and analysis at a production facility.
What can happen if you drink the recalled milk
The campylobacter bacteria can cause campylobacteriosis. For those unfamiliar, the illness can cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever.
The good news is that people with a campylobacter infection typically recover on their own. In more severe cases, however, patients may require an antibiotic.
The CDFA adds:
Most people with camplylobacteriosis recover completely. Illness usually occurs 2 to 5 days after exposure to campylobacter and lasts about a week. The illness is usually mild and some people with campylobacteriosis have no symptoms at all. However, in some persons with compromised immune systems, it can cause a serious, life-threatening infection. A small percentage of people may have joint pain and swelling after infection. In addition, a rare disease called Guillian-Barre syndrome that causes weakness and paralysis can occur several weeks after the initial illness.
Note that the recall doesn’t apply to the company’s raw cow or sheep milk products.
What to do if you have the impacted product
If you have a jug of the milk in question, throw it away immediately. The CDFA is urging people to not drink it or even use it in cooking. Additionally, retailers who stock the item have already started removing it from store shelves.
