CDFA Announces Recall of Raw Sheep Milk Produced At Valley Milk Simply Bottled of Stanislaus County

 

Consumers urged to dispose of bottled raw sheep milk due to bacterial contamination

Raw sheep milk produced and packaged by Valley Milk Simply Bottled of Stanislaus County is the subject of a statewide recall and quarantine order announced by California State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones.  The quarantine order came following the confirmed detection of the bacteria Campylobacter jejuni in the farm’s packaged raw whole sheep milk sampled and tested by the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

The raw sheep milk is distributed in half-gallon (64 oz) plastic jugs and labeled as “Valley Milk Simply Bottled Raw Sheep Milk”. The recall order applies to products marked on the container with expiration code dates of SEP 28 2022 through OCT 01 2022.

Consumers are strongly urged to dispose of any product remaining in their refrigerators.  The current order does not include the farm’s raw cow milk or raw goat milk.

CDFA found the campylobacter bacteria in a routine sample collected at the Valley Milk Simply Bottled production and packaging facility.  No illnesses have been reported.

Symptoms of campylobacteriosis include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever.  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.