(NewsNation) — A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention detailed one of the largest Salmonella outbreaks linked to raw milk in recent history, including the disproportionate impact on children and teens.
Published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports, the report details an outbreak that sickened 171 people, with 39% of cases occurring in children under five.
“Public health authorities should continue to raise awareness of the risks associated with consuming raw dairy products, especially by persons at increased risk for severe disease from enteric pathogens, including children,” the authors said in the report.
Raw milk can carry dangerous bacteria, including Salmonella, E. Coli and Listeria. Public health experts warn that non-pasteurized milk should not be consumed.
However, raw milk advocates, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have objected to regulations around raw milk, citing debunked claims that it is more nutritious.
The county of San Diego initially issued an alert about the outbreak in October of 2023, linking Raw Farm, LLC, to nine cases of salmonella and urging people to get rid of any raw milk from the brand.
The California Department of Public Health published three social media posts about the recall of Raw Farm milk in October, November and December.
Until now, that was the extent of public information about the outbreak.
The new report reveals that the outbreak stretched from September of 2023 to March of 2024, and included cases in California, Texas, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington.
The median age of those infected was seven. The cases included 159 confirmed through whole-genome sequencing in a lab and 12 probable cases. No deaths were recorded.
The report notes that cases continued to occur after the milk was recalled, and not all patients with confirmed cases reported consuming raw milk. They attribute those to people continuing to use recalled milk they already purchased, secondary person-to-person transmission, poor memory recall and patients who may have declined to disclose raw dairy consumption.
Raw Farm has been linked to other outbreaks. Food safety law firm Marler Clark said in a blog post it was the 11th outbreak it had tracked that was connected to the brand since 2006.
The farm also had products recalled in 2024 when bird flu was detected in raw milk, which was linked to the deaths of five cats who consumed the milk.
Speaking to Ars Technica, the owner of the farm downplayed the outbreak and denied the genetic sequencing results that confirmed the cases.
The CDC reported 143 outbreaks of gastrointestinal disease confirmed or suspected to be caused by raw dairy between 2009 and 2021.