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

SACRAMENTO — Raw 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 milk sampled and tested by the California Department of Food and Agriculture.  

The raw milk is distributed in one-gallon (128 oz) plastic jugs under the labels “Valley Milk Simply Bottled Raw Milk” and “DESI MILK Raw Milk.” Consumers are strongly urged to dispose of any product remaining in their refrigerators that were purchased or received on June 19 through June 30 or any product with a code date marked on the container of July 9 or earlier.  

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. Also, a rare disease called Guillian-Barre syndrome that causes weakness and paralysis can occur several weeks after the initial illness.