Raw Farm Salmonella Outbreak Shows Raw Milk Regulation Works
From September 2023 to March 2024, Salmonella Typhimurium linked to raw milk from Raw Farm in Fresno, California caused 171 illnesses in California and four other states. According to CDC’s report, it was “one of the largest foodborne outbreaks linked to raw milk in recent U.S. history.” It is also a clear example of a licensed raw milk system doing what it was built to do: find the source quickly, pull the product and fix the problem.
Key facts
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Source | Raw milk and raw heavy cream from Raw Farm, Fresno, California |
| Illnesses | 171 (159 confirmed, 12 probable), 98% in California |
| Hospitalizations | 22 of 162 patients with information available |
| Deaths | None reported |
| Age | 70% of cases were under 18; median age 7 |
| Cause | Salmonella in milk from a recently purchased cow |
| Recall | October 24, 2023, one week after the state investigation began |
| Production resumed | October 31, 2023, after the cow was removed and the herd tested clear |
How the outbreak was caught and stopped
In October 2023, San Diego County health officials alerted the California Department of Public Health to eight Salmonella cases among people who had drunk the same brand of raw milk. State officials interviewed patients, searched the national PulseNet database for matching strains and sampled the dairy’s milk.
Testing moved fast. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) found the outbreak strain in bottled raw milk collected at the dairy on October 19 and 25, and in one retail sample. On October 24, the farm halted production and recalled raw milk and heavy cream with best-by dates of October 11 to November 6. CDFA inspected the bottling plant on October 25 and the dairy farm on October 27.
The farm’s own testing traced the Salmonella to milk from a recently purchased cow. The cow was removed, further testing of the herd found no Salmonella, and production resumed on October 31. The median illness onset was October 11, 2023, about two weeks before the recall.
CDC credited the response directly: “Rapid, accurate recognition of the likely outbreak source by an LHD and close collaboration between local and state health agencies resulted in an expedited and focused investigation and timely product recall; time from initiation of CDPH investigation to product recall was 1 week.”
What the investigation also found
Two findings deserve attention from producers and consumers alike.
- Children were most affected. Seventy percent of cases and 18 of the 22 hospitalizations were in people under 18.
- Aging did not eliminate the bacteria. Cheese made from the contaminated milk still tested positive after 60 days of aging. It was held under impound and never sold, but the finding matters because federal rules allow raw milk cheese to be sold after 60 days of aging. How Salmonella behaves in aging raw milk cheese is covered separately.
Large for raw milk, small for food
CDC noted that the 16 raw milk Salmonella outbreaks reported from 2009 to 2021 were all small, with between 2 and 33 cases each. At 171 cases, this one stands out within raw milk.
Against the wider food supply, it is modest. The 2024 Boar’s Head Listeria outbreak caused 61 illnesses and 10 deaths from a single deli meat plant. The 2026 Cyclospora outbreak linked to Taylor Farms lettuce caused 12,883 illnesses, at least 570 hospitalizations and 2 deaths. Both were treated as failures to fix at the source, with recalls and investigations. Neither led to calls to ban deli meat or lettuce.
The Raw Farm outbreak followed the same path: a source identified, a product recalled, a contaminated animal removed and production restored under state oversight. That is what licensing and testing are for, and it is the response a nationwide ban would eliminate. Unlicensed producers have no comparable system of sampling, inspection and recall.
How recalls work in practice is covered in How Raw Milk Recalls Work, and what to look for in a producer is covered in How to Choose a Raw Milk Source.
