SANTA ANA — The Orange County Health Care Agency reported Wednesday that seven people have been infected with salmonella linked to unpasteurized milk that has been subjected to a recent recall.
Officials urged consumers who have bought the milk from Raw Farm LLC to discard the product, and said anyone who drank the milk should seek medical care.
All of the seven infections occurred within the past month, officials said. Those infected range in age from 1 to 20 years old.
Raw milk is not pasteurized, which is a process that heats the product up to a high degree for a short time to kill any harmful germs such as salmonella, listeria and E. coli. The process does not affect the nutritional value of the milk, officials said.
Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps that range from severe to mild and usually occur about six hours to six days after infection. Some infections do not lead to symptoms. The illness lasts four to seven days and most of those infected recover without treatment, but it can lead to hospitalization, officials said.
