Ongoing testing of milk and dairy products by the US Food and Drug Administration has not found any active H5N1 bird flu virus in 297 samples of products purchased in grocery stores, the agency said Wednesday.
A World Health Organization official said on Tuesday there was a risk of H5N1 bird flu virus spreading to cows in other countries beyond the United States through migratory birds. U.S. officials are seeking to verify the safety of milk and meat after confirming the H5N1 virus in 34 dairy cattle herds in nine states since late March, and in one person in Texas. "With the virus carried around the world by migratory birds, certainly there is a risk for cows in other countries to be getting infected," said Wenqing Zhang, head of WHO's Global Influenza Programme at a news briefing in Geneva.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is testing beef for a bird flu virus following the infections of cattle in multiple states, though it says it remains confident the country’s meat supply is safe. The agency is doing three studies related to bird flu in dairy cattle, one in which they sample ground beef at retail…
Food safety officials say they are testing beef, including ground beef from grocery stores, for the presence of the H5N1 bird flu virus that’s spreading in dairy cattle.