The recent avian flu pandemic that has affected American cow herds has not altered the safety of pasteurized milk, according to a Friday statement from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
It happens one day after they revealed that one out of every five retail milk samples had virus particles detected in them.
Concerningly, further testing revealed that the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) was eradicated throughout the pasteurization procedure.
According to preliminary findings, “pasteurization is effective in inactivating HPAI,” the FDA announced on Friday.
Following prior infections in Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Idaho, New Mexico, North Carolina, and South Dakota, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) verified dairy cows in Colorado tested positive for avian flu.
One agricultural worker in Texas who had bird flu and experienced moderate symptoms is the only known case.
The public’s danger is still minimal, according to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For those who are close to diseased animals, it is higher.
According to the FDA’s Friday release, information continues “to show no uptick of human cases of flu and no cases of H5N1, specifically, beyond the one known case.”
