The U.S. government is conducting tests on ground beef in states affected by bird flu outbreaks in dairy cattle to ensure the safety of the meat supply, despite low public health risks.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The U.S. government announced on Monday its plan to collect and test ground beef samples from retail stores in states experiencing bird flu outbreaks in dairy cows. This move comes after the detection of the H5N1 virus in 34 dairy cattle herds across nine states since late March, including a single human case in Texas. Federal officials, while confident in the safety of the meat supply, are taking precautionary measures to verify the safety of both milk and meat products.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have assessed the overall public health risk from these outbreaks as low. However, the risk is considered higher for individuals with direct exposure to the infected animals. In response, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is utilizing PCR tests to analyze retail ground beef samples. These tests are designed to detect the presence of viral particles, with additional safety studies also underway.
This testing strategy aligns with new USDA requirements that lactating dairy cows must test negative for bird flu before interstate movement, although cows sent directly to slaughter facilities do not require testing but must have veterinarian inspection documentation.
According to Sarah Little, a spokesperson for the Meat Institute, “USDA’s additional testing is appropriate to ensure public health is protected and to stop the spread of animal disease.” The USDA has reiterated that every animal is inspected before slaughter, and all cattle carcasses must pass inspection post-slaughter to be admitted into the human food supply.
The USDA is also collecting beef muscle samples from condemned dairy cattle at slaughter facilities to further assess the presence of the virus. Any positive results from retail or slaughterhouse samples will undergo further evaluation to determine if live viruses are present.
In light of these concerns, USDA plans to conduct another safety study by cooking ground beef with a virus surrogate at various temperatures to see how it affects virus inactivation, confirming that cooking meat to the proper internal temperature effectively kills both bacteria and viruses.
Internationally, Colombia has imposed restrictions on the import of beef and beef products from U.S. states where dairy cows have tested positive for avian influenza, effective since April 15, as reported by the USDA.
Despite the comprehensive measures being undertaken, there have been no reported cases of bird flu in beef cattle, and the human case involved a Texas farm worker who developed conjunctivitis after being exposed to infected dairy cows, emphasizing the limited scope of human infection.
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