Ground Beef From Retail Stores Test Negative for Bird Flu, USDA Reveals

According to the US Department of Agriculture, ground beef that was bought from various retail stores have tested negative for bird flu.

No Bird Flu in Ground Beef

This announcement was made on Wednesday after the agency examined samples of meat that were taken from states that had infected herds. This is linked to the unprecedented bird flu outbreak among cattle.

The department explains that such results reaffirm the safety of the supply of meat.

When authorities were asked whether the bird flu outbreak among cows could threaten those who consume it, health authorities noted the rigorous inspection process of meat that the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) oversees. The department explains that the service inspects every animal prior to slaughter. Moreover, carcasses of cattle need to pass inspection post-slaughter and found to be fit for entry in the food supply for humans.

In total, there were 30 ground beef samples that the National Veterinary Services Laboratories tested. These samples were bought in retail stores across states where herds of dairy cows were found to test positive for bird flu.

According to a USDA spokesperson, ground beef that they tested were from stores in eight out of nine states found to have positive bird flu presence. Colorado was only found to have the bird flu in a dairy cow after the samples were collected by the USDA.

Further results regarding bird flu in beef may be expected soon. Meat samples taken from dairy cow muscles that inspectors at slaughter facilities condemned are still undergoing bird flu testing. The department is also looking into how cooking patties of beef at varying temperatures could kill the virus off.

Dr. Jose Emilio Esteban, the undersecretary for food safety at the USDA, stresses sureness of the safety of the meat supply. They are just doing so in order to boost scientific knowledge and to ensure that more data points are there to support such a statement.

Bird Flu Outbreak Among Cattle

So far, dairy cows from across nine states have been found to test positive for H5N1 bird flu, which is typically lethal to birds and other animals. These states include Texas, South Dakota, Ohio, New Mexico, North Carolina, Kansas, Idaho, Michigan, and Colorado. While this strain is usually lethal for others, cattle have been largely spared from it. At times, the infection just disrupts their milk production for a couple of weeks.

Such studies also come after dairy cow testing requirements were ramped up by the USDA. The department now requires cows that move across states to undergo testing.

Bird flu signs also appear to have reached the dairy supply. There have been as many as one in five milk samples found to test positive for bird flu. This was done in a nationwide survey of the Food and Drug Administration.

It is still a mystery how the virus was able to reach the milk. Don Prater, the top food safety official of the FDA, explains that milk processors may receive the milk from hundreds of dairy farms, which could also cross the lines of the state. This makes it more difficult to trace the roots of the virus. Bailee Woolstenhulme, a spokesperson of the Department of Agriculture and Food at Utah, explains that this would require extensive testing efforts.

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