REUTERS — About one in five samples of commercial milk in the U.S. tested positive for traces of bird flu in a national survey, with a greater proportion coming from areas with infected herds.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said there is no evidence that the milk poses a danger or that a live virus is present.
The agency said additional testing is required to determine whether the intact pathogen is still present and if it remains infectious.
“Based on available information, pasteurization is likely to inactivate the virus,” it said.
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“However, the process is not expected to remove the presence of viral particles.”
The agency said it is evaluating milk from affected animals in the processing system and on shelves. It is completing a large, representative national sample to understand the extent of the findings.
The FDA said it is further assessing any positive findings through egg inoculation tests, which it described as a gold standard for determining viable virus.
The agency said it has seen nothing that would change its assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe, adding that results from multiple studies will be made available in the next few days to weeks.
“Sound science is critical to informing public health decisions like those made by the FDA related to food safety and we take this current situation and the safety of the milk supply very seriously,” the agency said.
There are confirmed cases of avian flu in dairy cattle in eight U.S. states, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said one associated human case has been linked with the outbreak in dairy cows. The case was reported in Texas April 1.
