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Pasteurization prevents the H5N1 virus from infecting milk products (or milk).
HEALTH – The avian flu epidemic has affected chicken, duck and now cow farms. But luckily it didn’t make it onto supermarket shelves. This is what the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on May 1 following a test campaign carried out on dairy products sold throughout the country.
In total, 297 retail samples of dairy products were analyzed, including milk, cheese and crème fraîche. This news reinforces the consensus that pasteurization protects consumers from this threat. When milk is warmed and then suddenly cooled, the viruses it contains are eradicated. Excellent news, because when it comes out of the animal, the milk is indeed contaminated.
For several weeks now, avian flu has been affecting American cattle farms in almost a dozen states. However, its extent remains uncertain. Not all dairy herds have been tested and there may be a number of untested infections, including in humans. In 2024, two human cases were recorded in the United States, contaminated by their exposure on a farm where there were infected cows.
Lack of testing
So far, only a few dozen people have been tested for bird flu, federal officials said at the news conference. The reason is simple, farms are not required to test their employees, many of whom are migrant workers reluctant to work with state health authorities.
Another problem, knowing that your livestock is affected by this virus is very bad for business, and a certain number of farmers are reluctant to open their doors to the health authorities. Fortunately for now, there has been no unusual increase in flu cases across the country.
For now, the only thing certain is that it is developing within breeding herds. On May 1, the US Department of Agriculture said the outbreak had spread to 36 herds in nine states. For this reason, the FDA continues to strongly discourage the consumption of raw milk and recommends that the industry not manufacture or sell raw milk or raw milk products.
Another concern concerns meat. Colombia last week became the first country to ban beef and beef products from certain US states due to the avian flu outbreak. On this side, tests are underway to measure the risk of infection in the event of consumption of contaminated meat, and whether cooking kills the virus.
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