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USDA to Test Ground Beef for Bird Flu in States with Infected Dairy Cattle

April 29, 2024
Agency will check if the virus is present in ground beef, as inactive fragments of HPAI have been found in milk originating from infected dairy cows.

According to several news sources, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) will test retail ground beef in states where dairy cows have been infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza, to ensure the meat supply is safe. HPAI, or bird flu, has not been reported in any beef cattle to this point, but many dairy cows are slaughtered once they reach old age, and their meat is typically used as ground beef.

Tests will attempt to determine “whether any viral particles are present,” according to a statement shared by the news outlets.

The virus was first discovered in dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas on March 25, and has since been found in other dairy cows in other states, with Colorado becoming the ninth state to report an infected dairy herd. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced last week that preliminary tests showed that pasteurization killed HPAI in milk products, although 20% of the samples of retail, pasteurized milk contained inactive fragments of the virus.

FDA used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods for its test, and USDA noted it would use PCR testing on the retail ground beef samples it was testing as well. USDA has said that cooking meat to a safe internal temperature would kill the virus (just as it does other bacteria and viruses).

To this point, one human has been reported to have been infected, according to news reports. That person had direct contact with infected dairy cattle. This latest outbreak of HPAI has been ongoing (mostly in birds until last month) since October 2023.

USDA has already limited movement of lactating dairy cows across state lines unless they test negative for bird flu, and it will also collect and test meat samples from the slaughter facilities where the dairy cattle were processed.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.

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