Avian flu has been detected in beef for the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Friday, but officials said meat from a single sick dairy cow was not allowed in. in the country’s food supply and that beef remained edible.
The USDA said the virus was detected during testing of 96 dairy cows that were removed from the supply because federal inspectors noticed signs of disease during routine carcass inspections at dairy processing plants. meat.
Avian flu has been detected in only one of these cows so far.
Avian flu has been confirmed in dairy cattle herds in nine states, has been detected in milk and has led to the slaughter of millions of chickens and turkeys.
But its presence in beef constitutes a new development for the epidemic, which began in 2022.
The agency announced last month that it would test ground beef for bird flu in retail stores, but it has yet to find any signs of the virus.
Even if bird flu were to end up in consumed beef, according to the USDA, cooking the meat to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit (73.9 Celsius) would kill it just as it kills E. coli and other viruses.
Two dairy farm workers in Michigan and Texas were infected with bird flu this spring.
Health officials say the danger to the public remains low, but farmworkers exposed to infected animals are at higher risk.
Only one other human case of bird flu has been confirmed in the United States.
In 2022, a prisoner in a work program caught it while killing infected birds on a poultry farm in Montrose County, Colorado.
His only symptom was fatigue and he recovered.