(TheRedAlertNews.com) – In a new measure, the United States Department of Agriculture will commence tracking bird flu infections in dairy cows sent for slaughter to elucidate how the virus impacts meat quality while also persisting in the examination of raw milk cheeses to ascertain if the aging process deactivates the virus.
This augmented scrutiny of the US food supply represents a pivotal aspect of the broader strategy to mitigate the threats posed by the highly infectious bird flu virus, or H5N1, which has raised global concerns about a potential future pandemic, The Guardian reports.
Regulatory authorities are set to analyze 800 samples from dairy cows in slaughterhouses.
Dairy cows typically enter the slaughter pipeline upon cessation of milk production or due to other factors leading to their retirement, contributing about 10% to the US beef output, primarily in the form of ground beef.
Scheduled to begin in mid-September, this new survey aims to provide a nationally representative analysis to more accurately gauge the prevalence of the virus in beef derived from dairy cows and potentially illuminate associated risks.
Should any sample test positive, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to acquire the affected carcass to conduct further experimental analyses.
These studies may explore the viability of the virus—its capacity to replicate in a laboratory setting—and establish the temperature at which the virus is eradicated.
A prior assessment in May involved testing 109 muscle samples from post-slaughter symptomatic cows, revealing H5N1 particles in a single dairy cow, which was subsequently excluded from the food supply chain.
Another evaluation involved sampling ground beef from retail locations; all tested samples were virus-free.
In a separate experimental setup, researchers infused ground beef with a simulated virus and subjected the meat to cooking.
The resulting burgers, each weighing 300 grams and thicker than typical fast-food offerings, were designed to represent a “worst-case scenario,” according to José Emilio Esteban, USDA’s under-secretary for food safety.
Fully cooking the burgers neutralized the virus, Esteban confirmed.
At temperatures of 145°F (63°C) and 160°F (71°C), the virus remained undetectable, consistent with longstanding USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service recommendations.
“If you cook it under those conditions, it should be very safe to eat,” Esteban stated.
However, at 120°F (49°C), or when cooked rare, the imitation virus was “substantially inactivated” in burgers heavily laden with the virus, the USDA report indicated.
Cooking meat thoroughly is crucial for eliminating various foodborne pathogens, according to Kali Kniel, a professor of microbial food safety at the University of Delaware.
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