US To Test Samples Of Ground Beef In States With Outbreaks Of Bird Flu

Reuters (4/29, Polansek) reports that the US “said on Monday it is collecting samples of ground beef at retail stores in states with outbreaks of bird flu in dairy cows for testing, but remains confident the meat supply is safe.” The US Department of Agriculture will “analyze retail ground beef samples with PCR tests that indicate ‘whether any viral particles are present,’ and conduct two other safety studies, according to a statement.” Reuters says that federal officials are “seeking to verify the safety of milk and meat after confirming the H5N1 virus in 34 dairy cattle herds in nine states since late March, and in one person in Texas.” CNN (4/29, Goodman) says the USDA is also “conducting cooking studies, which will inoculate ground beef with a ‘virus surrogate’ and cook it to different temperatures to see how much virus is killed under each heat setting.”