The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is once again confirming the milk supply is safe with a new round of tests as proof. The latest round of tests come as the U.S. dairy industry continues to battle the outbreak of HPAI H5N1 in cows.
Just days after FDA and USDA confirmed viral material of highly pathogenic avian influenza was found in retail milk samples, FDA says further testing shows pasteurization is killing the virus. A lab at St. Judes Children’s Hospital is taking the genetic material found in the milk and culturing it in live eggs to ensure it didn’t regrow.
According to FDA, the additional testing confirms the safety of the commercial milk supply with what it calls substantial data. The tests were done on 297 samples of milk from 38 states. FDA also tested retail powdered infant formula and says all results were negative.
International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) tells AgWeb this also confirms the requirement of pasteurization, or heat treatment, of milk in order to move interstate in this country, works in killing all bacteria and viruses.
“The testing that the FDA has continued to release has only cemented that further,” says Matt Herrick, senior vice president of public affairs and communications at IDFA. “The results they received at the end of the week on Friday, determined that the virus was in fact dead. So it would not regrow and would not infect, and pasteurization, at the standard times and temperatures under the federal pasteurized milk ordinance, is effective.”
IDFA also adds more than 99% of all the milk and dairy products in our country are pasteurized.
“And that’s been ongoing for decades and decades,” he says. “And that’s what ensures the safety of our commercial milk supply.”
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A week ago Tuesday, the FDA also reassured consumers the pasteurized milk they drink is safe after the agency announced retail milk samples tested positive for fragments of HPAI H5N1. Further testing by a lab at St Jude’s Childrens Hospital showed the virus is not live, which means there is no risk to human health. However, FDA noted additional testing was still being done.
Dr. Richard Webby runs the lab at St. Jude that conducted the testing. He told AgWeb his lab confirmed there is no virus in any of the retail milk samples, but says it was a small sample set they’ve tested so far and more testing is coming. He says even with the limited tests completed so far, his findings show pasteurization is killing the virus.
“It is actually expected that RNA will remain in the milk after pasteurization. Heating (pasteurization) will kill the virus but won’t necessarily destroy the genetic material of the virus (RNA). On its own, the RNA isn’t infectious. It is important to reiterate that the presence of RNA does not mean there is live virus. In contrast, our data says there is no live virus,” Webby told AgWeb.
He says genetic material of the virus, or RNA, is similar to the DNA inside human cells and provides the code to make all of the proteins the virus needs. However, he says while it’s key for influenza viruses, this is different from other viruses in that on its own, the RNA can’t do anything.
“It has to be nicely coated in virus proteins and delivered properly to the inside of a cell. Pasteurization destroys this part,” he explains.
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Considering his lab was unsuccessful at regrowing the virus, he says the testing confirmed the RNA in milk is from dead virusses, and therefore, the milk can’t cause any infection.
“In my opinion, based on the small data set we have, yes, the milk is safe,” he says. “I am still consuming it at home.”
Webby points out there is much more researchers still need to learn about HPAI H5N1, especially in cattle. He says influenza in cows is new, and the industry continues to learn as more research is conducted.
In late March, USDA APHIS confirmed the mystery illness that was impacting dairy herds in the Texas Panhandle, New Mexico and Kansas now had a diagnosis: Influenza A. USDA says genetic sequencing revealed it was the same strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) that’s been in the U.S. for two years. The outbreak has now been confirmed in nine states, however, it’s unclear how many herds it’s impacting.
The CDC claims the outbreak has been confirmed in 36 herds, but testing of retail milk samples last week put that number into question. Viral fragments were found in nearly 40% of the milk samples tested, indicating the outbreak is more widespread that current government reports.
