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Episode Transcription
I’m Susie Craig. Welcome to Food Safety in a Minute.
If dairy cattle are infected with bird flu, H5N1, are you at risk of illness from drinking milk or eating cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, and yogurt? The USDA and FDA are assessing our commercial pasteurized milk supply and milk products. Collecting 297 samples at retail locations in seventeen states produced at 132 processing locations in thirty-eight states. Good news, their testing did not detect any live, infectious virus in any samples. Pasteurization is successful, protecting us from viruses, including bird flu.
Currently, there are no infected cows in Washington. It’s legal, however, to sell raw milk in our state. Raw milk and raw milk products can cause other serious infections. It’s a risky food safety behavior.
Thanks for listening to Food Safety in a Minute.
Resources
Food and Drug Administration – Alerts, Advisories, and Safety Information. Updates on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. May 20, 2024. Accessed online 5-28-24.
Washington State Department of Health. Raw Milk. Accessed on 5-28-24.