Recent outbreaks of bird flu—in US dairy herds, poultry farms in Australia, and elsewhere, and isolated cases in humans—have raised the issue of food safety.
So can the virus transfer from infected farm animals to contaminate milk, meat, or eggs? How likely is this? And what do we need to think about to minimize our risk when shopping for or preparing food?
How Safe Is Milk?
Bird flu (or avian influenza) is a bird disease caused by specific types of influenza virus. But the virus can also infect cows. In the US, to date, more than 80 dairy herds in at least nine states have been infected with the H5N1 version of the virus.
Investigations are under way to confirm how this happened. But we do know that infected birds can shed the virus in their saliva, nasal secretions, and feces. So bird flu can potentially contaminate animal-derived food products during processing and manufacturing.