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On Monday, news of the discovery of highly pathogenic avian influenza in ground beef began circulating on the web, along with information about how the U.S. Department of Agriculture was testing ground beef for H5N1 bird flu.
Several days later, the USDA finally released a statement and more details about the ongoing research on H5N1 strains of HPAI in beef.
“USDA is confident that the meat supply is safe. USDA has a rigorous meat inspection process, where USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service veterinarians are present at all federal livestock slaughter facilities,” reads a statement from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Safety website. “FSIS inspects each animal before slaughter, and all cattle carcasses must pass inspection after slaughter and be determined to be fit to enter the human food supply.”
It is still recommended that consumers properly handle raw meats and cook them to a safe internal temperature to kill bacteria and viruses in the meat.
Three separate meat safety studies are being conducted
To verify the safety of the meat supply in the context of H5N1, the USDA’s FSIS, APHIS, and Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are working on three separate beef safety studies related to avian influenza in meat from dairy cattle. These studies are taking place in the interest of scientific inquiry and reaffirm consumer confidence.
- Samples of ground beef obtained at retail in the affected States: Final results were posted on May 1, 2024. Samples were collected at retail outlets in the United States in which dairy cattle herds have tested positive for H5N1 influenza virus. The samples were analyzed by APHIS using polymerase chain reaction, to indicate whether any viral particles were present.
No virus particles were found to be present.
- Beef muscle sampling of cull dairy cows condemned at select FSIS-inspected slaughter facilities: FSIS is currently collecting muscle samples at FSIS-inspected slaughter facilities of cull dairy cattle that have been condemned for systemic pathologies. The samples will be analyzed by APHIS using PCR to determine presence of viral particles. The results are forthcoming and will be posted as soon as they become available.
- Ground beef cooking study: ARS will be conducting a beef cooking study and will be using a virus surrogate in ground beef and cooking it at different temperatures to determine the log-reduction of the virus. The results will be posted as soon as they become available.