Perhaps these are not mysteries, but problems in food science, which, like other problems, will soon be solved.
or not.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a highly contagious and often fatal disease in poultry and other animals.
Everything leaves a sense of mystery.
In recent weeks, there have been reports of dead cats and mammal-to-mammal transmission, as well as the dangers of consuming raw milk.
For example, public health officials in Michigan are warning the public that unpasteurized raw milk can harbor the virus. And the New York Department of Agriculture told consumers that raw milk does not have the protection that pasteurized milk has.
The pasteurization process involves heating milk at a specific temperature for a specific amount of time. This process kills bacteria that cause diseases such as campylobacter, listeriosis (listeria), salmonellosis (salmonella), typhoid fever, tuberculosis, diphtheria, and brucellosis.
Pasteurization is internationally recognized as a means of preventing foodborne illness outbreaks.
Even more troubling is the recently published academic journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. Reports from Iowa, Texas, and Kansas found H5N1 infections in cats' lungs, brains, hearts, and eyes.
This finding is similar to that in cats experimentally infected with H5N1, also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI). But Texas dairy farms are raising ominous warnings about the potential for transmission of this dangerous and evolving virus.
Thomas Gremillion of the Consumer Federation of America echoed the fears Thursday when he wrote in Food Safety News, “Epidemiologists have long believed that variants of 'bird flu' can adapt and infect humans. “We have expressed concern that this could lead to a new pandemic.”
All of these factors led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to issue a warning in May that people who drink raw, unpasteurized milk could be infected with avian influenza.
A warning contains three elements.
People who drink raw milk are at risk of contracting avian influenza. Tests have detected high viral loads in the milk of sick cows. Experts believe that avian influenza is transmitted from cow to cow through milk. I think there are
Official FDA warning
FDA, in conjunction with USDA, releases additional results from a national commercial milk sampling study.
A total of 297 retail dairy samples were included in this study. New preliminary results from an egg inoculation test on a second set of 201 quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) positive retail dairy products samples, including cottage cheese sour cream and liquid milk, show that pasteurization effectively inactivates HPAI It was shown that
This additional preliminary testing did not detect any live infectious virus. These results, in addition to preliminary results on an initial set of 96 retail milk samples released late last week, reaffirm the assessment that the commercial pasteurized milk supply is safe.
To ensure the safety of milk-based products for the youngest people, FDA also tested samples of infant formula products sold as retail infant formula and infant formula. All qPCR results for the powdered milk tests were negative, indicating that no HPAI virus fragments or viruses were detected in the powdered milk products, so no further testing was required for these samples.
FDA continues to identify additional products that may be tested. The FDA also continues to test samples of pooled raw milk sent for pasteurization and processing for commercial use. This is used to characterize the potential virus levels that pasteurization may encounter and to inform research to further validate pasteurization.
As this situation evolves, FDA will continue to review all ongoing scientific research regarding the effectiveness of pasteurization against HPAIs in milk. The agency will also continue to monitor milk production, processing and pasteurization to ensure the safety of the milk supply. State partners are essential to this process, and FDA continues to work with them.
The FDA continues to strongly advise against consumption of raw milk and advises industry not to sell raw milk or raw dairy products.
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