FDA finds traces of H5N1 bird flu viruses in grocery store milk but says pasteurized dairy products are still safe

The US Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it had detected viral particles of H5N1 avian influenza in milk purchased at grocery stores, but the agency says it still believes that the milk is safe to drink.

The US Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it had detected viral particles of H5N1 avian influenza in milk purchased at grocery stores, but the agency says it still believes that the milk is safe to drink. In an update about an ongoing outbreak of bird flu in cattle, the FDA noted that it believes the viral particles were detected by highly sensitive lab tests and are likely to have been remnants of viruses killed during the pasteurization process. The agency said that it does not think it is likely that the particles would able to infect people but it is conducting additional tests to be completely sure. The FDA said these egg inoculation tests are “a gold-standard” for determining whether a virus is still viable and able to infect people. “To date, we have seen nothing that would change our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe. Results from multiple studies will be made available in the next few days to weeks,” the agency said. Dr. Eric Topol, founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, said the finding of viral particles in milk on grocery store shelves means the outbreak is probably more widespread than we’ve known. “The dissemination to cows is far greater than we have been led to believe,” Topol said in an email Tuesday.