By Manas Mishra and Jasper Ward
(Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it had found bird flu virus particles in some samples of pasteurized milk, but said commercial milk supplies remain safe.
The FDA said that because the milk is pasteurized, it remains safe for human consumption because the process kills harmful bacteria and viruses by heating milk to a specific temperature.
“Based on available information, pasteurization is likely to inactivate the virus, but the process is not expected to remove the presence of virus particles,” the FDA said.
The agency said it has evaluated milk from affected animals, both in the processing system and on shelves. It said it is completing a large, representative national sample to understand the scope of the findings.
The FDA said it is further assessing any positive findings through egg inoculation tests, which it described as a gold standard for determining viable virus.
The agency said it has seen nothing that would change its assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe, adding that results from multiple studies will be made available in the coming days to weeks.
“Sound science is critical to inform public health decisions such as those made by the FDA regarding food safety, and we take this current situation and the safety of the milk supply very seriously,” the agency said.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there have been confirmed cases of bird flu in dairy cattle in eight U.S. states.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said one associated human case has been linked to the outbreak in dairy cows. The case was reported in Texas on April 1.
