FDA Admits It Doesn’t Know If Retail Milk Contains Live Bird Flu

Agency says milk supply is safe, but acknowledges a lack of testing.

By Zachary Stieber, Reporter

4/25/2024

Updated:

4/25/2024

0:00

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not sure whether any intact highly pathogenic avian influenza is present in milk sold in grocery stores, an FDA official told a conference on April 25.

“Does any live virus survive the pasteurization process? ... This is the key question for us,” Donald Prater, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

FDA officials announced earlier this week that testing on milk from grocery stores tested positive for the avian influenza, commonly known as the bird flu.

The type of testing, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), can detect the intact virus but can also detect residual genetic material from killed pathogens.

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Source:  Epoch Times

Blogger's note:  PCR does not detect an intact virus.  It amplifies segments of the genetic make up.  They then use a algorithm to see if it fits with the suspected sequence of the virus.