WASHINGTON, D.C.: For the first time, bird flu has been detected in beef, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced, but officials reassured the public that the meat from the affected dairy cow did not enter the nation’s food supply, and beef remains safe to eat.
The USDA discovered the virus during routine inspections of 96 dairy cows. These cows were removed from the supply chain after federal inspectors noticed signs of illness at meat processing plants. Bird flu was detected in just one of these cows.
While bird flu has been previously confirmed in dairy cattle herds across nine states and found in milk, its presence in beef marks a new development in the outbreak that started in 2022. This outbreak has already led to the culling of millions of chickens and turkeys.
Despite this new finding, the USDA maintains that cooking beef to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit (73.9 Celsius) will kill the virus, just as it does for E. coli and other pathogens. Last month, the agency announced plans to test ground beef for bird flu at retail stores, but no traces of the virus have been found so far.
The USDA emphasizes that the risk to the general public remains low. However, farm workers exposed to infected animals are at a higher risk. Two farmworkers at dairies in Michigan and Texas contracted bird flu this spring.
Only one other human case of bird flu has been confirmed in the U.S. In 2022, a prisoner involved in a work program contracted the virus while culling infected birds at a poultry farm in Montrose County, Colorado. His only symptom was fatigue, and he recovered fully.