USDA Orders Raw Milk To Be Tested for HPAI

On Friday, the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service ordered testing of the nation's milk supply for bird flu.  The Department said testing of raw or unpasteurized milk will help better monitor the spread of the virus in dairy cows.  Testing of raw milk from dairy farms and processors will start December 16th, and the first round start with six states, Oregon, California, Colorado, Michigan, Mississippi and Pennsylvania.

Officials said the move is aimed at “containing and ultimately eliminating the virus,".  H5N1, which has resulted in the deaths of millions of domestic birds nationwide, was first detected in U.S. dairy cows back in March.  Since then, more than 700 herds have been confirmed to be infected in 15 states.

“Since the first HPAI detection in livestock, USDA has collaborated with our federal, state and industry partners to swiftly and diligently identify affected herds and respond accordingly," said Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack.  "This new milk testing strategy will build on those steps to date and will provide a roadmap for states to protect the health of their dairy herds.  Among many outcomes, this will give farmers and farmworkers better confidence in the safety of their animals and ability to protect themselves, and it will put us on a path to quickly controlling and stopping the virus’ spread nationwide.  USDA is grateful to our partners who have provided input to make this strategy effective and actionable, and we look forward to continued collaboration in seeing this through.”

“This testing strategy is a critical part of our ongoing efforts to protect the health and safety of individuals and communities nationwide,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Our primary responsibility at HHS is to protect public health and the safety of the food supply, and we continue to work closely with USDA and all stakeholders on continued testing for H5N1 in retail milk and dairy samples from across the country to ensure the safety of the commercial pasteurized milk supply.  We will continue this work with USDA for as long and as far as necessary.”

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