Bird Flu Found in Beef for the First Time! What It Means for Meat Safety

In an unprecedented announcement, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) revealed on Friday that bird flu has been detected in beef for the first time. Officials reassured the public that meat from the single sickened dairy cow did not enter the nation's food supply and emphasized that beef remains safe to eat.

The USDA discovered the H5N1 virus during routine inspections at meat processing plants. Federal inspectors noticed signs of illness in 96 dairy cows, leading to their diversion from the supply. Upon testing, bird flu was confirmed in only one of these cows.

While bird flu has been previously detected in dairy cattle herds across nine states, milk, and has resulted in the culling of millions of chickens and turkeys, its presence in beef marks a new development in the outbreak that began in 2022.

In response to this finding, the agency announced last month that it would begin testing ground beef for bird flu at retail stores. However, no signs of the virus have been detected in consumer beef products so far.

Health officials assure that even if bird flu were to make its way into consumer beef, cooking the meat to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit will effectively kill the virus, along with other pathogens like E. coli.

The public health risk remains low, but farmworkers who are exposed to infected animals are at a higher risk. This spring, two farmworkers at dairies in Michigan and Texas contracted bird flu. In the U.S., only one other human case of bird flu has been confirmed. In 2022, a prisoner working at a poultry farm in Montrose County, Colorado, contracted the virus while culling infected birds. He experienced only mild symptoms and made a full recovery.

The USDA continues to monitor the situation closely and is taking necessary precautions to protect both the food supply and public health. For now, consumers can feel confident that their beef remains safe and delicious when properly cooked.