2024-05-04 00:29:50
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada want to assure the public that milk and dairy products sold on the market are safe and free from bird flu infection.
“In Canada, milk from dairy cows must be pasteurized before it is sold. This process kills harmful bacteria and viruses, which ensures that milk and dairy products can be consumed safely,” it was clarified in a press release on Friday.
This announcement comes as dairy cows in the US tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), the H5N1 virus, and virus particles were detected in pasteurized milk sold across the border.
The US Food and Drug Administration published this week the results of a new study that found pasteurization of dairy products is effective in inactivating the virus that causes HPAI, even when virus particles remain, we can read in the press release.
In addition to current protection measures, the Government of Canada has taken new measures:
• Require lactating dairy cows imported from the United States into Canada to test negative for HPAI;
• Carry out increased testing of milk at retail level for HPAI virus particles;
• Expand cattle screening to include voluntary testing of cattle that do not show clinical symptoms of HPAI.
“While the risk of transmission to humans remains low, Canadian, provincial and territorial governments, as well as our counterparts in the United States, are working together to conduct, where appropriate, surveillance, preparedness and “active interventions in this changing situation to protect Canada’s cattle and the health of Canadians,” he added.
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