As bird flu continues to spread across the United States, concerns have arisen regarding the possibility of contracting the virus from consuming milk or eggs. The outbreak, caused by the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, has led to the culling of over 150 million poultry birds in an effort to contain its spread. This has contributed to rising egg prices and supply shortages. Additionally, reports have emerged of bird flu virus fragments being found in milk products, raising further questions about food safety.
Despite these concerns, health experts emphasize that the risk to the general publicremains low. They also stress that it is highly unlikely for milk or eggs sold in stores to be contaminated with the virus. Nevertheless, they advise consumers to take basic precautions to mitigate any potential risks.
“The risk to the public to contract bird flu from items that they get in the grocery store is exceptionally low,” Dr. Nicole Martin, an assistant research professor in dairy foods microbiology at Cornell University, told ABC News. “We know that pasteurization has been shown to be very effective at eliminating the virus from milk. … And then on the poultry and egg side, [there is] very low risk that eggs make it to the marketplace with the avian flu.”
Low Risk from Commercial Eggs in Grocery Stores
To ensure food safety, government regulations require egg processors to wash and sanitize eggs that are graded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Additionally, pasteurized eggs, which undergo a heating process to eliminate pathogens, are available in many grocery stores if their pasteurization method has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Even if bird flu were to contaminate an egg, experts say that cooking it properly would eliminate the virus. “The normal cooking process would kill that virus,” Dr. David Cennimo, an associate professor of medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, explained to ABC News. “So, the only theoretical risk is if you’re eating raw or undercooked eggs, and again, the flocks are being monitored for bird flu.”
When bird flu is detected in poultry or bird species, authorities take swift action to prevent further spread by depopulating, or culling, the entire flock. This means that potentially infected eggs are removed from the food supply before they ever reach consumers.
Dr. Cameron Wolfe, a professor of infectious diseases at Duke University, confirmed that eggs from culled flocks are discarded. However, he noted that it is uncertain how far back authorities should go in determining which eggs were affected before the culling took place. “If you find today that your flock is affected, and this week we’re going to cull that flock and we’ll take the eggs out, I don’t know how far you can go back to understand which eggs might have been affected,” he said. “But we do take them out of circulation.”
Pasteurized Milk Is Safe, but Raw Milk Poses a Risk
Milk products are also considered safe due to the process of pasteurization, which involves heating liquids to a high temperature for a short period to kill harmful viruses and bacteria. This includes not only milk but also dairy products such as yogurt and cheese.
In April 2024, reports surfaced indicating that bird flu virus fragments were detected in samples of pasteurized milk. However, experts clarified that these fragments were merely inactive remnants of the virus and posed no risk to consumers.
While pasteurized milk is deemed safe, raw milk remains a potential health hazard. The FDA has long warned against the consumption of unpasteurized milk and dairy products, categorizing it as a “high-risk choice.”
Dr. Martin explained that the presence of avian influenza in dairy cattle makes raw milk especially dangerous. “With the avian influenza virus that’s currently circulating in dairy cattle in the United States, the raw milk itself has a very high concentration of this virus,” she said. “And so what we know is that there have been many demonstrated cases of animals becoming ill and dying from drinking this contaminated milk.”
While there is no clear evidence that humans have become ill from consuming contaminated raw milk, Martin cautioned that there are no effective strategies to remove the virus from raw dairy products outside of pasteurization.
Does Freezing Eggs or Milk Kill Bird Flu?
Some may wonder whether freezing could help eliminate the virus, but experts confirm that this is not an effective solution. Many pathogens, including H5N1, can survive in low or freezing temperatures.
Dr. Cennimo explained that freezing does not inactivate the influenza virus and compared it to international travel precautions. “If you’ve gotten good travel advice, they’ll tell you, ‘Don’t drink anything with ice in it,’ because the ice cubes are things that are infected because they were made by local water,” he said.”So that just shows you right there, a literal ice cube can harbor bacteria. So freezing meat or eggs or whatever is not going to help. As far as we know, freezing does not inactivate influenza.”
Conclusion
While the spread of bird flu in the U.S. has raised concerns, experts emphasize that the risk of contracting the virus from commercially available milk and eggs remains extremely low. Government regulations, pasteurization, and the culling of infected flocks serve as effective safeguards in protecting the public.
However, experts continue to advise caution when consuming raw or undercooked eggs, as well as raw milk. Proper cooking and pasteurization remain the best defenses against any potential exposure to the virus.