The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that samples of pasteurized milk from grocery stores in the U.S. have tested positive for remnants of the bird flu virus, according to The Associated Press.
The agency said that while they are continuing to study the issue, consumers should not be concerned about the safety of the milk supply because the flu remnants are “inactivated” and the findings “do not represent actual virus that may be a risk to consumers.”
“To date, we have seen nothing that would change our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe,” the FDA said in a statement.
The agency said it believes that an avian influenza virus — or bird flu — that was detected in dairy cows in at least eight states led to the finding of the virus remnants in milk. The eight states where avian influenza was detected in cows are Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, North Carolina, New Mexico, Texas, Ohio and South Dakota.
The Agriculture Department says 33 herds have been affected so far.