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Additional testing of retail dairy products from across the country has turned up no signs of live bird flu virus, strengthening the consensus that pasteurization is protecting consumers from the threat, federal health and agriculture officials said at a news briefing on Wednesday. But the scope of the bird flu outbreak in cattle remains unclear, as dairy herds are not routinely tested for the infection, scientists and other experts have noted. Just one human infection, which was mild, has been reported, in a dairy worker in Texas who had direct contact with sick cows. Barely two dozen people have been tested for bird flu, federal officials said at the briefing. There have been no unusual increases in flu cases around the country, even in areas with infected cows, they added.

Locations: Texas

☆ Federal Officials Find No Live Bird Flu Virus in Initial Milk Tests
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Noah Weiland | Benjamin Mueller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Federal regulators on Friday said that they had not yet discovered live bird flu virus in the first batch of retail milk samples they tested, a reassuring indication that the milk on store shelves remains safe despite an outbreak of the virus among diary cows. In an online update, the Food and Drug Administration said an initial set of tests looking for live virus, not just genetic fragments, suggested that the pasteurization process was effectively neutralizing the pathogen. “These results reaffirm our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe,” the F.D.A. wrote in the update, adding that the testing efforts were ongoing. Officials also tested infant and toddler formula, which incorporate powdered dairy, and did not find the virus, the agency wrote.

Organizations: Food and Drug Administration, Officials

☆ Bird flu particles were found in pasteurized milk. A former surgeon general says he isn't changing what he eats.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

So far, though, many public health experts don't think this rings alarm bells about the safety of the food supply. Nathan Frandino/ReutersThe FDA oversees the nation's milk supply, and the US Department of Agriculture oversees dairy cows. Both say they believe the commercial milk supply is safe, due to the pasteurization process and the practice of disposing of milk from sick cows. Some states allow the sale of unpasteurized, aka "raw," milk or cheese, which the CDC recommends avoiding. "To date, we have seen nothing that would change our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe.

Persons: —, Dr, Jerome Adams, Trump, Pasteurization, Nathan Frandino, Carlos Barria, Adams, Samuel Alcaine, Cook, who's, I'm Organizations: Service, Drug Administration, Business, Purdue University, Johann, FDA, US Department of Agriculture, Washington Post, The New York Times, Mountain Creamery, Cornell University, CDC, Workers Locations: Fresno , California, Middletown , Maryland

☆ Bird flu could jump to humans any day. A former surgeon general says it feels like 2020 again.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In recent months the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus has been spreading through US cattle herds for the first time ever. The cow-to-cow transmission is the latest escalation in a global outbreak that began when the virus reemerged in Europe in 2020. Bill Powers with his flock of white turkeys, kept under shelter to prevent exposure to bird flu, in Townsend, Delaware. Nathan Howard/Getty ImagesDr. Jerome Adams, a former surgeon general and the director of health equity at Purdue University, is getting deja vu. AdvertisementOnly testing the sickSo far, the USDA has only been testing cattle herds when an animal appears sick.

Persons: —, Jeremy Farrar, Nathan Frandino, Farrar, Bill Powers, Nathan Howard, Jerome Adams, they've, Adams, Donald Trump, hasn't, Terry Chea, they're, Zeynep Tufekci, Jean Carroll, Alexi J . Rosenfeld, President Trump, Trump, Biden Organizations: Service, Business, World Health Organization, Washington Post, Food and Drug Administration, New York Times, FDA, Johann, Reuters, US Centers for Disease Control, Purdue University, CDC, US Department of Agriculture, White, USDA Locations: Europe, South America, Fresno , California, Texas, Townsend , Delaware, COVID, Sonoma County , California

☆ Avian flu: What to know about the bird flu outbreak in the US, according to a doctor
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Katia Hetter | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Dr. Leana Wen: Bird flu, also called avian flu or avian influenza, refers to infections caused by the avian influenza Type A viruses. Avian influenza A viruses are divided into two categories: low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) A viruses and high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A viruses. The H5N1 avian flu virus has been causing outbreaks among poultry in the US, with 48 states and over 85 million poultry now affected. The seasonal flu vaccine does not protect people against infection from the avian flu. CNN: Can my pet bird get bird flu?

Persons: Leana Wen, Wen Organizations: CNN, US Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, George Washington University, CDC Locations: Texas, United States, Colorado

☆ What you need to know about eating meat, dairy, and eggs during the bird flu outbreak, according to a food safety expert
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Julia Pugachevsky | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Embrace firm egg yolksTo be extra safe, fully cook your meat and eggs, said Alcaine. Just as you would to prevent salmonella or E.coli infections, you should cook meat and eggs at hot-enough temperatures to prevent illness. AdvertisementAdditionally, Alcaine said you'll want to be wary of cross-contamination, such as keeping the utensils used to handle raw meat and eggs away from cooked food. However, some states allow the sale of raw milk and unpasteurized cheese, which have been growing in popularity over recent years. AdvertisementIn general, drinking raw milk can lead to side effects like vomiting and diarrhea, and just to be safe, the CDC also suggests abstaining in light of this recent outbreak.

Persons: —, Samuel Alcaine, Alcaine, Cook, you'll, Sumiko Mekaru Organizations: Service, USDA, Business, Maine Foods, Cornell University, CDC, New York Times, PHC, ABC News Locations: Texas, Cal

☆ Bird Flu Spreads to Dairy Cows
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Emily Anthes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A highly fatal form of avian influenza, or bird flu, has been confirmed in U.S. cattle in Texas and Kansas, the Department of Agriculture announced on Monday. It is the first time that cows infected with the virus have been identified. The cows appear to have been infected by wild birds, and dead birds were reported on some farms, the agency said. The results were announced after multiple federal and state agencies began investigating reports of sick cows in Texas, Kansas and New Mexico. In several cases, the virus was detected in unpasteurized samples of milk collected from sick cows.

Organizations: Department of Agriculture Locations: U.S, Texas and Kansas, Texas , Kansas, New Mexico

☆ Las Vegas is asking companies that want to move or expand there to show how much water they plan to use
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Las Vegas is trying to balance economic growth and water conservation. The producer plans to move to northern Las Vegas and requested $2.28 million in tax incentives from the Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development. The water-investment tool works like this: First, the Southern Nevada Water Authority analyzes how much consumptive water a new or expanding company would use. Johnson said the next steps include making sure officials in every city in greater Las Vegas are using the tool in the same way. The water-investment tool builds on a long list of conservation measures in Las Vegas.

Persons: Dave Johnson, Johnson, there's, Tina Quigley, Quigley, Lake Mead Organizations: Service, revelers, Las Vegas, Southern Nevada Water Authority, Juanita's Foods, Nevada Governor's, Economic, Juanita's, Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance Locations: Vegas, Colorado, California, Phoenix, Las, Las Vegas, Nevada, Lake, Arizona . Nevada, Nevada , Arizona

☆ Dogs poop less if they eat human-grade food, but it may not be better for their health, say experts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It's not clear whether human-grade food is better for dogs' health, experts said. A 2021 study followed the poop output of 12 dogs fed "fresh" dog food (from the FreshPet brand), classic dog food ( from Blue Buffalo), or "human-grade" beef or chicken dog food (JustFoodForDogs) for 28 days. The study found that the dogs pooped around half as much when eating fresh and human-grade food — a drop of 50% to 70%. None so far have definitively shown that kibble or canned food is worse for the dog's health or lifespan, he said. In the process, molecules that could be bad for your dog's health appear in the food.

☆ Some farmers in Europe are shutting operations and reducing production because of the energy crunch, adding to the global food crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-08 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Europe faces a potential energy shortage this winter as Russia slows its natural-gas supply. The surge in natural-gas prices is hitting farms that rely on energy to produce food. A top Swedish tomato producer is halting winter plantings and Dutch greenhouses are scaling down. As energy is required throughout the food production process, farmers and food producers are feeling the pinch from red-hot prices with some halting or slowing output in the colder months ahead. That's because Nordic Greens had already locked in tomato prices earlier in the year when electricity prices were lower, explained the company's site manager Mindaugas Krasauskas.

It takes about 20 aloe leaves to make just one gallon of aloe vera juice. But some aloe products have been found to contain no aloe at all. Narrator: So how are real aloe vera products made? Narrator: A 2016 Bloomberg investigation found that Walmart, CVS, and Target's aloe products contain no evidence of aloe at all. When they "aloe gel," is it a gel that's made from blending up the whole leaf, or is it truly just pure aloe gel?

Persons: Rudy Colón, Ruben Martinez, Aloe barbadensis Miller, They're, Rudy, Mesa, Leonel, what's, Ruben, Jesus Santiago Jaquez, ConsumerLab.com, they're, there's, There's, It's, Tod, Todd, it's Organizations: Universal, Jason, Bloomberg, Walmart, CVS, FDA Locations: Dominican Republic, Rotterdam, Netherlands

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