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As concerns about the bird flu virus grow, the U.S. is testing the food supply this way

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Public health officials have added cottage cheese, sour cream and baby food to the list of items tested for bird flu following an outbreak in dairy cows.

Since late March, 36 cattle herds in nine states and one person in Texas have tested positive for the H5N1 virus. Federal officials have begun testing related foods after traces of the virus that causes bird flu were found in pasteurized milk.

At a news conference Wednesday, representatives from the FDA, CDC and USDA reassured the public that the commercial food supply is likely safe, but reiterated that people should avoid consuming unpasteurized milk.

“As this situation continues to evolve, the FDA will continue to consider all ongoing scientific research related to the effectiveness of pasteurization for HPAI in bovine milk,” the FDA said in a related press release Wednesday. “We are also committed to continually monitoring milk production, processing and pasteurization to ensure the safety of the milk supply.”

Experts weigh in: Four reasons to worry (but not freak out) about bird flu.

What is bird flu?

Avian influenza is the non-scientific name for bird flu, a type of flu virus that commonly affects waterfowl, turkeys and other birds. If it stays with birds, the main danger is to poultry. Flocks of chickens had to be killed and eggs destroyed.

The bigger concern is that there could be easy human-to-human transmission. Bird flu is considered more dangerous than the annual flu because it is a pathogen that humans have never encountered before and is likely to be highly contagious.

This probably hasn't happened yet, experts say.

Sour cream and cottage cheese also contained bird flu particles

The FDA said it tested a total of 297 commercial samples of dairy products with signs of the virus, including liquid milk, cottage cheese and sour cream.

In all cases, the virus was killed by pasteurization and therefore did not pose a health risk, said Dr. Donald A. Prater, acting director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

According to the FDA, infant and toddler foods are free of virus particles

The agency also tested infant and toddler formula and found no virus particles, Prater told reporters.

“To ensure the safety of dairy products for our youngest populations, the FDA also tested samples of retail powdered infant formula and powdered milk products marketed as infant formula,” they said.

The FDA is also in the process of identifying additional products to test.

The FDA is also testing ground beef but is “confident” it is safe

Federal officials have already said they would begin testing ground beef from stores in states where there are bird flu outbreaks among dairy cows.

Although there are no known cases of bird flu viruses in minced meat, the samples are analyzed by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service using tests that determine “whether any virus particles are present,” the agency said.

Two further safety studies are also being carried out as some dairy cows are processed into minced meat as they age. The Food Safety and Inspection Service will collect muscle samples from dairy cows in slaughterhouses and also subject these samples to tests.

The agency will conduct additional live virus testing on all positive tests from muscle samples and retail ground beef, and will conduct cooking studies on ground beef to determine what temperatures are needed to kill the virus, the USDA said.

Food Safety Tips: Avoid unpasteurized products, undercooked meat and fish

Here's what food safety experts should keep in mind amid the avian flu outbreak:

Featuring: Mary Walrath-Holdridge, Emily DeLetter, Jeanine Santucci

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