There continues to be no concern about the safety of the milk supply or that this circumstance poses a risk to consumer health because products are pasteurized before entering the market, per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Only milk from heathy animals is authorized for distribution into interstate commerce for human consumption. Additionally, pasteurization has continually proven to inactivate bacteria and viruses, including influenza, in milk.

USDA and FDA remind consumers that raw milk should not be consumed. Raw milk is a key vehicle in the transmission of human pathogens. As this situation continues to evolve, NMPF joins USDA, FDA and the International Dairy Foods Association in strongly recommending that all raw milk and raw milk components be heat-treated to a temperature and duration that kills harmful pathogenic bacteria and other microorganisms, including HPAI viruses, regardless of the product’s intended use for human or animal consumption. FDA also recommends out of an abundance of caution that milk from cows in an affected herd not be used to produce raw milk cheeses.

All dairy cattle are also subject to the Federal Meat Inspection Act and must be slaughtered and processed under inspection by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, ensuring that all meat entering the food supply has been inspected and approved for human consumption.