As FDA urges crackdown on bird flu in raw milk, some states say their hands are tied

Officials in two of the three states investigating their first cases of bird flu in dairy cattle this month said their hands are tied after the Food and Drug Administration begged states to increase testing and restrictions on potentially infectious raw milk sold to consumers within its borders.

Wyoming, Iowa and Minnesota announced their first detections of the virus in recent days, becoming the first new states to be added to the the USDA list of cases in weeks.

“There are no plans to conduct raw milk surveillance for H5N1 and there are no plans for restrictions on raw milk sales due to the outbreak,” Derek Grant, a spokesman for the Wyoming Department of Agriculture, told CBS News in a statement.

Wyoming and Iowa have laws that significantly limit state oversight of products like raw milk to “informed end consumers” in the state.

“Because of this, foods sold under the Wyoming Food Freedom Act are not licensed or regulated by the WDA, so there is no framework to conduct surveillance or impose restrictions on sales,” Grant said.

In Iowa, officials said they are asking producers with sick cows to work with authorities to test cows for bird flu after discovering that it has spread for livestock and poultry farms. Authorities stopped short of saying they would restrict infected farms from selling raw milk.

“Iowa’s raw milk law explicitly prevents the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Management from licensing and regulating raw milk dairies,” spokesman Don McDowell said in a statement.

FDA Recommendations to States

Although the sale of raw milk is already prohibited outside state borders, some states have laws that allow its sale within their borders, although several only allow the sale of raw milk on farms.

FDA officials said in a Letter as of last week, the crackdown on sales within states was outside its jurisdiction.

“The agency has ensured that our state regulatory partners are aware of our concerns and recommendations, including sharing and communicating directly, and making this letter available on our website,” an FDA spokesperson said in a statement, citing “multiple engagements” with claims about the subject.

One of the FDA’s recommendations to states is to implement surveillance programs that would test for the H5N1 virus on dairy farms that sell raw milk to try to “stop the sale of raw milk that may pose a risk to consumers.”

While recent research found signs that the virus may also be spreading between cows in the respiratory tract, authorities he said for months that drops of unpasteurized milk seething with the virus were probably responsible for most of the spread between cows, as well as for repercussions for nearby animals and several cases in humans.

On the other hand, the FDA cited testing showing this pasteurized milk remains safe consume. Pasteurization is a process that uses heat to kill dangerous organisms in milk and dairy products.

The agency also continues to allow aged cheese made from raw milk to be sold across state lines, although it is unclear whether the aging process will be enough to reduce the risk of the virus in the same way it does to other pathogens.

“The FDA continues to collect data, conduct testing, and support research related to the safety of dairy products and H5N1 HPAIV, including aged raw milk cheeses,” the spokesperson said.

Legalization of raw milk

Not all states with cases say they are unable to regulate sales of raw milk from cows infected with bird flu. The laws in Iowa and Wyoming are different from some raw milk laws in other states, many of which give authorities authority to regulate the market.

At least eight states also have pending raw milk bills, according to a data base published by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture acknowledged that its state law allows consumers to buy raw milk “in limited circumstances” but said any farm confirmed to have the virus is prohibited from selling raw milk to consumers.

“Fronts affected by the virus are not permitted to sell raw milk directly to consumers because this milk likely contains harmful pathogens,” Nicole Neeser, director of the Minnesota Division of Dairy and Meat Inspection, said in a statement.

In Texas, one of the first states to report cases of the outbreak, health officials are adding the H5N1 virus to their routine raw milk surveillance testing panel. Authorities will also carry out targeted testing in regions with infected herds.

“We have begun testing raw milk from raw retail dairies that are close to (in the same or adjacent county) a known avian influenza outbreak at commercial dairies,” Lara Anton, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of State Health Services. . Services, she said in an email.

In Ohio, where cases have also been reported confirmed in dairy cows, authorities said selling raw milk to consumers is illegal.

Outside of some “herd-sharing agreements” where residents go directly to farms to get raw milk, Michigan said raw milk cannot be sold to residents at retailers or other stores.

Undetected cases in dairy cows

The FDA letter comes as officials investigate how the virus appears to have appeared in new parts of the country following a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. order in April required dairy cattle to be tested for the virus before being transported across state lines.

A USDA spokesperson denied that the new cases were a sign that the testing order was ineffective in stopping the spread to new states, saying investigations so far have not linked the new cases to interstate livestock transportation.

In Minnesota, the state health board confirmed your recent case There were “no interstate movements” before the first outbreak in the state. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has been urging dairy producers to test sick cows and take other precautions to curb the spread of the virus.

“Consumers who choose to purchase unpasteurized milk from unaffected farms should discuss biosafety measures and testing with the dairy producer,” Neeser said.