Bird Flu In Beef and Poultry

[Meathead]

As you may have heard, bird flu (H5N1) has been found in cattle and also has jumped to humans handling them. It is a virus that kills at a higher rate than COVID. So the question is, if an animal is infected how do I make sure the meat is safe if it finds it way to my fridge?

Temperature kills. The question is what temperature and for how long does it have to be cooked? As a rule of thumb almost all bacteria die instantly at around 165F. Most can be killed at temps as low as 130F but it takes longer. It is not just temparature but time also. Viruses vary. H5N1 is a virus. I asked my wife who recently retired from the FDA as a high ranking food safety scientist of world renown and she says that research is ongoing. She found this paper published in May.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-detections/livestock/h5n1-beef-safety-studies#:~:text=There%20was%20no%20virus%20present,temperature%2C%20substantially%20inactivated%20the%20virus

In summary it says that similar temperatures that kill bacteria inactivate this virus. This much we know for sure, raw milk remains a high risk.

[smokenoob]

Is beef 100% tested by FDA for this or sample tested? If it is sample tested and not 100% pass, some escapes.

[Jerod Broussard]

I've read about some positive samples but that was from dairy cows. With those mommas getting ground up all parts pretty much become one big ground up part.

[Meathead]

Jerod is right. And remember the feds only inspect food in interstate commerce, so local farmers selling at farmers markets in the same state are not inspected.

[Murdy]

And multiple cows probably become one big, ground-up cow. Plus, it's unlikely that they sanitize the equipment between batches.

[Mosca]

Thank you, Meathead. I’ll be sure to cook safely.

[CaptainMike]

Does this mean I have to wear a mask and stand 6 feet away from my cooker when I'm grilling steaks?

[FireMan]

Definitely the mask, cuz, cuz they look like they haveta work.

[texastweeter]

You Crack me up brother.

[hoovarmin]

CaptainMike be sure to wear a condom as well.

[Oak Smoke]

Here we go again! I’m glad I learned to love being an old hermit in the last round. Any vaccine available yet?

[CaptainMike]

During the last debacle our Sheriff said "Nah, we ain't doing none of that".

[Willy]

CaptainMike Ain't it wunnerful to have such a smart, well-informed sheriff. A legal expert plus a medical expert. Constitutional sheriff, my fanny.

[hoovarmin]

Simmer down Willy

[tstalafuse]

And wouldn't you know we just got and booked a great deal for a cruise next April... The last time we got such a great deal it ended up being right at the height of Covid, and the cruise line cancelled.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

you aren't allowed to cruise ever again if things time out similar

[Meathead]

Cry me a river! We booked a conference in Memphis with 400 people sold out and had to cancel it after rescheduling it. Arrrrgggghhhh.

[Mosca]

Meathead I’m still twisted about that. Not financially; of course I didn’t take the hit that you did. But socially. We were really looking forward to that.

[Smoker_Boy]

Maybe we'll all get lucky and Gordon Ramsey will eat his lovely beef tartare.

[Davek8282]

One of the features of Sous Vide is the ability to provide that time at lower temperatures and make sure your meat is pasteurized and completely safe to eat, without overcooking. Having said that I still prefer to reverse sear steak, although those mechanically tenderized ones from Costco do raise some minor concerns.

[Meathead]

GREAT point!

[smokenoob]

unlikely to spread human to human, good news
50% mortality rate in humans, not good news
total cases reported in US since 2022: 4
it’s hard to put in perspective without knowing the testing procedures and results
I cook chicken to 155°+ so that seems low risk but beef…..may have to up my IT target or as Davek8282 points out, sous vide more

USDA is reporting that 92 dairy cow herds in 12 U.S. states have confirmed cases of A(H5N1) virus infections in dairy cows as the number of infected herds continues to grow. uggg!

They must be doing something right with the low infection rate

[Oak Smoke]

Just a little uncomfortable thought. At the packing house near where we used to live you could drive by and see hundreds of dairy cattle ready to be processed into beef. If they reached a certain age or didn’t produce milk well, away they went. Most dairies feed out the calves of their cattle, right by the dairy, to be processed into beef. While we are at it some Holstein dairy cattle have enough black on them to qualify as Angus beef. The dairy and beef herds are quite mingled.

[yakima]

Oak Smoke. Many dairies in central Washington. I once inquired as to how they determine which heifers to keep for milking. Basically, they keep them all. If they don't adequately produce, off to hamburger. Steers go directly to feedlot.
We went thru the Mad Cow thing here several years ago. Spooky.

[Carolyn]

These are my questions. Say you manage to get some contaminated meat. How careful are you normally about contamination in the kitchen when handling beef prior to cooking it, and how likely are you to catch the bird flu from handling the meat even with gloves because, it is a kitchen, not a science lab?

Just pondering because I worked in healthcare in hospitals and clinics, and this is how I think. I guess handle it like the usual contaminated chicken and use the bleach as directed.

[FireMan]

I thought Mexico exposed the WHO fraudulent claim about being transferred to a human a week ago. If I remember correctly, the feller that died, died of multiple co-morbities & not the bird flu.

[Carolyn]

They did, but it was reported as an H5N2 infection.

[Purc]

Well, there goes my steak tartare.

[Smoker_Boy]

Maybe you and Ramsey could become buddies.

[texastweeter]

I'll start dipping my ammo in hand sanitizer to be sure I don't spread it to the local wildlife...

[hoovarmin]

😂 Best practices

[hoovarmin]

Are we really going to do this bullshit again?

[Jkahnert]

I don't think the loved ones of the over 1 million Americans that died would consider it bullshit.

[hoovarmin]

Jkahnert your virtue-signaling comment is precisely the bullshit I was referring to.

[Jkahnert]

Facts are facts. Do with them what you will.