First Bird Flu Detected in Beef; Human Anti-Pandemic Vaccines in Development – Food Processing

There were two updates on avian influenza over the long weekend. USDA detected bird flu in beef for the first time, but the meat was not allowed to enter the nation's food supply. And media reports said U.S and European officials were stepping up development of vaccines that could prevent avian influenza from becoming a pandemic.

USDAs Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which has been monitoring beef tissue from 96 culled and condemned dairy cows, said viral particles were detected in tissue samples, including muscle, from one cow.

Meat from condemned cows [presumably ones that show signs of any disease] is prohibited from entering the food supply No meat from these dairy cattle entered the food supply.

The 96 dairy cows were diverted from the supply because federal inspectors noticed signs of illness during routine inspections of carcasses at meat processing plants. Bird flu was found in only one of those cows.

The agency also has been testing ground beef for bird flu at retail stores, but it has yet to find any sign of the virus. Even if it were to get through, the Agriculture Dept. says cooking beef to an internal temperature of 165 degrees will kill it just as cooking kills E. coli and other viruses.

Back to the vaccine: Reuters reported U.S officials were moving bulk vaccine from CSL Seqirus that closely matches the current virus into finished shots that could provide 4.8 million doses of vaccine.

European health officials told Reuters they also were in talks to acquire CSL's prepandemic vaccine. Canadian health officials said they have met with GSK, maker of Canada's seasonal flu shots, to discuss acquiring and manufacturing a prepandemic bird flu vaccine once its seasonal flu production capacity is freed up. Other countries, including the UK, are discussing how to proceed on prepandemic vaccines.

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First Bird Flu Detected in Beef; Human Anti-Pandemic Vaccines in Development - Food Processing