FDA begins testing raw cheese for bird flu FDA may impose measures ‘such as a recall, follow-up inspection or other possible responses to protect public health’.
Federal health officials have started to gather samples of aged raw cow’s milk cheese to test for the infectious disease, the FDA said Monday.
The FDA has said that it’s set to gather 300 samples of raw cow’s milk cheese which has been aged for at least two months.
The FDA said that positive samples for viable viruses will be "evaluated on a case-by-case basis,” and that the agency may impose measures "such as a recall, follow-up inspection or other possible responses to protect public health.
The FDA noted that in the U.S., raw milk cheese is allowed but it has to be aged for at least 60 days to lessen the risk of pathogens.
