HPAI is not considered a food safety risk. There is no evidence to suggest that food, including milk and meat, can transmit avian influenza to humans.
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Milk and milk products
Commercially sold cow's milk and milk products remain safe to consume.
Milk from dairy cows in Canada must be pasteurized before sale. Pasteurization kills harmful bacteria and viruses, including HPAI, ensuring milk and milk products are safe to drink and eat.
Drinking raw or unpasteurized milk always comes with an increased risk of serious illness because it has not been pasteurized to eliminate harmful bacteria and viruses.
Guidance for consumers is available on Health Canada's Raw or unpasteurized milk web page.
Milk sampling and testing in Canada
Our laboratories are testing commercial milk samples from across Canada to look for viral fragments of HPAI and determine if dairy cattle without clinical signs could be shedding the virus.
Along with Health Canada, we have recently completed a scientific study on pasteurization to confirm that the pasteurization process is effective in inactivating the HPAI virus in milk.
Beef
There is no evidence to suggest that beef can transmit avian influenza to humans.
Furthermore, proper cooking has been shown to kill the virus. Guidance for consumers is available on Health Canada's Safe cooking temperatures.
Canada has rules and regulations in place to ensure that sick cattle and products from sick cattle do not enter the food chain.