Killing H5N1 in Waste Milk — An Alternative To Pasteurization
Milk Acidification Provides Easy Way for Dairy Farms to Contain Bird Flu Virus
Pasteurization is the only widely recognized method of killing H5N1, the virus that causes bird flu, in milk. However, pasteurization can be expensive and fewer than 50% of large dairy farms pasteurize waste milk.
Waste milk includes colostrum, the first milk after calving; milk from cows treated with antibiotics or other drugs; or any other factor that can make milk unsuitable and unsellable for human consumption. On farms, raw waste milk poses a potential risk of spreading avian flu, which so far has been confirmed in dairy cattle in 16 states.
University of California, Davis, researchers have found that acidification can kill H5N1 in waste milk, providing dairy farmers an affordable, easy-to-use alternative to pasteurization of waste milk. The Journal of Dairy Science published the study.