Payam Javan: Federal food safety inspectors have initiated testing on ground beef from grocery stores in states where dairy cows have tested positive for bird flu, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The inspections aim to detect the H5N1 virus in beef products through three separate studies conducted by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The studies involve sampling ground beef from affected states, testing muscle tissue from condemned dairy cows at slaughterhouses, and conducting a ground beef cooking study to determine virus reduction through cooking. Although no beef cattle have tested positive for the virus, recent findings of bird flu in dairy cows have prompted increased vigilance.

Measures include requiring lactating dairy cows to test negative before crossing state lines and monitoring farm workers exposed to infected cattle. The CDC reports only two human cases of H5N1 virus detected in the United States, with the current risk to the public deemed low.