Research gives more reassurance that milk pasteurization kills bird flu, officials say

AP Medical Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. officials say a new study provides reassurance that pasteurization kills bird flu virus in cow’s milk. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday announced the results of the study, which recreated commercial pasteurization and examined how it works against bird flu contamination. The study has been not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. But one FDA officials says it fills a gap in scientists’ understanding of how commercial pasteurization inactivates the virus. The researchers found that the virus was actually inactivated even before it hit the “flash pasteurization” stage that is considered the key step in making milk safe.