Ottawa-Federal departments and agencies have made a joint outreach to the public to explain that commercially sold milk and milk products remain safe to consumers despite some U.S. dairy cattle testing positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Health Canada (HC) said they understand that reports of fragments of HPAI detected in pasteurized milk sold in the U.S. would make Canadians concerned about the safety of milk and milk products. The three organizations said they are monitoring this situation closely.

Milk from dairy cows in Canada must be pasteurized before sale, they said. This process kills harmful bacteria and viruses, ensuring milk and milk products are safe to drink and eat. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced a new study shows that the pasteurization of dairy products is effective in inactivating the virus that causes HPAI, even when fragments of the virus remain.

HPAI is a reportable disease in Canada. This means any person suspecting a case of HPAI in an animal, whether in poultry or livestock, must report it to the CFIA. Confirmed and probable human cases are also reportable to PHAC.

In addition to the protective measures that already exist, the federal government is expanding its surveillance to manage the possible emergence of HPAI in Canada by requiring negative HPAI test results for lactating dairy cattle being imported from the U.S., conducting enhanced testing of milk at the retail level to look for viral fragments of HPAI and facilitating the voluntary testing of cows that are show any clinical signs of HPAI to facilitate enhanced industry biosecurity efforts.

If the CFIA becomes aware of any potential food safety or animal health risks, it will act immediately to protect Canada's food supply and livestock. These measures complement the existing comprehensive and integrated approach to human surveillance of influenza in Canada and will inform and support the range of ongoing preparation actions undertaken by PHAC to protect human health.

Canadian and American agencies and groups are working together to actively monitor, prepare and respond as necessary to this evolving situation to help safeguard Canada’s cattle and protect the health of Canadians.

The outreach noted that HPAI is not a food safety concern. Canada has been managing the outbreak of avian influenza since its first detection in poultry here in December 2021. There is no evidence to suggest that eating cooked poultry or eggs could transmit HPAI to humans.

Canada already has specific import requirements in place to prevent the introduction of animal diseases into the country. Import conditions for cattle can be found in the policy Requirements for Breeding Cattle Imported from the United States to Canada.

Ongoing federal preparedness actions for HPAI span the continuum from monitoring/surveillance and risk assessment, laboratory capacity, updated guidance and communications, science coordination, and medical countermeasure readiness.

This news item prepared for National Newswatch