WASHINGTON – A new, nationwide level of scrutiny is coming to the United States milk supply. In the wake of the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) among dairy herds and dairy farm workers, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Dec. 6 it will begin working with state agencies to test unpasteurized milk.

USDA issued a new federal order as part of its National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS), which requires raw/unpasteurized milk samples throughout the United States to be collected and shared with USDA for testing.

H5N1 was first detected among US dairy herds this past March, and USDA emphasized that the federal order builds upon measures that have been taken at the state and federal levels since then.

The federal order and NMTS call for the first round of silo testing to begin the week of Dec. 16 – USDA noted some states already are conducting such tests.

Agriculture Scretary Tom Vilsack said NMTS will provide a roadmap for states to protect their dairy herds.

“Among many outcomes, this will give farmers and farm workers better confidence in the safety of their animals and ability to protect themselves, and it will put us on a path to quickly controlling and stopping the virus’ spread nationwide,” Vilsack said. “USDA is grateful to our partners who have provided input to make this strategy effective and actionable, and we look forward to continued collaboration in seeing this through.”

Throughout the national response to the outbreak among dairy herds, federal agencies have reiterated that the commercial milk supply remains safe. USDA said the Food and Drug Administration carried out studies that tested the safety of milk and dairy products, reaffirming that standard pasteurization keeps products safe for retail shelves.

USDA said state, veterinary and public health stakeholders contributed to the development of the latest guidance, which the agency said will facilitate “comprehensive H5N1 surveillance of the nation’s milk supply and dairy herds.”

The new federal order includes three new requirements:

• The sharing of raw milk samples, upon request, from any entity responsible for a dairy farm, bulk milk transporter, bulk milk transfer station, or dairy processing facility that sends or holds milk intended for pasteurization.

• Herd owners with dairy cattle that test positive for the virus must provide epidemiological information that enables activities such as contact tracing and disease surveillance.

• Private laboratories and state veterinarians testing samples as part of NMTS must report positive results to USDA.

Xavier Becerra, secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), called the testing strategy a critical part of ongoing efforts to protect the health and safety of individuals and communities throughout the country.

“Our primary responsibility at HHS is to protect public health and the safety of the food supply, and we continue to work closely with USDA and all stakeholders on continued testing for H5N1 in retail milk and dairy samples from across the country to ensure the safety of the commercial pasteurized milk supply,” Becerra said. “We will continue this work with USDA for as long and as far as necessary.”

Through NMTS, APHIS said it will work with state agencies to carry out testing in a manner that works for each state and aligns with NMTS standards, with the goal of eliminating HPAI H5N1 at state, regional and national levels.