MN AG OFFICIALS BEGIN TESTING RAW MILK FOR BIRD FLU

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is going to start testing raw cow milk today (Monday) for H5N1 or bird flu.  Dairy Inspection Division Director Doctor Nicole Neeser says Minnesota farmers won’t need to do anything extra.  Neeser says they’ll be using existing infrastructure to collect samples and each farm will be tested once a month for three to four months.  She says there is no concern for the safety of the public milk supply since milk sold in stores is pasteurized and kills the virus.