Properly cooked hamburgers pose no bird flu risk, US study finds

No bird flu virus was found after cooking ground beef to medium to well done, Reuters reported, citing a US Department of Agriculture briefing on Thursday, after conducting a study as it addresses concerns over an outbreak of the disease in dairy cattle. The findings, in which scientists injected high levels of an H5N1 avian influenza virus surrogate into ground beef, indicate that properly cooking hamburgers to a temperature of about 145 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit (63 to 71 degrees Celsius) keeps them safe for consumers. In the cooking experiment, which was intended to further assure consumers of the safety of US ground beef, hamburgers heated to 120 degrees F - or rare - showed the virus surrogate was present at reduced levels, the USDA said. The agriculture department (USDA) previously said 30 samples of ground beef from retail outlets tested negative for H5N1 virus and that the US meat supply is safe. The USDA also announced that it was awarding more than $22.2 million to ...