Health authorities have added two new foods to the list of products testing positive for bird flu.
Cottage cheese and sour cream, as well as one in five grocery store milks, have all tested positive for H5N1 particles in recent days.
But ground beef, baby formula and powdered milk all tested negative – a hopeful sign for mothers and meat lovers.
The FDA, however, said the virus detected in the products was “inactive,” or dead, meaning it posed no risk of infecting humans.
It comes as veterinarians warn that more people on farms have likely become infected with the virus after hearing reports of sick workers on cattle ranches experiencing outbreaks.
A checkmark indicates foods that have tested positive for bird flu, while a cross indicates those that have tested for bird flu but do not contain the virus.
Dr. Barb Petersen, who works in the Texas panhandle at the center of the outbreak, said that on almost every farm with sick animals she visited there were also sick people.
“It was just a surprise,” she told Fortune. “I was just a little in disbelief.
“We were actively monitoring humans. I had people who never missed work, who never missed work.
His comments echo those of other veterinarians, including one in Wisconsin, who said they have also heard of sick people on infected farms.
Only one person has tested positive for the virus this year: a farmworker who had close contact with infected livestock. The CDC has tested 25 others, all of whom came back negative, and says about 100 people are under monitoring.
The map above shows states that have reported bird flu infections in cattle herds.
The FDA did not disclose which brands of foods it tested for the bird flu virus.
But it said that statement was based on 297 dairy or cow products purchased at grocery stores in nine states that had outbreaks in cattle.
In a separate statement, the USDA also revealed the results of its testing of 30 samples of ground beef, none of which contained the virus.
This follows separate tests last week of 96 milk samples from grocery stores, which found one in five samples contained the virus.
Authorities also conducted egg inoculation tests to determine whether the virus in the food was still active and capable of infecting humans.
This is where a small amount of H5N1 particles from the products are injected into a fertilized chicken egg which is then monitored for any changes suggestive of infection, such as cell death.
But in experiments, no changes were detected in the eggs, which officials said showed the products — despite containing fragments of H5N1 — were still safe for consumption.
The FDA says pasteurization – where milk is quickly heated and cooled to kill viruses – killed the viruses and made the products safe to consume.
Other foods such as butter, ice cream and cakes have not been tested for the presence of bird flu virus particles.
Dr. Donald Prater, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said that in all cases the virus was killed by pasteurization and therefore posed no health risk.
But some scientists have expressed concerns that drinking milk could contain bits of bird flu, saying they still want more data.
Dr. Rick Bright, a virologist and former director of the Department of Health and Human Services who previously raised concerns about the virus in milk, said the initial data was “reassuring.”
“Each new data continues to be reassuring for pasteurized dairy products.
“(But) the data is preliminary and many critical experiments are underway. And this is all just a snapshot in time. As the outbreak spreads to more farms, more viruses can enter the system.
So far, 36 farms across nine states have reported bird flu among their cattle, with some experts concerned the outbreak is becoming more widespread.
Cattle were reported to be lethargic and produce slightly off-colored milk. The virus has been detected in their milk as well as in their lungs in previous cases.
Experts say farm workers could become infected with H5N1 if they are in close contact with livestock that shed the virus.
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