FDA testing aged raw cow's milk cheese for bird flu

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will begin collecting samples of raw cow's milk cheese from across the U.S. to test for the presence of bird flu, spurred on by the ongoing outbreaks of H5N1 in multiple states.

In the announcement published Monday, the FDA said the goal of testing will be two-fold: detecting the H5N1 virus and taking the necessary follow-up actions to protect consumers.

Raw, unpasteurized milk is a known vector of bird flu when derived from infected cow herds.