What you can and can’t eat during the US bird flu outbreak, according to former FDA food chief: Avoid steakhouses, salad dressing and even some favorite desserts!

Sorry foodies – experts recommend Americans eat their steak well done to reduce the risk of birth flu.

And eggs should be thoroughly cooked, which means no sunny, over-easy or poached eggs.

Even salad dressings like Caesar can pose a risk because they are made with raw eggs.

These are the recommendations of former FDA adviser Dr. Darin Detwiler, who said that while the risk of contracting bird flu, or H5N1, from food is low, eating animal products that have not been properly cooked could increase the risk.

The virus has caused outbreaks on more than a dozen U.S. farms, infecting cattle and chickens and raising fears about the safety of the U.S. food supply.

Last week, health officials in Texas confirmed that a dairy farmer had contracted the virus, making him only the second American ever to contract the disease.

Dr. Detwiler told DailyMail.com: ‘The transmission of bird flu to humans through the consumption of properly cooked poultry products, including eggs, is very low.

‘The risk arises from incorrectly cooked eggs or poultry meat.’

But here he noted that eggs, poultry and beef must be cooked to a safe internal temperature “because cooking is the step of death.”

Bird flu often spreads from waterfowl such as ducks and geese to livestock such as chickens, cows and pigs. This can lead to animal meat and products such as eggs and milk becoming contaminated.

Dr. Detwiler said viruses like bird flu can travel to the inner parts of meat like steak, making it crucial to cook it all the way through rather than eating it rare.

Some Caesar salad dressings are made with raw eggs, which could increase the risk of bird flu

When you cook a steak or order it in a restaurant, don’t order it rare or medium rare.

Dr. Detwiler said that searing a steak on the outside “should be good enough to kill a pathogen even if the inside is not cooked properly,” but that bird flu could spread to the inside of the meat. “I’m not yet convinced that simply searing the outside is enough to actually kill H5N1 in beef,” he said.

“I would 100 percent recommend cooking it all the way through to a minimum safe cooking temperature for a solid piece of beef.”

According to the USDA, the safe internal temperature for steak is at least 145 F, while rare steak is 120 F to 125 F. Medium red is about 130 F to 135 F.

In addition, infected cows can transmit bird flu through their milk if it is not pasteurized. This is when milk is heated to a specific temperature of at least 145 F for at least 30 minutes to kill bacteria.

Despite the FDA having long labeled unpasteurized dairy as “unsafe,” drinking “raw milk” has become increasingly popular on TikTok and in fitness circles due to unfounded claims that it contains more vitamins and minerals.

‘Raw milk certainly carries a higher risk of exposure to not only bird flu, but also pathogens such as salmonella, E. coli and listeria, said Dr. Detwiler.

‘Pasteurization is the only effective way to eliminate these pathogens and render inactive any flu viruses if they are present in milk.’

“But honestly, pasteurized milk is always the safer choice.”

The CDC states that “scientists have no evidence showing a nutritional benefit from raw milk.”

And even certain types of Caesar dressings, which are made primarily from anchovy paste, may contain egg yolks that may not be clearly listed on a dressing bottle or restaurant menu.

Additionally, no-bake desserts such as edible cookie dough are also risky sources of uncooked eggs. “That’s not going to kill that virus,” Dr. Detwiler said.

Dr. Detwiler also advises customers to be careful with eggs with runny yolks, including sunny-side up, poached, soft-boiled and over-easy eggs.

“In the case of bird flu problems, eggs should be cooked until both the white and yolk are firm, which ensures that the egg reaches a temperature that is likely to kill any viruses present,” he said.

According to the USDA, eggs should be cooked to at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius).

This could mean taking eggs benedict off your Sunday brunch menu, but not just because of the eggs themselves. Dr. Detwiler also suggested using hollandaise sauce, which is made from raw egg yolks, melted butter and lemon juice.

Dr. Detwiler also advises against using eggs that are dirty or cracked, as bacteria will linger on them.

Food safety experts have warned against eating eggs with runny yolks as they are not properly cooked and could increase the risk of bird flu

Dr. Detwiler recommended purchasing eggs, chicken and beef from a major retailer rather than a farmer’s market to ensure proper safeguards are in place.

In addition, Dr. Detwiler advises paying close attention to where you get your food.

“If there is H5N1 in birds, and that bird gets to the point where it’s still alive, and it produces eggs, then the birds need to be treated appropriately,” he said.

This included depopulation, culling, or deliberately killing infected chickens to prevent the virus from spreading.

Earlier this month, the US’s largest egg producer – Cal-Maine Foods in Texas – revealed it had to cull 2 ​​million birds after discovering the virus in its flock.

“We want to make sure we purchase eggs from reputable sources that follow strict biosecurity measures to prevent this,” Dr. Detwiler said.

He therefore recommended purchasing eggs, poultry and beef from major retailers rather than your local farmer’s market. “I don’t go to a farmer’s market or a farm,” he said.

‘I really enjoy those options, but right now I would go to a large reputable retailer that has been vetted and audited and has taken steps to ensure that companies putting products on the shelves are reputable and have biosecurity measures in place.

So far, 17 farms in six states have reported H5N1 infections in their cows – including five in Texas, as well as farms in New Mexico, Michigan, Ohio, Idaho and Kansas. Cows in Iowa are also being tested.

The above shows how bird flu in the US is moving closer to human spillover

The above graph shows cases of bird flu in humans worldwide, reported per year. The colors represent different countries, with the light blue being Egypt and the orange being Cambodia

Infected cattle are described as ‘sleepy’, eat less food and produce less milk. But they don’t die from their infections.

But it’s not clear how the cows became infected, whether through exposure to infected feces, bird carcasses or some other route. However, some researchers suggest that livestock become ill after drinking contaminated water from birds migrating through the area.

Dr. Detwiler noted that while the chance of catching bird flu from properly cooked food is low, “the severity is high” once someone gets sick.

“The risk increases with improperly cooked eggs or meat, just as the risks increase in a car accident if you don’t wear your seat belt.”

“However, looking at severity, the H5N1 strain has caused severe illness and fatalities in infected people.”

He noted that serious complications include respiratory failure, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS, which causes fluid to build up in the air sacs of the lungs) and multi-organ failure.

The World Health Organization estimates the fatality rate for H5N1 at 52 percent, based on the 462 deaths recorded since 2003 among the 887 people diagnosed with the virus.