The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has identified genetic evidence of H5N1 avian influenza in the nation’s milk supply through testing. However, the agency emphasizes that its tests cannot determine if the contamination originated from a live virus or remnants that had been destroyed during pasteurization. Despite the presence of HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza) traces detected via qPCR testing, the FDA maintains the safety of the U.S. milk supply due to effective pasteurization practices and stringent measures to prevent contaminated milk from entering the supply chain.