Canada to test milk for H5N1 avian flu after harmless traces found in U.S. cattle

Canadian food safety and agriculture officials will test retail milk for harmless traces of the avian flu virus as they step up efforts to determine whether a highly pathogenic version of H5N1 has spread undetected into Canadian cattle from herds in the United States.The Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced Friday that it would also facilitate the voluntary testing of apparently healthy cows for bird flu. The statement did not provide details on how they would do so.Earlier this week, in a notice to the Canadian dairy industry, the agency said that lactating cows could no longer be imported from the U.S. without proof of negative flu tests. That change took affect April 29.