New York's top steakhouses break silence over fears that bird flu could be on your steak and eggs

Steakhouses are hitting back at claims bird flu could be lurking in undercooked beef.

An ex-FDA official urged DailyMail.com readers this week to avoid rare or medium steaks due to a small risk of catching the virus that is spreading through US farms.

We visited several steakhouses in Manhattan on Wednesday to see if the concerns were shared by restaurant staff and customers.

All seven steak joints said their beef was 'safe to eat' — but a number admitted they 'hadn't even heard' of the H5N1 outbreak in cattle. 

Chris Pratt pictured tucking into a steak last year, as steakhouses say their steaks are safe to eat and there are no warnings from officials over bird flu in their meat

New York City restaurant owners told DailyMail.com they were unconcerned by the outbreak of bird flu in cattle and that their steaks were safe to eat

The above map shows cattle herds where the virus has been reported. It is in 20 herds across seven states, data shows, although most cases are linked back to Texas

'Our steaks are safe to eat,' said Brian Morrissey, the director of operations for Bobby Van's steakhouse in New York City.

'We would have heard something by now if we should be concerned,' he added, 'I trust the FDA'.

'Our steaks are fine,' another manager at the nearby Ted's Montana Grill said.

'Customers aren't even coming in and saying they are concerned about their steaks.'

He added: 'We haven't heard anything from corporate about this and they are normally quite good at telling us whether there is a package that has been recalled that we should look out for.'

A third manager at Smith and Wollensky steakhouse, a famous restaurant near Grand Central, said his staff hadn't even heard about the bird flu outbreak in cattle.

He added that they were not concerned by reports, saying there are often outbreaks of bird flu being reported.

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

EXCLUSIVEWhat you can and CAN'T eat amid America's bird flu cases

Americans are being urged to stay away from classic American dishes like steak and eggs and some desserts because there's a small risk of catching bird flu. 

It comes after ex-FDA food official Dr Darin Detwiler warned steaks that were not cooked through could carry bird flu.

'I am not convinced yet that simply searing the outside is enough to actually kill H5N1 in beef,' he said.

'I would 100 percent recommend that it is cooked throughout to a minimum safe cooking temperature [to kill viruses and bacteria].'

Officials are also seeking to dampen any concerns over potentially contaminated beef or milk, saying both are still safe to consume.

A spokesman for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, which represents cattle farmers, said: 'Importantly, the agency [USDA] confirmed there is no threat to human health, and milk and meat remains safe to consume.

'USDA has confirmed that affected dairy cows do not appear to be transmitting the virus to other cattle within the same herd. At present, H5N1 has not been detected in beef cattle.'

Bird flu outbreaks have been recorded among 20 cattle herds across six states so far — although mostly in Texas.

But these are all in dairy herds, with no cases recorded in Americans nearly 30million beef cattle.

There is also no evidence at this stage that infected cattle have the virus within their meat, with it only being recorded in their milk — while blood and mucus swabs came back negative.

The alarm has been raised over the virus as it spills over to 40 mammal species — raising concerns it could also reach humans.

This year one case in a farmer in Texas has been recorded so far, the second ever in the US, with the patient only suffering mild symptoms of inflammation in the eye.

But doctors have been urged to be on the lookout for more cases of the disease among farm workers.

Some experts have also warned infections could easily be missed because symptoms can be very mild.

Officials are not sure how cattle have been infected, although they have found no evidence at this stage to suggest the virus is airborne among herds.

Instead, they say the animals could have been infected via eating a feed called 'poultry litter' — which is the mashed up remains of birds and their droppings.

Cattle may also have been infected via dirty milking machines.