New York's top steakhouses break silence over fears that bird flu could be on ... trends now
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
