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Study: Stink Bug Stench In Cow Feed Doesn't Transfer To Milk

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP/KDKA) - Scientists with the U.S. Agriculture Department have some tasty news for milk drinkers.

They say dairy cows that were given feed contaminated with brown marmorated stink bugs produced milk with no detectable stink bug odor.

Stink bugs can be a big problem in the Pittsburgh area, and with the warmer weather, more are coming out.

Frederick County Dairy Science Extension Agent Stanley Fultz said that the research was done at USDA labs in Beltsville, Md., and Wyndmoor, Pa.

Researchers found no detectable odor in milk from cows that either ate stink bugs or had stink bug odor compounds placed into their stomachs.

Fultz says farmers can continue harvesting stinkbug-infested crops without concern that the odor will show up in the milk supply.

The findings will be published in the proceedings of the American Dairy Science Association's annual meeting to be held in Indianapolis in July.

Now is the time to take steps to prevent future stink bug invasions in your home.

However, after all the snow and cold of this winter, the bugs are back and the first week or two of April is the ideal time to put out the traps.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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