WASHINGTON — The US Department of Agriculture published a new study requested by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) that analyzed the safety of US pork to consumers.
In the study, researchers discovered zero Trichinella positives in more than 3.2 million pork samples, demonstrating that biosecurity measures preventing pigs’ exposure to rodents, wildlife and contaminated feed or waste products have been successful in reducing the risk of infection.
“USDA scientists have confirmed that US pork producers’ rigorous biosecurity efforts to keep pigs healthy are working,” said Lori Stevermer, NPPC president and a pork producer from Easton, Minn. “Because of decades of pork industry research and hard work on the farm, consumers can continue to be confident that the pork on their dinner table is safe to eat.”
This was the first comprehensive survey of pigs produced under the Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) Plus certification program. US pork producers participate in this program to continually improve their practices, including biosecurity measures to prevent farm-to-farm exposure to wildlife and rodents — the main sources of Trichinella in pigs.
Over a period of 54 months, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) surveyed over 3.2 million samples of pork from 12 processing plants across 23 states.
The study, conducted by both ARS and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), concluded that PQA Plus biosecurity measures are effective mitigations of risk for Trichinella in US swine herds. The results are consistent with international guidelines for having a negligible risk to public health, highlighting that US pork is safe to eat.
NPPC plans to leverage this data with trading partners who use Trichinella as a trade barrier.
Trading partners have long restricted access for US pork because of Trichinella concerns, NPPC noted. Over the past decade, the group has persistently requested a USDA study to validate the safety of US pork and prove there was a negligible risk for Trichinella in the domestic swine herd.
Through verification from this study, US pork will be able to gain access to more markets without extensive testing and further processing.