Related Documents Flu Facts05-09

Washington, May 3, 2009  - “Pork is safe to eat and handle,” the U.S. pork industry continues to assure people in the wake of a report from Canada that pigs in an Alberta pork operation contracted an H1N1 virus. A worker who recently visited Mexico – and became ill with flu-like symptoms – is suspected of transmitting the virus to a pig.

“People cannot get the flu from eating or handling pork,” said Dr. Jennifer Greiner, director of science and technology for the National Pork Producers Council. “The flu is a respiratory illness, it’s not a food-borne illness.”

According to the World Health Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security the H1N1 flu strain that has been contracted by a number of people worldwide cannot be transmitted by eating or handling pork; it does not pose a threat to the safety of food.

In a statement issued last night after learning about the situation in Canada, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said, “This is not a food-borne illness. The American food supply is safe and pork and pork products are safe.”

Early yesterday, the World Trade Organization, the OIE and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization issued a joint statement saying pork is safe.

“Influenza is not uncommon in pigs,” Greiner said, “but they recover, and it does not affect the safety or quality of pork.

“It is well known that influenzas are transmissible, and it is not a surprise that a flu virus might have passed from people to pigs. The bottom line is pork is safe to eat and handle.”

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