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The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced that Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have documented the absence of infection by Trichinella, a parasite that once posed a major food safety risk in the commercial pork supply. ARS and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) conducted a national survey by sampling 3.2 million pigs raised under the U.S. Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA+) program and found zero animals infected with Trichinella. These results are consistent with international food safety guidelines for Trichinella to be considered a negligible risk for public health.
The United States does not perform post-slaughter testing for Trichinella in the pork supply. While modern production systems followed by U.S pork producers effectively minimize risk of exposure to this parasite, absence of Trichinella infection has never been verified through national testing. ARS researchers pursued this study to ascertain whether the PQA+ program eliminates the risk of Trichinella exposure in commercial pork, thereby addressing the demands of the U.S. export market.
August 2, 2024/ USDA/ United States.
https://www.ars.usda.gov/
