Showing support by piggin’ out
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/05/2009 (6319 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
OTTAWA — The government says pork is safe to eat despite a warning by the World Health Organization that the swine flu virus could survive in slaughtered pigs.
"Canadian pork is safe. There is no danger," Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz insisted Wednesday after serving pork sandwiches to MPs and government workers on Parliament Hill.
Earlier in the day, a WHO official said the pig strain of the H1N1 virus may withstand freezing and persist in the thawed meat and blood of infected animals.
Jorgen Schlundt, A WHO director, told Reuters it’s possible for influenza viruses to survive the freezing process, and he cautioned against eating meat from sick and dead pigs infected with the swine flu.
But Dr. Brian Evans of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said that’s not an issue in Canada because there are safeguards to keep diseased pigs from making it to market.
Those checks make it virtually impossible for infected pork to end up on store shelves, he said, since pigs are screened for illnesses before they ever make it to the slaughterhouse.
Swine also undergo a clinical pre-assessment at slaughterhouses.
"The message that is coming out clearly from WHO today, which is standard operating practice in Canada, is the fact that you do not slaughter sick animals and you do not slaughter dead animals for human consumption," Evans said.
"What the WHO is saying is what we do every day, every week, every month, every year as part of our food inspection system."
Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada’s chief public health officer, also said there’s no cause for concern.
"There is no reason to stop eating pork. The inspection system in Canada does address all those issues."
There’s no evidence that anyone has caught swine flu from eating pork. Still, 10 countries have banned Canadian pork products since the virus was found on an Alberta farm.
— The Canadian Press
