Prevention of Trichinosis

Prevention list: Methods of prevention of Trichinosis mentioned in various sources includes those listed below. This prevention information is gathered from various sources, and may be inaccurate or incomplete. None of these methods guarantee prevention of Trichinosis.

Cooking meat
Freezing meat
Cook sausages fully
Avoid undercooked pork
Avoid undercooked pig meat products
Irradiating meat

Prevention of Trichinosis: How can I prevent trichinosis?

Cook meat products until the juices run clear or to an internal temperature of 170^o F.
Freeze pork less than 6 inches thick for 20 days at 5 ^o F to kill any worms.
Cook wild game meat thoroughly. Freezing wild game meats, unlike freezing pork products, even for long periods of time, may not effectively kill all worms.
Cook all meat fed to pigs or other wild animals.
Do not allow hogs to eat uncooked carcasses of other animals, including rats, which may be infected with trichinosis.
Clean meat grinders thoroughly if you prepare your own ground meats.

Curing (salting), drying, smoking, or microwaving meat does not consistently kill infective worms.¹

Researchers and health care providers have known all the basic facts necessary for preventing trichinosis in humans for years. You can kill the parasite by cooking (allowing all parts of the meat to reach at least 150 degrees Fahrenheit), freezing (16 degrees Fahrenheit for 36 hours). Irradiation can also kill T. spiralis. Smoking, pickling, and other methods of processing or preserving meats do not kill the parasite. ²

Footnotes:
1. excerpt from Trichinosis: DPD
2. excerpt from Parasitic Roundworm Diseases, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID

Last revision: June 13, 2003

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