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West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass is reassuring consumers that pork remains safe to eat and that no one should fear contracting the H1N1 virus from eating pork products. He also noted that no sign of H1N1 virus has been detected in any of the state’s herd of approximately 9,000 swine.
“Consumers should not see trade embargoes and animal depopulations in other countries as signs that this disease is anything other than what has been indicated,” said Commissioner Douglass.
“Pork consumers have a double layer of protection. First, this disease is not spread by consuming pork products. The reason for the current level of concern is that the disease is spreading among humans, not from eating contaminated meat. Second, thoroughly cooking food kills any food-borne viruses it might contain,” he added.
Egypt has ordered the slaughter of that country’s 300,000 swine as a precaution against the spread of H1N1, even though no cases of human illness have been reported there, and hogs are not likely to be the cause of human infections. Commissioner Douglass said Egypt is the only country he knows that has contemplated such an extreme measure.
China, Russia and Ukraine have blocked pork imports from the U.S. The move will hurt the U.S. pork industry, he said, but is one that has everything to do with intense competition in international food markets and nothing to do with the science behind the H1N1 outbreak.
China and Russia represented 27.4 percent of U.S. pork exports in 2008, which totaled 5 billion pounds. Overall, American hog farmers produced 23.3 billion pounds of pork this past year.
U.S. hog prices have dropped marginally in the last week to about $59 per hundred pounds of carcass weight. However, it remains to be seen if they will make their usual April / May climb to about $70.
”If we don’t see the typical bounce in spring prices, this could turn out to be a tough year for swine producers,” Commissioner Douglass said.
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.
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