Pork raised naturally could be more dangerous than conventional

A recent study found that pigs raised outdoors, without the use of routine antibiotics, carried more bacteria and parasites than pigs raised conventionally. In the study, the outdoor pigs were found to have more exposure to salmonella, toxoplasma and trichinella. According to the Down to Earth food production blog, trichinella is the parasite that infects muscles and is the reason we’ve all been told to cook pork super well. Trichinella has been virtually eliminated from pork raised in conventional

systems.

According to the authors of the study, the outdoor pigs had higher infection rates due to exposure to wild and domestic animals, and access to soil and moisture.

Sara, from Down to Earth, reminds us that the reasons indoor rearing and antibiotics were put into place were to increase food safety and animal welfare, in response to intensive animal production systems. Therefore, removing those practices, without changing anything else, isn’t necessarily favourable.

[Source] Patricia Mayville-Cox

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