Expert: Keith Patton - 9/20/2004

Question
I have heard that jerky can be made from almost any kind of meat and most types of fish, but have never heard of pork jerky. Do people make jerky out of pork or is there some health concerns here?

Answer
Jon:

Yes there are health concerns about making pork jerky.  Trichinosis was once the bane of pork.  A free ranging pig would eat an infected snail or the meat of an infected animal and harbor the worm, which passed eggs out in it's feces, and could in turn infect other animals that might eat it because the trichinosis parisite forms cysts in the muscle tissue of the infected host.  It takes at least a temperature of 140 degrees F to kill the cysts.  So since jerky is brined meat cooked at a very low temperature, infected pork would not be safe.  Now today, most hogs never see the ground.  They are raised in covered buildings on concrete and are fed grain.  There is virtually not chance of most commercial pork having the parasite, BUT there are still hogs raised on farms that are free ranging and could be infected.  Old fears die hard.  Especially when the become religious law.  That is why pork is not allowed to Jews and Muslims.  The Rabbis and Imams saw fit to ban it as unclean thousands of years ago and the ban still stands.  That is only one of many things the two sects have in common, so I still can't figure out why they are killing each other...LOL.  Maybe if they sat down over a good pork barbeque they could work out thier differences.