Does Pork Carry Swine Flu?

Many People are Under the Impression that Pork is Safe

Why do so many people think that eating Pork carries no risk of transmisssion of H1N1 Swine Flu?

Probably part of that lies with the Pork Lobbyists and Industry members who have worked very hard to get this claim across. It's in their monetary interests to keep Americans eating Pork, even though their market has fallen by around 30% in recent months.

But what does the CDC say? The CDC actually provides contradictory information.
However, in answering their own questions, they state the following-

"Can people catch swine flu from eating pork?
No. Swine influenza viruses are not transmitted by food. You can not get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products. Eating properly handled and cooked pork and pork products is safe. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160°F kills the swine flu virus as it does other bacteria and viruses."

That last part is the interesting part. "Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160°F kills the swine flu virus as it does other bacteria and viruses."

Now, if pigs did not have the Swine Flu Virus, or did not be needed to be cooked at a certain temperature in order to kill it, the sentence should read- "No care needs to be taken regarding cooking or handling pork products and Swine Flu, as Swine Flu is not contractable through pork products ever. Care should however be taken to cook Pork at certain temperatures in order to kill other viruses and pathogens it may have."

But it does not say that. It says specifically that cooking Pork to 160 degrees "kills the Swine Flu virus".

Now, you may love Pork. And you may always cook it 'properly', or enjoy taking risks, but to say that the Center For Disease Control states that Pork is not contaminated with the Swine Flu Virus is incorrect. They actually provide cooking methods to kill it and other viruses.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/swineflu/key_facts.htm