Despite ASF, 5 Healthy Assurances That Pork Is Safe To Eat

Can you see the pig in the middle of the image[1] above? CNN says ASF has wiped out a third of China's pig population, like 100 million[2]. "Pork is a huge deal in China. The country is home to half of all the pigs on the planet." It is visually obvious to me now where the ASF virus came from that first visited the Philippines a couple of months ago.

Now, why is China not panicking about human victims of the ASF? Let us find out!

Are you ready to confront the truth about the African Swine Fever, ASF? I want to talk to you about these 5 truths:

(1) The ASF virus cannot infect human cells.

(2) The ASF virus is inactivated by heat.

(3) The health people say pork is safe to eat despite ASF.

(4) The experts say pork is safe to eat.

(5) There is no report of a single human victim anywhere.

(1)   The ASF virus cannot infect humans. 

The Center for Food Safety of Hong Kong says, "Viruses have surface proteins on the outside which must bind to a host cell in order to enter and replicate." Therefore, because the virus cannot attach itself to any human cell, ASF is not a threat to humans[3]. 

(2)   The ASF virus is inactivated by heat. 

FAO says, "Heating at 60°C for 30 minutes will inactivate the virus[4]." The agriculture.gov.au says the virus can be inactivated by retort cooking at an internal temperature of 69°C, or after 30 days of ham curing[5]. The virus could also be inactivated in infected tissue using 20 kilograys of ionizing gamma radiation.

(3)   The health people say pork is safe to eat despite ASF.

In the US of A, 5-time James Beard award nominee, Miami-based chef & restaurateur Jose Mendin says ASF is not a food safety concern for humans[6]. There is no need to stop cooking and eating pork.

In the Philippines, Secretary of Health Francisco Duque III says, "As long as pork is bought from reliable sources and it is cooked thoroughly, pork is safe to eat[7]."

(4)   The experts say pork is safe to eat.

According to the OiE-World Organization for Animal Health, the "ASF is not a risk to human health[8]." The Pig Site says "the virus does not cause harm to humans[9]." The Canadian Pork Council says, "Humans cannot… contract the disease by eating meat from a pig infected with ASF[10]."

(5)   Not a single human victim reported anywhere in the world.

In 2007, "there was a great jump of the disease, with the reentry of ASF virus on the European continent, this time, by the Caucasus region[11]. Since 2007, according to the OiE, the disease has been reported in multiple countries across Africa, Asia and Europe[12]. Yet, having surfed the Web for several days, I writer have not found a report of any human victim of the ASF.@517

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[1] https://www.mla.com.au/prices-markets/market-news/african-swine-fever-continues-to-spread/#

[2] https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/04/business/china-pork-swine-fever-pigs/index.html

[3] https://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/multimedia/multimedia_pub/multimedia_pub_fsf_150_01.html

[4] http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/en/empres/Gemp/cont-plan/cp-asf/asf1242-virus.htm

[5] https://www.agriculture.gov.au

[6] https://www.pork.org/african-swine-fever-need-know/

[7] https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/09/19/doh-african-swine-fever-not-a-risk-to-humans

[8] https://www.oie.int/en/animal-health-in-the-world/animal-diseases/african-swine-fever/

[9] https://thepigsite.com/disease-guide/african-swine-fever-asf

[10] https://www.cpc-ccp.com/african-swine-fever

[11] https://www.sanidadanimal.info/en/104-emerging-diseases/379-african-swine-fever

[12] https://www.oie.int/en/animal-health-in-the-world/animal-diseases/african-swine-fever/