The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-12-23
WARNING AGAINST UNCOOKED
 AND RAW PORK
Danger of Trichinosis in Special Forms
 of Pork Prepared For Christmas Use in Certain Sections.

1 Washington, Dec -23--The- FISK O1
 contra cting trichinosis from eating raw or uncooked pork is, according | to specialists of the Department o1 l Agriculture, particularly great at the IChristmas season in certain sections 1 where people are accustomed to pre- | pare special uncooked pork products
 for holiday consumption. While 1 merican people as rule prefer | cooked pork which is wholesome there are many who unknowingly or l deliberately consume pork in an uT1- cooked condition, either in the form l of raw ham or smoked sausages. In
 many districts, particularly in sec tions with large foreign populations, a great deal of pork is made into such 1 products for home use, and during | the holiday seasons an individual may make up a conSi derable amount o1 these products and distribute them among his neighbors. In other cases these products are used by the maker l to feed large number of persons who have gathered for a wedding, a chris tening, or other celebration. Large quantities of pork products intended to be eaten raw are also prepared comm ercially.
 Great risk always attends the use
 of raw or uncooked pork for food,
 and undoubtedly many isolated cases
 of trichinosis are treated us other
 sicknesses and are not traced back to
 the eating of raw pork. Where a large
 number of persons are affected the circumstances however, are very
 striking and the eases of trichinosis are often traced back to their source. During November and December,
 19111 in California community there were 5S cases of illness, ter
 rninatfng fatally, all of which were traced back to some salanf sausage
 purchased from a single farmer. Oth- CT outbreaks of trichinosis have oc- cured where the number of fataH- ties has been even greater.
 The illness which may result from eating raw pork, known as trichino- sis, is caused by a parasite or a worm microscopic in size, which occurs in the flesh of hogs. There is no known effective method of treating the disease. The patient dies or re- covers appar rentIy irrespective of the nature of the treatment. In many cases patients who have survived the acute stages of the disease have had their health more or less permanent ly impaire.
 Statistics based on microscopic in- spection of over s,0o0,o0o hogs dur ing a period of years in this coun- try hove shown that 1.41 per cent. of the hogs were infected with live trich- inae. This fact alone makes it inn portant that everyone who eats pork should for the protection of health eat it only when thoroughly cooked. In certain foreign countries where the dangerous custom of eating raw pork is particularly common the health au- thorities have tried at great expense and not altogether successfully, to protect the consumer from trtchinosis by means of a system of microscopic inspection. Even where such an in- spection is in effect, however, it is still dangerous to eat raw pork. In this country there is no inspection for trtchinos and the eating of raw pork is still more dangerous in view of the prevalence of Trichine1Ia Sp1ralis (the trichtna parasite or worn) in hogs.
 How to Eat Pork Safely.
 If trichinosis is to be avoided the following rules should be observed:
 First, refrain from eating pork in the raw state, including dried or smoked sausages, hams, and in fact any kind of meat product made up wholly or in part of raw pork.
 Second, thoroughly cook all pork which is to be eaten.
 The trtchina parasites die and be- come harmless when exposed to a temp mperature of 40 degrees Fahren- heit for a. short time. These para-'I present in large numbers they do not l affect the value or desir- l ability of the meat for food purposes, l provided it is not eaten raw or 1n- perfectly cooked.
 In the case of uncured pork the | of the cooking can be ] judged by whether the meat clear to l the center of the piece has lost it's l reddish bloody appearance and has | become more or less white in colon | Heat penetrates slowly into pieces of | meat during cooking, and the tempe -ature near the center ordinarily new er approaches very closely that of the air or water. Conse- 1uently in order to obta1n 8 tenpora- ,ure of 40 degrees at the center 1t $ necessary that the temperature to which the piece of meat is exposed turing cooking should be considerably higher than 14o> degrees.
 How Long to Cook Pork.
 The following rule for cooking pork oy boiling is based on careful expert nents carried out some years ago by 1 ! Danish investigator:
 Cook the meat minutes (surn- 1 ner) to IS minutes (winter) for each pound of weight if put into boiling water, keeping the water boiling the cooking process. If he meat is put into cold water deduct half the time required to bring the water to boil.
 Examples: How long should a 1O- pound ham be boiled if placed in boil ng water?
 10x1S equals 1SO minutes, or 3 hours.
 How long should a I0-pound ham pc boiled if placed in cold water and f l hour is required to bring the | water to a boil?
 1ox1s-3o equals 150 minutes, or 1-2 hours, after boiling begins.
 In applying the rule given above, he Is minutes per pound allowance should be followed in summer as well IS in winter If the meat is taken from refrigerator and cooking begun be- ore it has had time to reach the or iinary house temperature. For l nigh attitudes where the temperature 'f boiling water is considerably less han at sea level the time of cooking 1 must be heightened