Hey Oneills, you wrote:
This is made in the traditional Italian way with a precise amount of salt (2.8 %) and natural fermentation of the meat to make it safe to eat.
In 2003, Dr. M. Ellin Doyle at the University of Wisconsin in Madison wrote
trichinella spiralis is so resistant to salt that it takes 8 to 9 percent to kill the larva. Levels above about 4 per cent are not palatable to humans. Many dry-cured (raw) sausages are prepared with salt levels nearing 3-1/2 per cent because the higher salt volume controls pathogenic bacteria by "binding" the water (Aw) until the lactic acid bacteria has had a chance to work by competing with the pathogenic bacteria for sugar.
A couple of years ago, a new member wrote in and asked:
Do you guys freeze your pork to kill any possible trichinae before making salami or just take a chance and not worry about it?
Absolutely we freeze pork to kill any possible trichinae. But simple freezing will not destroy the microorganism. We must "Deep" Freeze meat - BELOW ZERO! Although the FSIS has done much to eradicate the disease by enforcing modified laws, especially after the mid 1970`s, there yet remain about 40 cases of trichinosis each year in the U.S. alone. Most of these cases stem from smaller farms yet feeding their stock the entrails of previously slaughtered pork and because it has not yet been completely alleviated and we must never take a chance or take it for granted that it couldn`t yet possibly affect our sausage making.
In North America, there are five known species of
Trichinella. They are
Trichinella spiralis, T. nativa, T. pseudospiralis, Trichinella T-5, and
Trichinella T-6. The one we deal with most often in pork is
trichinella spiralis. The other four occur mostly in game animals.
Species T-5 is found mostly in bears and other wildlife in the eastern United States, while
species T-6 is mostly in bears and other wildlife in the Northwestern United States.
Species T. nativa is found in Alaska. Both
T. nativa and
Trichinella T-6 are
resistant to freezing.
Trichinella pseudospiralis has been reported infrequently from birds, but can infect pigs also.
You would be surprised at just how many people believe that simple freezing will destroy
trichinella spiralis. Actually, the majority of people believe it, and that frightens me. I often think of the folks who shoot javelinas and think simply freezing the carcass will take care of
trichinella spiralis. It absolutely will not! In fact, The Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, at Massachusetts General Hospital has concluded that "Smoking, salting, or drying meat are not reliable methods of killing the organism that causes this infection". Further, "Only freezing at subzero temperatures (Fahrenheit) for 3 to 4 weeks will kill the organism". If folks ever gazed into a microscope and saw the round nematode worm embedded far into human muscle tissue, they would surely think twice about proper sub-zero temperatures. The first time I saw the living microorganism beneath the microscope, I thought I'd lose my lunch! The thing that alarms me is that most people do not have the means of freezing meat at these cryogenic temperatures - so, they take the chance. Yet, if the pork has come from a reliable grocer rather than an "independent small farmer", you will be pretty much safe.
'Wanna get' really scared? Here's how the little buggers work:
Trichinella cysts break open in the intestines and grow into adult roundworms whenever a person eats meat from an infected animal. These roundworms produce other worms that move through the stomach wall and into the bloodstream. From here, the organisms tend to invade muscle tissues, including the heart and diaphragm, lungs and brain. At this point,
trichinosis becomes most painful.
But we can get rid of it right?
Wrong! The medications
Mebendazole or
albendazole may be used to treat infections in the intestines, but once the larvae have invaded the muscles, there is
no specific treatment for trichinosis and the cysts remain viable for years. Complications of the disease include encephalitis, heart arrhythmias, myocarditis, (inflammation), and complete heart failure. Pneumonia is also a common complication. So what do we do? Purchase pork from a known, reliable, supplier who conforms to USDA and FSIS rules and imports commercially-grown pork. Or, you can cryogenically treat your own if you are a small producer of hogs and insist on feeding your piggies the entrails of other animals.
Employing FSIS rules, hog producers have come so far since the mid 1970's that
trichinella spiralis isn't much of a threat any longer in
commercial pork. However, about 40 people a year (in the United States) are still infected by pork that has been "home grown" by local hog raisers who will not comply. (I don't know the statistics in other countries.) When the animal's feed is infected, the cycle starts all over again. One of these days, small producers will "get it" and adhere to modern feeding practices recommended by the USDA.
Oh yes... this are only my thoughts on
trichinella spiralis. Just wait until I start in on
clostridium botulinum!
Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon