Pig meat is safe

SUFFOLK pig industry commentator Ian Campbell said scientific papers had been warning for the past three or four years about a possible threat from swine flu.

SUFFOLK pig industry commentator Ian Campbell said scientific papers had been warning for the past three or four years about a possible threat from swine flu.

“Although it is called swine flu, I've not seen any suggestions that there is any risk at the moment in working with pigs in this country or connected with pig meat,” he said.

“It is most likely to have originated in the Far East and then been brought to Mexico, where it has multiplied.

“It's a funny time of year for flu to be presenting problems for us with the spring sunshine.

“Will it do a Sars, threaten Armageddon and peter out? The critical message is that it remains extremely difficult to cross the species barrier," said Mr Campbell, who was the National Pig Association's regions manager and lives near Stowmarket.

“We bring nothing into this country in the way of fresh meat from Mexico and the Americas. I very much doubt if it is transmissible in meat and I'd be surprised if it was.

“We have absolutely negligible traffic between this country and Mexico in terms of live material. It is probably the reverse, because the Americas are big buyers of stock.

“When an East Anglia pig producer asked what to tell his pigman, I told him, 'Don't go on holiday to Mexico'.”