Trichinosis In Wild Game - A good read

[PRDATR]

I thought about putting this in the Campfire but since it was more toward cooking I'll post it here.

 

https://honest-food.net/on-trichinosis-in-wild-game/

[Couestracker]

Thanks Predator!

[awatson]

That is an outstanding article.

 

Interesting that there were only 80+ people that contracted it in the US during that entire 5 year period, and I guess Steve Rinella was one of them?

[AZLance]

I always freeze for 60 day minimum, and cook to medium well... never had a problem.

[lonne]

Cool, interesting, and informative article. Thanks PRDATR.

[4Falls]

Great article! I've just about finished my bear from October and it has been the most delicious game meat. I've made sure to cook it till it reaches 150 degrees internally. I do have a question though, do any of you make jerky from you bear meat and how do you do it? Is the freezing for 60 days adequate?

[trphyhntr]

Had my first experience with bear meat this year. Tastes ok, that fat and greasyness was pretty disgusting I thought.

[lonne]

I've had wild game that was awful, but in those cases it seems it has always been the cook. The bear I had was smoked for like 7-8 hours and man it was fantastic. Must've been a berry eater and indeed I shot him gorging himself on a patch of prickly pear. I've heard a zillion times it is all in what they eat, and it seems like this would hold true.

[kidso]

do any of you make jerky from you bear meat and how do you do it? Is the freezing for 60 days adequate?

That is the question I seek an answer to as well. I have cooked lots of bear many different ways, but have never jerked any for fear of trichinosis and wondering if dehydrating in the jerking process reaches 150 degrees, which I doubt it does.

 

Answer?

[PRDATR]

From what I have seen all the conventional dehydrators are 155dgF that have a fixed setting. The ones with adjustable dials are 84-155dgF.

[CouesWhitetail]

Thanks for the article...good info!

[savagman]

Interesting question about Jerky.  I always was taught that you could either cook or cure.  Looks like cook and cure might be safer.  Keep the meat over 126 degrees for 47 minutes plus the salt cure and should be ok?  Or trade me some bear meat for some elk meat and eliminate the worry... Still craving the green chile bearritos I made many years back.

From USDA

Where fresh pork is not tested for trichinae, as is the case in the U.S., alternative methods are used to prevent exposure of humans to potentially contaminated product. These include processing methods such as cooking, freezing and curing along with recommendations to the consumer concerning requirements for thorough cooking.

Cooking - Commercial preparation of pork products by cooking requires that meat be heated to internal temperatures which have been shown to inactivate trichinae. For example, Trichinella spiralis is killed in 47 minutes at 52� C (125.6� F), in 6 minutes at 55� C (131� F), and in < 1 minute at

Curing - There are a great variety of processes used to prepare cured pork products (sausages, hams, pork shoulder, and other ready-to-eat products). Most processes currently used have been tested to determine their efficiency in killing trichinae. In the curing process, product is coated or injected with a salt mixture and allowed to equalize at refrigerated temperatures. Following equalization, product is dried or smoked and dried at various temperature/time combinations which have been shown to inactivate trichinae. The curing process involves the interaction of salt, temperature and drying times to reach a desired water activity, percent moisture, or brine concentration. Unfortunately, no single or even combination of parameters achieved by curing has been shown to correlate definitively with trichinae inactivation. All cured products should conform in process to one of many published regulations, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Code of Federal Regulations Title 9, Chapter III, �318.10.