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Signs of Recognizing Diseased Pork

Because pork is a staple in many meals, homemakers need to be aware of signs of diseased pork to ensure the safety of their families.

Administrator

17 October, 2023

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Pork is one of the main foods in the Vietnamese family meal. This type of meat can be prepared in many dishes and can be eaten quite regularly.

Pork is rich in nutrients and can provide all the essential nutrients that the body needs:

– High-quality protein, with almost all essential amino acids for living activities.

– Essential vitamins and minerals such as phosphorus, potassium, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, zinc…

– Glycine and collagen: There is a significant amount of glycine in pork skin, which helps the body synthesize more collagen. Collagen is a very important substance that helps hair, skin, and joints stay healthy.

– Selenium – an important substance that helps the human thyroid gland function effectively.

However, pork can be harmful to human health. Therefore, you need to know the signs of diseased pork to avoid mistakenly buying it.

Signs of diseased pork

Being cautious when examining a piece of meat when buying it will help you avoid buying pork from pigs infected with parasites or diseases such as trichinosis, blue-ear disease, etc.

Signs of diseased pork: The white spots in the picture are an indication of pig tapeworm (parasite) infection.

Pigs infected with parasites: The simplest way to detect pork with parasites is to cut the meat vertically and observe the surface of the meat. If you see large white spots the size of a needlehead or sections of meat with fiber-like or oval-shaped spots, those are signs of pig tapeworm infection. These spots usually appear in areas of meat with fat tissue such as shoulder meat, muscle meat, tenderloin meat, etc.

Pigs with hepatitis: The meat has a yellowish color.

Pigs infected with African swine fever: There are bleeding spots on the pig’s skin and ears. The pig’s ears turn purple. All internal organs are bleeding. In addition, signs of pork infected with African swine fever include meat with unusual colors such as brown, deep red, pale purple, or pale green.

Signs of contaminated pork

When washing, if the pork changes from pink to pale, with a strong odor, it indicates that the meat is spoiled or contaminated with chemicals to cover up its appearance.

When touching the meat, if it feels firm, without elasticity when pressed, not tender… then it is likely that the meat has been treated with urea or contains lean pigs.

The meat has a grayish or brownish color, with the skin and flowing light green liquid, indicating that the meat is spoiled. And if the meat has a dark brown color or is sticky with blood, the fat part has a pink color, and the cut surface of the meat has dark red liquid, then it is diseased pork. The most important criterion to determine whether the meat is fresh or not is the smooth and shiny surface; good meat should have a pale pink color, soft, and smooth.

The fat layer of the meat is too thin, and the connection between the meat fibers is loose, which can be the result of artificially increasing the weight of the pig.

If the meat doesn’t look fresh and feels sticky when touched, it means it has changed. At this point, there is a large amount of microorganisms in the meat, and the metabolic products they produce will make the surface layer become sticky and wet.

Pork that is undergoing microbial fermentation or decay will have a foul odor and no longer carry the characteristic aroma of raw meat. When the meat has an unusual odor, it is definitely spoiled or it may be dead pork.

When a piece of meat is left for a long time, proteins and fats are gradually broken down, and the structure of the meat fibers is destroyed, resulting in low elasticity. If the meat is injected with water, its elasticity will also be very low.

According to VTC