To prevent trichinellosis (trichinosis), attention must be paid to reducing individual risk factors.
Behavioral risk factors
- Consumption of raw/insufficiently heated trichinella-infected meat.
Prevention measures
Meat inspection: in many countries, official trichinosis inspection (trichinosis inspection) is mandatory. This is under the supervision of the veterinary authorities with its approved methods and has long been proven as a primary prophylaxis for consumer health protection. This measure or equivalent protective measures (freezing of meat to kill any trichinae that may be present) are laid down in principle in European Union (EU) legislation for all member states and for interstate trade in meat and also apply to meat imported from third countries. Important note from the Robert Koch Institute: “In the past, in addition to pork products, air-dried camel meat and bear ham, among others, were triggers of infections.”
Heating meat Heating to a core temperature of > 70 °C for a period of one minute will certainly kill trichinae. These temperatures are not always reached in the core of larger pieces of meat, near the bone, or in a microwave oven. Especially when traveling, sufficient heating of the meat – recognizable by the color change from red to gray – should also be observed. Other treatments of meat: It is allowed instead of a trichina examination of carcasses and meat of pigs and horses a precisely prescribed freezing treatment:
- Prolonged freezing (> 20 days) with temperatures < – 15 °C or for 10 days at – 23 °C (with a layer thickness up to 15 cm) kills Trichinella larvae. However, the pathogenic, northern species T. nativa is particularly resistant to freezing even at very low temperatures.
Treatments such as smoking, curing, drying and salting are certain to render Trichinella harmless if appropriate minimum temperatures and exposure times or concentrations are maintained. Irradiation of meat, which is approved in some third countries but not in the EU, kills trichinae at relatively low doses.
