How to distinguish clean pork from meat infected with worms and diseased pork

Clean pork is pork that is not fed with growth-promoting feed, has no drug residues or chemicals in the feed, is free of parasites and bacteria, and has no preservatives. Clean pork usually has a thick layer of skin and fat.

There are many ways to identify clean pork and pork infected with parasites, commonly infected with worms. According to traditional medicine practitioner Bui Dac Sang, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, a simple way to detect is to cut the meat along the grain and observe. If the meat has white spots as big as a pinhead, or the meat fibers are fibrous or oval in shape, it is infected with worms.

"You can also tell by touching the meat," said physician Sang. A piece of pork that is hard, has no elasticity, is not soft... could very well have been soaked in urea or contains borax.

The tapeworm that commonly infects meat is called Cysticercus cellulosae. When entering the human body, the tapeworm does not immediately develop into small worms, but continues to exist as larvae, forming moving tumors in the skin and soft tissues. These mobile tumors often appear on the face, back of the hand, back, buttocks, and abdomen. The tumor gradually turns into a small nodule or a swollen mass, causing damage to the central nervous system such as perceptual disorders, hemiplegia, and coma.

The larvae can also move into internal organs such as the liver and lungs, causing abdominal pain, cough, chest pain, and difficulty breathing. They move into the eyes, causing bleeding, reduced vision, and blindness. When they crawl into the ear canal or nasal cavity, they cause earaches and rhinitis.

In addition to the risk of parasitic infections, pork can also be contaminated with growth promoters, lean meat additives, or preservatives.

Identify porkclean with meatweight gain, super lean

Super lean pork due to chemicals has a stronger fishy smell than clean pork, thin layer of fat, lean and fat parts are separate.

Clean pork has a bright pink color while super lean pork is an unusually deep red, bright and shiny, with red spots appearing on the skin.

Another simple test is to cut the meat into 3-4 cm thick pieces. If the meat cannot stand straight, it is pork that has been given growth hormones.

Clean pork when boiled has clear water, no dirty scum. When cooked, the meat expands, does not release water, and has a fragrant smell. Super lean meat or meat fed with growth-enhancing feed when boiled often has a lot of scum, the water has a foul smell, when fried, releases a lot of water, and is dry to eat.

Recognize tmeatclean pork with meatngminuspreservative

Meat marinated with preservatives looks bright red but the fibers are firm and lose elasticity. Cut deep inside, the meat is quite soft, oozing liquid, slightly dark in color, and has an odor. When washed, this type of meat will turn pale and have a very unpleasant fishy smell, the fat will be yellow. When cooked, the spoiled meat juice will be cloudy, smell bad, the surface fat will separate into small circles instead of large scum like fresh meat.

How to cook pork safely

- Wash your hands before and after cooking.

- Do not eat raw, rare, or undercooked pork. Eat cooked meat immediately to avoid leaving it for too long, which can create conditions for bacteria to grow.

- Do not place cooked food next to raw food or preparation tools. Tools such as knives and cutting boards should be washed before preparing other foods.