Meat from pigs infected with H1N1 flu should not be eaten by humans, a WHO official said on Wednesday, while stressing that existing checks were sufficient to safeguard the food supply from the new virus strain.

Jorgen Schlundt, director of the World Health Organization's Department of Food Safety, Zoonoses and Foodborne Diseases, said care must be taken to ensure that pigs and their meat were checked for all diseases, including the H1N1 virus that may be present in the blood of infected animals.

“Meat from sick pigs or pigs found dead should not be processed or used for human consumption under any circumstances,” he told Reuters.

It is possible for flu viruses such as the new H1N1 strain to survive the freezing process and be present in thawed meat, as well as in blood, the expert said. But he stressed that there was no risk of infection from eating or handling pork so long as normal precautions were adhered to.

“While it is possible for influenza viruses to survive the freezing process and be present on thawed meat, there are no data available on the survival of Influenza A/H1N1 on meat nor any data on the infectious dose for people,” he wrote in an email reply to questions from Reuters about risks from the respiratory secretions and blood of infected pigs.

Schlundt said it was still unclear whether and how long the virus, which is commonly known as swine flu but also contains human and avian flu pieces, would be present in the blood and meat-juices of animals which contracted it.

“The likelihood of influenza viruses to be in the blood of an infected animal depends on the specific virus. Blood (and meat-juice) from influenza H1N1-infected pigs may potentially contain virus, but at present, this has not been established,” he said.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) have said import bans on pigs and pork are not required to safeguard public health because the disease is not food-borne and does not pose a threat in dead animal tissue.

While acknowledging technical questions remain about the conditions in which the virus may be present, Schlundt stressed that the WHO had not changed its basic guidance that pork is safe to eat.

International trade and food safety guidelines – drawn up well before the latest flu scare – provide ample protection and ensure meat is not sourced from sick animals, he said.

“Sick animals should not enter the food chain. If you are following existing guidelines it (the virus) will not get into the human food chain,” he said.

(click here to read the entire article)