Influenza scares consumers away from pork

The H1N1 virus no longer seems to pose a threat but its initial name “Swine Flu” certainly caused a scare among pork lovers. The Ministry of Agriculture reports that since the scare, there has been a significant drop in the local consumption of pork and pork products. And while he could not offer a figure in terms of the losses in income to pig farmers, Director of Animal Health at the Belize Agricultural Health Authority, Dr. Victor Gongora, reiterates that there is no threat of catching H1N1 from eating pork.

Dr. Victor Gongora, Director of Animal Health, BAHA
“The pig industry, especially the Pig Council, has advised us that they have been suffering a loss in the sale of pork and pork products and they are attributing this directly to the threat of H1N1 influenza in recent weeks. The initial labelling of the disease as swine influenza and subsequently quotes in the press and the media in general, made people and the public feel that it was from swine, from pigs and then that caused the marked drop in consumption of pork and pork products. Pork and pork products are safe, safe for human consumption, they are good to eat. The H1N1 virus recently reported did not originate in pigs and studies have shown in Mexico, where we have the first cases being reported in humans, that they have not detected any problems with pig. Canada reported a case in pigs but it was from a human giving to their pig herds.”

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the local consumption of pork fell by almost forty percent over the past several weeks. Pork consumption decreases were also noted in the US, Canada and Mexico where there were confirmed cases of the influenza.