"jw 1111" > wrote in message
...
> hi, i recently saw one of those electronic thermometers that has a proble
> that goes
> inside the meat to get an accurate reading of the cooking temperature
within
> the centre of the meat. With beef you can set the temperature to a lower
one
> for 'rare' and a higher one for 'well done'. For certain meats like
poultry
> and pork it just has the one temperature setting which is a minimum
> temperature which when reached sets off a buzzer to tell you that it's
> cooked.
>
> So for instance if you are cooking pork and the thermometer tells you it
has
> reached this minimum temperature would that mean that its then really
> cooked? I understand that pork can have certain parasites in it that can
> affect humans and they need to be killed by complete cooking. Is there
some
> 'time limit' then on how long pork need to be cooked at this minimum
> temperature or is reaching this minimum temperature just enough? thanks
>
>
>

Sorry to reply again, but I found this about Trichinosis:

Frequency:


a.. In the US: Occurrence in the United States is largely limited to
sporadic cases or small clusters related to consumption of home-processed
meats from noncommercial farm-raised pigs and wild game. The US national
surveillance system is a passive system with links to state and local
levels. Trichinosis has been a reportable disease since 1966. The Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveillance system has data as far
back as 1947 demonstrating a significant decrease in cases from a peak of
nearly 500 in 1948 to averages of fewer than 50 over the past several years
(Roy, 2003).
The US Department of Agriculture conducts periodic surveillance of
farm-raised pigs. In a 1999 study, the major risk factor for seropositivity
in tested pigs was access to live wildlife or wildlife carcasses.