WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and SportsFarmers say pork is safe to eat

Farmers say pork is safe to eat

MADISON (WKOW) -- Bob Uphoff's pigs have been a topic of conversation.

"People have been talking people have been asking," he says.

And the questions have centered around swine flu.

Uphoff says the biggest one is whether you can get the virus from eating pork.

"The meat that comes off of the pigs in healthy and so there is no flu virus or anything in the meat."

Uphoff's Ham and Bacon Farm produces up to 2,000 hogs a year.

He says each one of those animals is monitored closely seven days a week.

Uphoff says they aren't worried about their pigs catching the virus.

"This strain of swine flu that everyone is calling a the swine flu has not been found in hogs."

Bartlett Durand of Black Earth Meats says they've also had to set the record straight on pork.

He says their business works with a dozen local organic farmers and each hog they process is inspected three times.

He says it isn't pigs they're worried about, it's people.

"No animal comes into our plant is not sick at all we know we're okay there. It's the relatives, friends, kids and the normal population. So we've doubled our sanitation to make sure our people are okay."

Uphoff tells us one thing he's worried about is how this pork panic will affect his business overseas.

Many countries have closed their borders to imports of US pork, And 95 percent of his product goes to Japan.

"Should they close it off then we've lost a market and the difference between our market and Japan and our market and here is substantial."

Uphoff says that would be a loss of about $75 per pig, a total hit of just under $150,000.