At Minnesota Freezer Warehouse Company, we are committed to meeting international standards for food storage, transport, and overall safety practices. Rail and freight unloading, consistent freezer temperatures, blast freezing, load consolidation, packaging, labeling, order picking, export, and many other services all contribute to MFWC capabilities of protecting the cold chain and promoting cold storage food safety worldwide.
In addition to these services for cold storage in Albert Lea and Austin, MN, our warehouses are certified for pork storage, ensuring your pork products will be kept to exact food safety standards in our care.
Pork products require a specialized level of treatment during processing, transport, and storage because they’re prone to certain foodborne diseases and can quickly spoil without that level of care. The USDA and FDA require rigorous standards and certification for any entity that takes part in the handling of pork products. Even in the past year, the USDA established stricter inspection processes and guidelines for pork companies that want to maintain certification.
Because both of our warehouses are certified to handle and store pork products, you can trust that your pork will be protected from spoiling or spreading foodborne diseases. Pork is prone to be infected with specific parasites, bacteria and viruses that other meats are not. The dangers that poorly processed and stored pork can expose consumers to include:
- Trichinosis spiralis: This is the primary parasite that most people associate with poorly handled or undercooked pork. Trichinosis can cause serious symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, inflammation of the nervous system and heart, and severe abdominal pain.
- Taenia Solium: Informally referred to as pork tapeworm, the taenia solium worm can infect consumers if pork is not properly handled. Symptoms of pork tapeworm infection include abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, and nausea that can last years if the worm is left untreated.
- Pigbel: This is a Type C food poisoning caused by exposure to a type of clostridium perfringens bacteria. Pigbel, also known as clostridial necrotizing enteritis (CNE), is prevented with proper handling and cooking temperatures. Exposure to this bacterium causes symptoms such as severe abdominal pain, bloody stool, bloody vomit, sepsis, diarrhea, and ulcerated small intestine. In some cases, pigbel can cause death in 24 hours.
- Listeria: The listeria monocytogenes bacteria causes listeriosis, which exhibits symptoms as severe as spinal meningitis, with especial prevalence in newborns (who can be infected if their mothers are exposed to the bacteria). In fact, listeria is the third most common cause of meningitis. Death due to exposure of the listeria bacteria outnumber annual global deaths caused by salmonella and other foodborne pathogens.
There are many other common bacteria, parasites, and viruses that can be found in pork, but fortunately, with proper handling, cold storage, and cooking practices, all of these illnesses can be eliminated. With our pork certification, we’re able to protect consumers worldwide from dangerous foodborne illnesses and keep your pork products safe from developing those diseases in the first place.
To learn more about our cold storage in Albert Lea and Austin, MN, contact Benjamin Lares at (507) 373-1477 or blares@mfwc-cold.com today.