# Living on noodles, pork and onions, what else do I need?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-on-noodles-pork-and-onions-what-else-do-i-need/1031307>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [June 30, 2026, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-on-noodles-pork-and-onions-what-else-do-i-need/1031307 "2026-06-30T19:01:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 43

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**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/living-on-noodles-pork-and-onions-what-else-do-i-need/1031307/43 "2026-07-01T16:44:56Z")

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> [@wolfpup](#):
>
> > [@solost](#):
> >
> > Trichinosis is almost unheard of these days in modern commercial pork products.
> > 
> > Not that it’s a good idea to eat raw or undercooked meat in general, but the FDA reduced the recommended center temp for cooked pork from 165F to 145F years ago.
> 
> And, just like with beef and chicken, overcooking pork dries it out and tends to make it tough and tasteless.

While trichinosis has drastically declined in the U.S. (about 15 confirmed cases per year, some from consuming undercooked wild game (probably a lot more mild cases that are never categorized)), the real risk these days from eating raw or undercooked pork is from other pathogens, like Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Yersinia enterocolitica.

A _lot_ of people still get sick from eating pork products.

> **[Outbreaks attributed to pork in the United States, 1998–2015](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6739826/)**
>
> Each year in the United States, an estimated 525 000 infections, 2900 hospitalizations, and 82 deaths are attributed to consumption of pork. We analyzed the epidemiology of outbreaks attributed to pork in the United States reported to the Centers ...

So enjoy your medium rare pork chops and pork tartare. I’ll pass.

\*The story of the Schlactfest in Berton Rouech’s _A Pig From Jersey_ (summary: members of a German-American society prepare sausage made from meat of a Trichinella-infected pig, sampling the meat during early stages of the cooking process to determine proper spicing, bad times ensue) made a vivid impression on me, so our pork is always well-cooked.

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