A study published in the May 22, 2012 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseaseshas found that organic meats may have increased toxoplasmosis risk.
Toxoplasmosis gondii is a single-celled parasite that used to be a significant problem in pork. The definitive host for the parasite is cats. When pigs were allowed to forage for food, they often ate food contaminated with infected cat feces, or ate wild animals and birds that contained the oocysts. That’s why your grandmother used to cook pork well done to 160 degrees F, because that destroyed the parasite in all of its forms.
When pork farmers changed the methods of hog raising to eliminate foraging and fed the animals processed food, the risk of toxoplasmosis fell considerably. But the current trend toward free-range food animals, especially pigs and lamb, has increased the toxoplasmosis risk, since those animals are foraging for food. Wild game, such as venison, is also a a source of the toxoplasmosis parasite.
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