Pork Processing Plant Workers Contract Illness After Inhaling Pig Brain Particles

Sheila Chavis

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A cluster of workers at a pork processing plant in Minnesota have contracted an illness that has been connected with the workers' exposure to particles of pig brains. The workers were found to be exposed by inhaling the bits of pig brain during a process where the brains are blown out of the skull of the pig using compressed air. The brains are harvested packaged and sold primarily to Japan and Korean markets.

The ailment is characterized by sensations of burning, numbness and weakness in the arms and legs. For most, this is unpleasant but not disabling. For a few, however, the ailment has made walking difficult and work impossible. The symptoms have slowly lessened in severity, but in none of the sufferers have they disappeared completely.

There have been 12 cases among the 1,300 employees at the Austin, MN pork processing plant where the disorder has surfaced. The CDC has investigated to determine if there are other similar cases at other pork processing plants across the nation. They suspect a few cases at a plant in Indiana. Apparently, other than the MN plant, only two other pork slaughterhouses in the country are believed to use the compressed air method of emptying the pig skulls. This method is no longer used at any of the three facilities for removing the pig brains.