Pork & Trichinosis

On a recent visit to the United States, a friend of mine, dining out, ordered the pork chop dish on the menu. She was surprised when the server asked her how she would like the pork chop done. She politely responded that she would like it well done, fully cooked, all the while thinking to herself: what sort of question is that, pork is always cooked through.
Back in Barbados, she recounted the encounter to me. I smiled and then explained to her that it is now safe to eat pork medium done (slightly pink in the middle) instead of well done.
Trichinosis (round worm) usually associated with not fully cooked pork is no longer a concern due to modern feeding practices in the United States and other parts of the world over the last 30 years. In the past, the raw intestines from slaughtered hogs used to be ground up with their feed, hence Trichinella Spiralis.
The actual temperature that kills Trichinella, if it is present, is 140 degrees F and experts recommend cooking pork at 160 degrees F to be safe.
Since thermometers can be in-accurate, erring on the side of caution and cooking the meat at 160 degrees F is best.
Those of us from the Caribbean are accustomed to our meat and poultry always being well done.