Can you eat pork if you have a red meat allergy? The answer is maybe

BOSTON - Some people with a red meat allergy may be able to eat bacon after all - if it's been genetically altered.

Many people think of pork as "the other white meat" due to a very effective marketing campaign that began in the 1980s, but pork, or pig meat, is livestock just like lamb and beef, which are all red meat. So no, pork should not be considered white meat. 

Some people develop a red meat allergy after getting bitten by a lone star tick. However, pig transplant research has discovered that meat from pigs that have been genetically altered can be safely consumed by some people with a red meat allergy. In fact, the company that houses these special pigs periodically ships frozen meat - including bacon, ribs, and ham - to patients with this type of allergy.

In:
• Allergies
• Health

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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