New Zealand-Pork safe to eat.

Authorities say imported pork from North America is safe to eat despite the swine flu outbreak, as fears grow overseas that the virus might be used as a trade barrier.

New Zealand imports just over 40 per cent of its pork, and a fifth of that originates from the United States. Another 36 per cent comes from Canada, and some is understood to come from the outbreak’s epicentre, Mexico, but it must be cooked or treated.

Six countries, including Russia and China, have banned meat or pork products from Mexico and parts of the US.

But that is unlikely to happen in New Zealand, as world health authorities rush to assure consumers that swine flu is not transmitted by pig meat.

More importantly, the killer virus is a hybrid version of human, avian and swine flu which has never been seen in pigs, meaning the bans have no scientific legitimacy.

"The virus has not been isolated in animals to date. Therefore it is not justified to name this disease swine influenza," said the World Organisation for Animal Health.

"Currently only findings related to the circulation of this virus in pigs in zones of countries having human cases would justify trade measures on the importation of pigs from these countries."

Chris Trengrove, chairman of the Pork Industry Board, agrees the public is confused about the origins of swine flu.

"Birds probably spread it to pigs, and swine influenza is endemic in the northern hemisphere, particularly in North America and Mexico, and then a worker’s probably had human flu. Put the three together and that’s what you’ve got."

He said the industry’s biggest concern was not the spread of the virus from pig meat but that humans might spread it to pigs.

In New Zealand most imported pig meat already has to be cooked or treated to guard against another pig virus, PRRS, a measure the Pork Industry Board is fighting to retain.

The Agriculture and Forestry Ministry, MAF, has recommended that fresh pig meat be allowed in from certain countries including Mexico on the grounds that the risk of PRRS from these nations is low.

New Zealand also exports a small amount of pork to the Pacific, but Mr Trengrove said there was no move to leverage New Zealand’s swine flu-free pork status.

Green party food spokeswoman Sue Kedgley said that while her party was not calling for a ban on US pork, she felt the outbreak underlined the party’s call for mandatory country-of-origin labelling.

"Consumers do have a right to avoid, however irrationally it may be perceived, to avoid imported pork."

Meanwhile, trade commentators fear the pig meat bans are a sign that rising protectionism will worsen sagging world trade.

`There may be a certain follow-the-leader mentality," US Meat Export Federation spokesman Joe Schuele said. "It tells us that sound science is not prevailing."

The US is not considering restrictions on meat from Mexico, but Russia, a major market for US pork, has banned imports of all meat not treated thermally from Mexico and three US states, and raw pork imports from eight other US states, Central America and the Caribbean.

China, the world’s largest pork consumer, has also banned imports of live pigs and pork products originating from Mexico, Texas, California and Kansas.

Elsewhere, airline shares fell on an anticipated fall in travel and an expected drop in demand for jet fuel was weighing on oil markets.

Research house UBS said swine flu could have a major effect on oil prices, which fell 25 per cent in a week during the Sars scare of 2003 due to fears about global transport volumes.

"The immediate reaction to the swine flu potential pandemic may also centre on oil and transportation sectors", and to materials underpinned by oil prices over recent years, UBS said.

The World Bank estimated last year that a flu pandemic could cost US$3 trillion (NZ$5.3t) globally and result in a nearly 5 per cent drop in gross domestic product around the world.