Fact check: Pouring Coca-Cola on pork does not make worms appear

McKenzie Sadeghi, USA TODAY
·4 min read
Coca-Cola's 13.2oz bottle made from recycled material.

The claim: Pouring Coca-Cola onto raw pork will cause worms to emerge from it

A recently shared viral video on Facebook urges users to stay away from pork and claims that pouring the Coca-Cola over the raw meat will cause worms to appear.

The video, posted March 8 and now with almost 300 shares, shows a woman pouring soda over a piece of pork. She says, "It actually reveals if there's parasites in pork ... you have to cook pork so carefully because of this issue." After about a minute, white worms appear to come out of the piece of raw pork. At the end of the video the woman says, "you can see them, the heads of them, popping through. It's so gross."

In this version of the claim, the woman is pouring Pepsi over the meat. Similar videos have been shared over the years of people attempting the same experiment with Coca-Cola.

USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook users for comment.

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Diseases from eating undercooked pork

Claims that Coca-Cola or Pepsi can pull out worms from pork follow safety concerns about consumption of undercooked pork causing people to get sick from parasites.

Trichinellosis, also known as trichinosis, is a disease caused by a species of roundworms called Trichinella, and it is contracted from consuming raw or undercooked meat from an animal infected with the parasite, according to a 2020 article from Healthline. Th roundworms are commonly found in animals like pigs, bears, foxes, walruses and wild boars that eat meat or garbage containing infected meat scraps.

"After the parasites are ingested, the stomach acid dissolves the cyst, which is the protective capsule surrounding the larvae," Healthline reported. "When the cyst is dissolved, the larvae enter the intestine, where they mature into adult worms and reproduce."

Claims that Coca-Cola can destroy these roundworms also likely originate from the myth that the soda is harmful to drink and destroys your insides. This was debunked in November 2000 by Snopes, which found that the gastric acid in your stomach's digestive fluid is stronger than any of the acids that are contained in Coca-Cola.

Trichinellosis cases are now rare

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Trichinellosis used to be more common and was usually caused by ingestion of undercooked pork" but now infection is "relatively rare."

The CDC states that from 2011-15, 16 cases were reported per year on average. Cases started decreasing in the mid-20th century due to legislation that prohibited the feeding of raw-meat garbage to hogs, commercial and home freezing of pork as well as more awareness on the dangers of eating undercooked pork products.

To prevent trichinellosis, the CDC recommends cooking meat at a safe temperature, freezing pork less than 6 inches thick for 20 days at 5 degrees Fahrenheit to kill any worms.

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Microscope is needed to see the worms

The CDC says Trichinella is microscopic; it cannot be seen in infected meat with the naked eye.

Wafflesatnoon.com, a site that focuses on hoaxes and odd news, debunked the claim in 2016 and noted that in many of the videos that made the Coca-Cola pork claim were poor quality and that the worms cannot be easily seen.

Viewers are also not aware of the time span the pork sat unrefrigerated in the package or how long it was soaked in the soda.

In 2007, Snopes tested out the theory and purchased a pork chop from the local supermarket and marinated it in a can of Coca-Cola, "producing no discernible result other than a slightly soggy chop."

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Our rating: False

The claim that pouring Coca-Cola on a piece of raw pork meat will cause worms to emerge is FALSE, based on our research. This claim is a myth that has previously been debunked years ago. Trichinella is a microscopic parasite, unable to be seen with the human eye. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said cases of trichinosis have decreased because of legislation.

Our fact-check sources:

  • Healthline.com, Dec. 7, 2020, Trichinosis

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Accessed March 12, Parasites- Trichinellosis (also known as Trichinosis)

  • Snopes, Nov. 20, 2000, Do the Acids in Coca-Cola Make It Harmful to Drink?

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Accessed March 12, Parasites- Trichinellosis (also known as Trichinosis)

  • Wafflesatnoon.com, Jan. 5, 2016, Classic Hoax: Pouring Coke on Pork Makes Worms Appear

  • Snopes, March 6, 2007, Does Coca-Cola Coax Worms Out of Pork?

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Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Pouring Coca-Cola on pork does not make worms appear