Can you get intestinal worms from regular grocery store food?!
Answers: I am asking in this section because you guys seem to know a whole lot more about food and where it comes from than other people.
Yes, you can. Parasites are common on most foods, including fresh fruits and veggies. All meat and fish contain parasites, which is why they need cooking at certain temperatures to kill the parasites. Fruits and veggies should be washed very thouroughly before eating. If you mean processed, packaged food, its anyones guess what ends up in it, when so many people are involved in the production of it. You are subject to the sanitation habits of anyone who handled the food. If a worker wipes their nose, or scratches their tail, then handles the food, who knows? Yet another reason I prepare everything from scratch.
YES YOU CAN.
If it's not prepared properly -- undercooked, for example -- it's certainly possible. Because of mandated inspections, however, it doesn't happen often; inspections are supposed to weed out contaminated food.
Yes you can. I once purchased some sausages from a national grocery store chain. As they were cooking white worms came out of them. Meats are the most likely culprits but they can from other sources to.
Yes, you can acquire parasites or bacterial infections from many different foods, regardless where they were grown, raised, sold, or purchased.
Wash your hands before and after handling any raw food, wash your fruits and vegetables, you can also wash your meats - this will not remove parasites, but it will help to remove excess bacteria living on the outside of the meat. You should be cooking all meat to the recommended safe internal temperatures:
USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures
* Steaks & Roasts - 145 °F
* Fish - 145 °F
* Pork - 160 °F
* Ground Beef - 160 °F
* Egg Dishes - 160 °F
* Chicken Breasts - 165 °F
* Whole Poultry - 165 °F
And don't be so quick to judge about "you guys" (I assume you're referring to vegans & vegetarians). I am neither of those Vs, and I am well-studied in foods and nutrition.
Of course... any undercooked meat, bird meat, fish, etc....
"You'll get worms," as they say... and it's true... happened to my wife when she was a kid... blame her mother for the improperly cooked meat.. or cross contamination -- you know, cutting meat and veggies on the came cutting surface... or putting your meat in the fridge and it drips on the veggies...
Not only the bacteria, that can kill you, but the parasites can transfer too. This is the whole point of being "food safe" when cooking.
See, the parasites in meat are totally compatible with us, because we are made of meat. Parasites that infest fruits and veggies will be killed in our digestive system. The kind found in meat will go through our digestive system... it's their design.
Talk to anyone who has taken biology and studied parasites... they will tell you... they can just hibernate in flesh deep down and can survive cooking too... Regarding fish.. they are full of parasites...!
You'd want to look at an expert who would say just at what temperature can all parasites be killed... but, my wife, who took biology, says that even well cooked meat... the parasites can live through it... hiding in a cyst... Eventually, some will make it into you. Your job is to limit this.
Digestive parasites such as tapeworms etc.? I don't know which are more or less susceptible to cooking, which live deep in the flesh or which are found on the surface of exposed meat etc.
We can get them from the garden as well... uncomposted manure... That's why manure or whatever is put on the garden must be very well composted.
Remember, when forensics examines bodies that have been found, they look at the maggots and other parasites to see how old the body is... what stage of life they are in... these creatures come *out* of the body... they are in us... just hibernating until we die... then they awaken as the flesh rots and they eat us... some hibernate, while others live in us as we live. I suppose, parasites are really unavoidable... but the ones that really cause us harm are found in raw or undercooked meats... People rarely use a thermometer at home when cooking any kind of meat other than a roast or turkey etc., but they should... always -- that's why they do so in restaurants... Eating raw or rare... stupid, if you ask me.
Okay, I've rambled enough... now you can go to the library and find out if what I said is true or not...