Worms in chicken - Ask Extension
I am on a roll about eating cooked worms. I recently found out that my very expensive hamburger has worms in it, but don’t worry just cook it good.n...
Knowledgebase
Worms in chicken #618153
Asked March 22, 2020, 1:21 PM EDT
I am on a roll about eating cooked worms. I recently found out that my very expensive hamburger has worms in it, but don’t worry just cook it good.next meat is pork I thought pork was safe now because they are not eating garbage, they are grain fed that it was safe, no worms, but cook it good. Now it’s the chicken, and they have worms as well. The i look into the eggs, and there is no end. I do not want to eat cooked worms. I am a pet groomer been around them a long time, and know what these worms look like, discussing.also haven’t eaten fish in 3 yrs after I found a tape worm in my fish. How will I know if my chicken has worms in it,and the eggs as well. I saw an egg someone was frying and their was a nice worm in. How can I ck a boiled egg. I always by Perdue because I’m afraid the others come china, but I heard free range chicken could carry them. I think I will become a vegetarian .at least I can wash them good.
Bristol County Massachusetts
Expert Response
There seems to be some confusion. Hamburger and pork NOT have worm in them. The cooking it to correct temperature recommendations is NOT related to worms. It is related to killing bacteria that can cause food-borne illness such as E. coli and Salmonella. These bacteria occur in the intestines of ALL animals, including humans. Although strict precautions are taken to prevent contamination of meat with foodborne pathogens, it is always a possibility with animal food.
All commercial meat chickens do NOT have worms in their intestines. Even if they did (which can happen with free-range meat chickens) the worms do NOT get into the meat.
Commercially-rtaised eggs, especially from hens in cages, do NOT have worms. Small levels of intestinal worm infestations COULD happen in inproperly managed cage-free egg laying flocks. It would have to be a heavy infestation to have worms being deposited into the eggs laid.
The only time I have seen worms get deposited into eggs is from laying hens raised on pasture without limited space to allow for sufficient pasture rotations. A build up of worms can happen and there are few de-wormers available for laying hens. It was a very heavy infestation that I saw that resulted in worms in the eggs laid. They depopulated the flock and placed new hens on different pasture.
So, in summary - meats in beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and eggs sold in American grocery stores do NOT have worms.
All commercial meat chickens do NOT have worms in their intestines. Even if they did (which can happen with free-range meat chickens) the worms do NOT get into the meat.
Commercially-rtaised eggs, especially from hens in cages, do NOT have worms. Small levels of intestinal worm infestations COULD happen in inproperly managed cage-free egg laying flocks. It would have to be a heavy infestation to have worms being deposited into the eggs laid.
The only time I have seen worms get deposited into eggs is from laying hens raised on pasture without limited space to allow for sufficient pasture rotations. A build up of worms can happen and there are few de-wormers available for laying hens. It was a very heavy infestation that I saw that resulted in worms in the eggs laid. They depopulated the flock and placed new hens on different pasture.
So, in summary - meats in beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and eggs sold in American grocery stores do NOT have worms.
