Wild boar sausages and venison stew, roe deer, pheasant and rabbit: Venison is trendy. What once only a forester ate, finds more and more friends among gourmets. Not only the aromatic meat of wild animals, but also its nutritional value speak for it: It is considered to be low in fat and also rich in protein, minerals and vitamins.
No wonder that consumption is increasing, albeit so far at a low level: around half a kilo consumed by the average average person in the year, tendency slightly rising. That's okay, unless you consume another powerful food trend "pink": Then, warns the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), threatens the infestation with "human pathogenic parasites."
That sounds unappetizing for good reasons. Only perfectly cooked game meat is safe from the wild parasites, which could also "nest in other living things" and "use their resources to survive and multiply". Actually wild animals from non-veterinary stocks could of course be affected by such parasites.
The BfR calls risks
- Toxoplasma (disease: toxoplasmosis)
- Trichinella (disease: trichinellosis)
- Sarcosporidium (disease: sarcosporidosis)
- Pork tapeworm (diseases: cysticercosis, taeniosis)
- small fox tapeworm (disease: echinococcosis)
- Duncker's muscle gel (possible disease: larval alariose)
Sounds terrible, but is no reason to avoid game in general: "The risk of developing parasitosis in Germany after eating venison," says the BfR study, "is estimated to be very low due to these amounts consumed the risk may be higher for certain population groups, so-called extreme feeders (eg hunters). "
It should also be noted that in vulnerable populations, "such as pregnant women and immunocompromised patients," the health consequences of parasitic or viral infection could be more severe. For all consumers BfR therefore recommends that game is only thoroughly cooked: then the meat is safe, "nutritious, low in fat and sustainably produced".
According to BfR, cooked meat can be considered cooked if it is heated up to its core for at least two minutes to at least 72 degrees. What it is then no longer: pink.