Help! Do You Have to Freeze Raw Meat for 14 Days to Kill all the Parasites?

[earthling]

Hi, I haven't gotten "The Primal Diet" yet in the mail so I'm not familiar with the basics.

I got some raw ground chuck from Whole Foods today, came home and immediately ate some (followed a beef tartare recipe).  It was very pink and seemed fresh.  BTW, it tasted great!

After I finished eating it I read that you're supposed to freeze raw meat for 14 days to kill the parasites!  I kind of freaked out and took 2 TBSP of raw apple cider vinegar in some water to clean myself out.  Then my stomach started rumbling and felt upset - I'm not sure if it's because of the vinegar.

If you DON'T have to freeze for 14 days, what's the protocol?  How do you know if the meat you're buying is fresh enough?  Can you keep it in the fridge for a few days while you eat it?  What do you guys here normally do?  Thanks.

[PaleoPhil]

I recommend reading up on the past threads in this forum and search here and elsewhere on the hygiene hypothesis, helminthic therapy, mutualism, symbionts, commensals, probiotics, fermented meats (salami, sausage, high meat, etc.), ....

[earthling]

I recommend reading up on the past threads in this forum and search here and elsewhere on the hygiene hypothesis, helminthic therapy, mutualism, symbionts, commensals, probiotics, fermented meats (salami, sausage, high meat, etc.), ....

Thank you, I'm searching through the threads now.  But can anyone assuage my fears right now and tell me that what I did - eating raw beef without freezing it for 14 days first - was okay?

[kurite]

Its absolutely fine just about everyone here does it everyday. But was it grassfed beef?

[earthling]

Its absolutely fine just about everyone here does it everyday. But was it grassfed beef?

Unfortunately not.  Whole Foods doesn't usually offer it.  But it was organic - is that okay?  Why is grassfed safer?

How/where do you buy your meat, and do you buy new meat constantly so that it will be fresh?  As long as it's all pink, does that mean it's fresh?

[dsohei]

take a little while and read the forum. be patient with yourself.
whole foods does sell some grass fed meat (beef or lamb usually) but there are many other outlets, both online and local. when ruminant animals are grass fed and grass finished, they are natural and HEALTHY.
www.eatwild.com

[earthling]

take a little while and read the forum. be patient with yourself.
whole foods does sell some grass fed meat (beef or lamb usually) but there are many other outlets, both online and local. when ruminant animals are grass fed and grass finished, they are natural and HEALTHY.
www.eatwild.com

Okay, thanks Dshohei.  I'm reading the forum.  I'll look for the grass fed next time at Whole Foods.  (But I am assuming that I am not going to get sick tonight and I have not contracted any parasites?  And if I have, how will I know?  Sorry - this is my first time so I am very nervous about it!)

[michaelwh]

Worrying about such things just causes unnecessary stress, which is bad for your health. I've eaten all kinds of raw meat, even supermarket chicken and pork, and the worst that happened was diarrhea for a day. (The diarrhea was from supermarket meat. Good quality meat doesn't give me digestive problems).

[dsohei]

yeah, the worrying is doing you the most harm, as stress causes indigestion!
going forward, just make sure to eat high quality animal foods, as fresh as possible, and pay attention to how you feel as you eat slowly.

[earthling]

Okay, thanks everyone.  I'm just freaking out because it was my first time.  I'll do some more research and get grassfed beef.  I have to say, though - it was delicious and filling!   

[kurite]

Unfortunately not.  Whole Foods doesn't usually offer it.  But it was organic - is that okay?  Why is grassfed safer?

How/where do you buy your meat, and do you buy new meat constantly so that it will be fresh?  As long as it's all pink, does that mean it's fresh?

I buy my meat from local co-ops and whole foods. No I don't constantly buy meat, I usually freeze it and occasionally I forget and the meat turns brown but I eat it anyway.

[earthling]

Thanks, everyone!

[donrad]

Cow meat does not contain parasites harmful to humans, if any. Pork may contain parasites because pigs dig in the earth and eat anything and everything. Cows just eat grass and leghumes.

Not too many people eat raw pork.

Published cookbooks that have raw meat recipes will always say to freeze it for 14 days because of legal liability issues. I purchased some raw oysters yesterday and like a lot of people eat them raw. The store had to have a sighn by the oysters "We reccommend that all oysters be thoroughly cooked." Legal liability issues. Damn lawyers.

Happy raw Thanksgiving

[laterade]

I prefer fresh never frozen.

[BakeyMan]

Panicking about parasitic and bacterial infections is the first step of the diet.   
Man I'm glad those days are over for me.

[laterade]

Panicking about parasitic and bacterial infections is the first step of the diet.   
Man I'm glad those days are over for me.

Ditto 

[Roselene]

Panicking about parasitic and bacterial infections is the first step of the diet.   
Man I'm glad those days are over for me.

Me too.  Did you make that icon?  It's cute. 

Freezing may mutate the bacteria, help more altered bacteria grow after we eat the food, and kill a few good bacteria. 

Paleo man did sometimes have to eat frozen meat, but they had no sink to thaw it out in first, no house either.  It would be more paleo to eat it frozen outside, freeze it for a whole ice age.

[rawcarni]

Cow meat does not contain parasites harmful to humans, if any. Pork may contain parasites because pigs dig in the earth and eat anything and everything. Cows just eat grass and leghumes.

Not too many people eat raw pork.

I eat lots of raw pork-never had any issues. The meat that is sold is so well inspected for parasites, that chances are very very very...small you will die from Trichinosis etc...

[TylerDurden]

I eat lots of raw pork-never had any issues. The meat that is sold is so well inspected for parasites, that chances are very very very...small you will die from Trichinosis etc...

True. Incidences are extremely rare, given online reports.

[BakeyMan]

Me too.  Did you make that icon?  It's cute. 

Haha thanks Roselene. yeah its a character for an animated short im creating about genetically modified food.  The only way to inform most people about health issues nowadays is through entertainment. 

[donrad]

In the United States pork can still go from farmer to consumer without government inspection. There is a bill in congress to change that right now.

I have seen small scale hog farms which were pretty bad. Very very bad.

The new law will make the food safer but make it harder for consumers to buy directly from farmers. I favor being able to buy direct without restrictions but I like to inspect the farm before I buy. Hogs raised naturally on pasture still eat a lot of garbage and manure even on a clean farm.

All of the supermarket pork today is raised on concrete floors where the waste is washed away into lagoons (in the U.S.). They are fed corn and soybeans on conveyor belts. The hogs never see the light of day. The meat quality is bad but the chance of parasites is very very low.

I raised hogs on a farm naturally. I will not eat raw pork. I will not buy pork from a supermarket and eat it cooked or raw.