You may have eaten a lot of pork... Which parts of the meat should not be eaten?

Which parts of meat cannot be eaten?

The answers can be divided into two categories.

One is about customs, which are related to morality and luck . For example, in some places, unmarried men cannot eat the tip of the pig's trotter, otherwise they will never have a wife; in some places, you cannot eat the pig's hind legs, because the front legs dig money in and the hind legs kick money out (you are welcome to add to the comments)...

I respect this taboo. If you don't eat it, I will.

There is another category of taboos, which are related to health . For example, pig nipples, pig necks, chicken buttocks, etc.

Which of these claims are true?

Pig nipples: edible!

Have you ever eaten pig teats in a restaurant or cafeteria? Do you eat them or throw them away?

I believe most people still choose to throw it away, mainly because they find it disgusting (Hey! Humans are mammals! Why are nipples disgusting!)

But there are two points to make here.

First, there is no evidence that eating pig nipples is harmful .

Secondly, although you have never eaten pig nipples, you have probably eaten a lot of pig breasts , so don't mind pig nipples.

You should know that a pig has two rows of udders, usually between 5 and 8 pairs, and grows on the pig's belly.

The pork belly that everyone often eats is the meat on the pig's belly; the fat on the pork belly is also very likely the fat in the pig's breast .

It is quite difficult to avoid pig breast when eating pork belly | Tuchong Creative

According to the "Livestock Slaughtering Operating Procedures for Pigs GB/T 17236-2019", when slaughtering pigs, there is a step called "trimming", which mentions "trimming the abdomen".

Standards for “abdominal repair” | References [1]

As to whether this "abdominal repair" includes removing the nipples, or whether the slaughterer missed a nipple, it is not known.

In short, you can eat it once it’s cooked. If you don’t want to eat it, just throw it away. It’s no big deal .

Pig neck: edible!

Roasted pork neck is so delicious! Many barbecue restaurants have pork neck, which shows that pork neck is a good ingredient.

Pork neck is delicious丨TuChong Creative

I know that the reason why people argue about whether pig neck can be eaten is that there are a large number of lymph nodes in the pig neck.

The main distribution areas of lymph nodes are marked in blue in the figure. There are indeed many lymph nodes in the neck. Reference [2]

Although lymph nodes are where bacteria and viruses are eliminated, as long as you eat healthy pork and the pork is fully cooked, eating a little bit occasionally is not a threat to your health . If you are unhappy after eating it, just spit it out.

This is what a pig's lymph node looks like (raw) | Reference [3]

If there are any abnormalities in the lymph nodes that are visible to the naked eye , they will be removed during the slaughtering process. If you don’t believe me, look at the second picture. If they are not removed, remember the consumer hotline 12315.

The tips of the chicken and duck’s butts: eat less!

In many Asian countries, roasted or fried chicken or duck butts are a popular snack that is rich in fat and delicious.

There are the preen gland and bursa of Fabricius near the "butt" of poultry.

The preen gland secretes oil, and birds will peck the oil here and apply it on their feathers as a "raincoat". However, this oil has a strong smell, and if it is not handled properly, the buttocks of chickens and ducks will taste fishy (but some people like it).

The bursa of Fabricius can be understood as the "large lymph node" of poultry. Just like the lymph nodes on the neck of pigs, there is no need to worry too much as long as it is not eaten raw or from sick chickens or ducks .

The peacock's butt is the same丨Li Xiaokui

Then why do I recommend that you eat less?

Because the butts of chickens and ducks are too fat, eating too much will make you fat .

Chicken lungs: Eat less!

The digestive tract and respiratory tract are both exposed to the outside world. Generally speaking, there are more harmful microorganisms in them than in meat .

As long as it is healthy chicken, you can eat it once it is cooked .

But the problem is that you may not be able to detect the diseased chicken after it is cooked and coated with thick sauce. So we should just cut off the risk of chicken lungs and eat less or even no chicken lungs.

Besides, can you eat chicken lungs whenever you want?

Anyone who has killed a chicken knows that chicken lungs are very fragile and often break into pieces after just a few touches. It is not easy to take them out intact, let alone make a plate of spicy chicken lungs.

Chicken bone blood: Don’t eat the blood, but you can eat the meat

When eating boiled chicken, you can often see blood in the chicken bones. It looks bloody and unhygienic, but in fact, such chicken is edible.

Some boiled chicken bones are still red in the middle, but the meat is edible | Tuchong Creative

Firstly, as mentioned above, pathogenic microorganisms are more likely to enter the digestive tract and respiratory tract rather than invade muscles and bones .

Secondly, if the chicken has no blood, it means it is cooked. Because the bone is in the middle, it doesn't matter if the inside is not fully cooked, you don't suck the bone marrow anyway, right ?

Crayfish head: edible!

Pull off the crayfish's head and take a bite, delicious!

The "yellow" in the shrimp head is partly internal organs and partly the eggs of the female shrimp. It is not poop, so you can eat it with confidence .

The "baba" part is the shrimp thread. It's OK to eat it after it's cooked through, but it will affect the taste and appearance a bit. It's up to you to decide whether to remove the shrimp thread or not.

Some shrimp heads are black, but it is not because the shrimps are bad or spoiled .

The tyrosinase activity in shrimp heads is very strong, and this enzyme can promote the formation of melanin.

Just think of it as eating the mole on the shrimp, it’s okay.

The head of the crayfish can be sucked | Tuchong Creative

Some people say that shrimp heads contain high levels of heavy metal residues, which is not an exaggeration.

The liver is an important organ for processing heavy metals in the body, and the shrimp's liver grows on its head. If the waters where the shrimp live contain excessive amounts of heavy metals, the heavy metal content in the shrimp's head will be higher than in the shrimp's tail.

Generally, crayfish in wild waters are prone to excessive heavy metals. Artificially bred ones are much safer - if the water quality is poor, crayfish will die or get sick, so how can the shrimp ponds make money?

Fish black film: edible

There may be a layer of black membrane on the inner wall of the fish's abdominal cavity, which looks dirty and easily makes people think of pollution, disease, garbage...

The truth is the same as the reason shrimp heads are black, it’s melanin .

Finally, there are two key points about whether or not you can eat it. Please remember them!

1. Safety of food sources

Artificial breeding > free range > wild

Big brands > small brands > no brands

Large hotels, chain stores > Small restaurants > Street stalls

2. Cook! Cook! Cook!

References

[1] Livestock and Poultry Slaughtering Operation Procedures - Pigs GB/T 17236-2019

[2] Uttaro, Bethany & Mcleod, Brad & McCorkell, Robert & Young, Michael. (2018). Lymph nodes of the hog carcass_interactive tool.

[3]Pinna W, Cappai MG, Sogos I, et al. Acquired pigmentation of porcine lymph nodes: dietary polyphenolic compounds as biological markers?[J]. 2012.

Author: SamKakeru

Editor: Li Xiaokui

Title image source: Tuchong Creative

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