Help! I bought a piece of pork belly with a nipple, what should I do?

In life, we always encounter some "food assassins", such as buying pork belly and finding obvious nipples on it, or ordering fried chicken and finding blood on the bones when we bite halfway through...

Image source: Douban screenshot

Are these "weird" meats edible?

Pig nipples

Pigs usually have 4 to 9 pairs of nipples, which are divided into two rows from the groin forward and symmetrically arranged on both sides of the midline of the abdomen to the chest. The pork belly we usually eat is located in the pig's abdomen, and also contains pig nipples growing on the abdomen .

As for how to deal with pig nipples, according to the current "Livestock and Poultry Slaughter Operating Procedures", when slaughtering pigs, it is necessary to "trim the abdomen, bleeding incisions, mandibles, hidden injuries, abscesses, lesions and visible diseased lymph nodes in order", but it does not clearly state whether "trimming the abdomen" requires removing the nipples .

Image source: Reference [1]

However, in the old version of the "Pig Slaughter Operation Procedure", it was clearly stated that trimming the abdomen includes cutting the nipples:

GB/T 17236-2008, Operation procedures for slaughtering livestock and poultry - pigs [S]. (Obsolete)

So according to current regulations, not cutting pig nipples does not constitute a violation of the regulations .

You won’t feel very good if you eat a piece of braised pork with a nipple on it in a restaurant, or buy a piece of “added ingredients” pork belly at the market.

There is currently no research showing that pig nipples are harmful to the body . If you don’t mind, you can eat them. If you don’t want to eat them, you can throw them away. It’s not a big deal.

Chicken and duck necks

Many people think that "there are lymph nodes on the necks of chickens and ducks, and lymph nodes are detoxification organs, so we cannot eat the necks of animals." In fact , chickens and ducks do not have formed lymph nodes in their bodies . They generally only have lymph node aggregates (which are composed of several or dozens of lymph nodules gathered together) that play the same function.

If you buy animal necks from regular places, don't worry, they have already been quarantined , and the trachea on the animal's neck will be removed, etc. Such necks are safe after high-temperature heating, and eating them in moderation will not pose a threat to your health.

It should be noted that although the pickled chicken necks, duck necks and other braised foods taste good and tempting, a large amount of salt and soy sauce will inevitably be added during the pickling process. People with hypertension or kidney disease are not recommended to eat too much.

Chicken butt tip

You can often see chicken butts skewered together for sale at barbecue stalls, which are euphemistically called "Phoenix Tail". People who like it love it, but those who dare not eat it stay away from it. But some people say that chicken butts are poisonous and can cause cancer?

There are indeed two parts of the chicken butt that are not recommended to be eaten: the preen gland and the bursa .

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The preen gland is a special part of birds that secretes oil. Chickens and ducks often peck at the oil here to protect their feathers, so the area around them is more prone to inflammation and smells fishy. There is a bursa under their tails, which is a lymphatic organ and may contain foreign matter such as undecomposed pathogens, but it is not "toxic and carcinogenic."

Moreover, the raw chickens purchased from regular supermarkets have had these two glands removed, so there is no problem eating them after cooking .

Chicken bones with blood

When cooking chicken legs at home, this situation sometimes occurs: the chicken has been cooked for a long time, but the bone blood is still red, and even some blood will seep out if you press it lightly. Is it cooked? Can it be eaten?

What you are seeing is actually red bone marrow .

Bone marrow fills the space between the bone marrow cavity and the spongy bone, and is divided into red bone marrow and yellow bone marrow. Red bone marrow has hematopoietic function. The bone marrow of broilers is all red bone marrow.

Sometimes, if frozen chicken is thawed too quickly or cooked over high heat, it may still have blood in it even after it’s cooked .

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So how can we avoid blood when cooking chicken?

1. Before cooking, clean the chicken legs and soak them in salt water for two hours to soak out as much blood as possible;

2. Don’t cook the chicken over medium heat, cook slowly to make sure the chicken is cooked thoroughly from the inside out.

3. Marinate the chicken thighs as long as possible so that they will be more flavorful and easier to cook.

crayfish

It is said on the Internet that crayfish are very dirty and have very high levels of parasites and heavy metals in their bodies. Is this true?

In fact, most of the crayfish on the market are farmed in clean water, and the living conditions of wild crayfish may be somewhat uncontrollable. As long as they are purchased from regular markets, supermarkets, or restaurants, they have passed the inspection and the heavy metal content is generally not exceeded.

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Some people have diarrhea after eating crayfish, but not every time. Why is this? It may be caused by bacterial infection, allergies, indigestion, etc.

1. Bacterial infection:

It is usually related to reasons such as the crayfish being not fresh, improper cooking, improper cleaning, and insufficient heating.

2. Allergies:

If you have had food allergies before and are experiencing itchy skin, it may be caused by allergies.

3. Indigestion:

It is usually related to weakened gastrointestinal function or gastrointestinal dysfunction. It is recommended to go to the hospital for examination in time, determine the cause, and then receive treatment according to the doctor's instructions. During the treatment, you need to try to maintain a light and healthy diet to help the body recover faster.

In addition, in order to make it more delicious, crayfish usually contain a lot of oil and salt, and eating too much is not good for your health.

So you can enjoy the delicious food, but don’t be greedy~

References

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

Author: Chunhua Popular Science Creator

Reviewer: Chen Ran, Associate Research Librarian (Science Communication), Senior Engineer, COFCO Nutrition and Health Research Institute