Do you sterilize foraged greens?

[ThunderHill]

Hi! I'd like to start providing fresh weeds and foraged greens to our rabbits, but we have a lot of wild rabbits and moles/voles on our property and I worry about any diseases, parasites, etc. that might be on these greens from the wild rabbits and rodents. Does anyone have advice on if this is a valid concern, and if so, what I could use to sterilize the greens? I've read that vinegar water (1 part vinegar to 2-3 parts water) can be used to clean vegetables from the garden - would this also work for foraged greens? Thanks so much!

 

[ladysown]

i've never thought about it. It's worth a try. Question is...would bunnies still eat them? I guess you can try.

 

[eco2pia]

I think that the concern is a possibility, but fairly unlikely. A good rinse should work well enough. We eat produce grown out of doors, and our food is not generally a vector for parasites--we wash it. While we also do not eat produce grown in sewers, we would be succeptable to many of the same parasites that animals can carry. Consider that occaisionally produce is contaminated with E. coli, and that washing is generally accepted as a way to prevent infection--yes, cooking is better, but a good thorough wash is usually enough.

 

[ThunderHill]

I think that the concern is a possibility, but fairly unlikely. A good rinse should work well enough. We eat produce grown out of doors, and our food is not generally a vector for parasites--we wash it. While we also do not eat produce grown in sewers, we would be succeptable to many of the same parasites that animals can carry. Consider that occaisionally produce is contaminated with E. coli, and that washing is generally accepted as a way to prevent infection--yes, cooking is better, but a good thorough wash is usually enough.

That makes sense. Thanks for the input!

 

[Cindy in SD]

I think that the concern is a possibility, but fairly unlikely. A good rinse should work well enough. We eat produce grown out of doors, and our food is not generally a vector for parasites--we wash it. While we also do not eat produce grown in sewers, we would be succeptable to many of the same parasites that animals can carry. Consider that occaisionally produce is contaminated with E. coli, and that washing is generally accepted as a way to prevent infection--yes, cooking is better, but a good thorough wash is usually enough.

I've read that parasite eggs can survive cooking as high as 700° Fahrenheit. It might be more effective to do a month or two of a parasite cleanse (on ourselves) a couple times a year. I use a wormwood/green black walnut hull/clove tincture (I purchase on e-bay). It seems to work and has a pleasant (to me) bitter taste mixed in a glass of water.

Think about it; we worm our pets, our cattle, our poultry... in most parts of the world, people also use various dewormers. Why not us? Ivermectin could also be used if you live somewhere you can get it, but it doesn't kill the eggs so you'd want to use something like the above tincture as well.

 

[MsTemeraire]

If you live in an area where RHDV is present, then no sterilisation is possible. The virus can withstand freezing and high temperatures, and only a few disinfectants are effective.

 

[eco2pia]

I've read that parasite eggs can survive cooking as high as 700° Fahrenheit. It might be more effective to do a month or two of a parasite cleanse (on ourselves) a couple times a year. I use a wormwood/green black walnut hull/clove tincture (I purchase on e-bay). It seems to work and has a pleasant (to me) bitter taste mixed in a glass of water.

Think about it; we worm our pets, our cattle, our poultry... in most parts of the world, people also use various dewormers. Why not us? Ivermectin could also be used if you live somewhere you can get it, but it doesn't kill the eggs so you'd want to use something like the above tincture as well.

"parasite eggs" covers a huge range of organisms. Like ridiculously huge. Do parasites exsist that can survive high cooking in some life stage? probably. Are they the rule? no.

"why not us?"

In some parts of the world, sewage sanitation is not very sophisticated, and drinking water, irrigation water, and human waste treatment are all happening out of or in the same river. Some animals typically eat where they poop. Those animals in the wild range over large areas and do not have huge parasite loads. Howeve, we farm intensively and force them to stay in a space which does not allow them to move away from their waste. This creates a cycle of reinfection, with parasites that are host specific, as most of them are.

As we are mammals, some mammal parasites will take up residence in us. Most of them can be eliminated by our immune systems.

Humans also have parasites that are most interested in us. like head lice, or human pinworms. or in the tropics, schistosoma. Just soaking myself in random chemicals "in case" would not be my choice, unless I had symptoms or reason to believe I was exposed. Parasites are icky, but so is kidney damage. However we all get to choose what we are most comfortable with.