Author Topic: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?  (Read 10576 times)

floridays

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Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« on: July 30, 2016, 11:57:38 AM »
So many mango's with a few bites out of them this summer.

Just wondering if anyone eats them anyway?

Someone once told me that if a rabid animal took some bites, the saliva would infect the fruit...I don't think that's true but it made me think twice.  ;D

Stan

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2016, 01:09:17 PM »
No. But I would eat something that fell off of the tree and looked worse then one nibbled. Just wash it off ;D

cmichael258

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2016, 01:17:42 PM »
I have eaten numerous mangoes that the squirrels had nibbled a small piece. While
not impossible, it's highly improbable for a squirrel to contract rabies.
Michael

strkpr00

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2016, 02:10:44 PM »
dozens of times, but I use the 1 inch rule. Must have enough fruit to leave a generous slice in between.

CGameProgrammer

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #4 on: July 30, 2016, 04:13:34 PM »
Some kind of worms or caterpillars or something clearly love my wax jambu and most fruits have little trails carved out of them, but no insects actually in them so I eat them. But luckily I do not have rodent problems, aside from a gopher that seems to have disappeared. I can see how mammal bites would be off-putting.

cos

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #5 on: July 30, 2016, 04:19:56 PM »
Giant African snails graze the fins off my dragon fruit //  inside ok so is always eaten

Grapebush

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #6 on: July 30, 2016, 04:45:02 PM »
I usually ate fruit that I found nibbled by animals (mostly birds), and the only care I take is to remove the bitten part with a margin of about 2cm.
Never had any issues with that. If I would eat only untouched fruits, in some years I would risk not eating a single mango, cherimoya, guava...
Life is all about learning, but sometimes, the more you learn, the less you seem to know...

Doug

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #7 on: July 31, 2016, 10:01:48 AM »

I can't imagine ANY problem eating second paw fruit. I have seen Costa Ricans eating fruit that had been half eaten by god knows what. I watched a bunch of kids here feasting on black zapotes that had been laying on the ground for an undetermined amount of time and in horrible condition. They eat guavas that have worms, too. We in the so-called developed part of the world have been infected by supermarket perfection syndrome. As for me, having a bunch of young fruit trees, I'll eat whatever condition that FIRST fruit is in that they produce. I wouldn't miss that for the world.

Vernmented

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #8 on: July 31, 2016, 10:11:45 AM »
Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?

Yes. ALL THE TIME!
-Josh

goosteen

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #9 on: July 31, 2016, 10:37:34 AM »
I usually do, unless it's rats... I think they carry some diseases we can catch.   

zands

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #10 on: July 31, 2016, 11:21:55 AM »
I will eat them depending on the overall look of the fruit. The best way to clean them is to blast away at the bitten part with  the garden hose. Did that this morning to a nam doc mai mango.
« Last Edit: July 31, 2016, 12:26:24 PM by zands »

SocalKoop

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #11 on: July 31, 2016, 11:36:27 AM »
Yes, and if I lived in a cleaner part of the world, I'd eat the animals that nibbled on my fruit too.
"Failing to prepare is preparing for failure." -Benjamin Franklin

floridays

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #12 on: July 31, 2016, 01:52:38 PM »
i couldn't agree more with the sentiment that we live (I'm in the U.S.) in such a "sterile" food nation, and that most of the world eats things that we would have code violations for on a daily basis.  ;D

I'm sure I've eaten my fair share of dirt, worms and bugs.

It was just the thought of saliva and rabies that kinda freaked me out... ;)


gnappi

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #13 on: July 31, 2016, 02:43:54 PM »
No, there's always more fruit than I need, and I don't need some saliva carried animal virus or bacteria  to cross over to the human realm as a real life lab experiment :-)
Regards,

   Gary

Jani

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #14 on: July 31, 2016, 03:17:22 PM »
For me the only critters I have that do damage are birds so Im good with cutting away the areas they pecked. .I'd probably feel different eating fruit after rats or racoons took a chop, out of disease concerns  ...
always longing for a JA Julie

Don

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #15 on: July 31, 2016, 05:45:53 PM »
Yeah dont touch them here in Queensland as you cant tell if the possums or the flying foxes have got to them and flying foxes carry some pretty bad disease that can easily infect humans so I just leave them. I bag them if I know the flying foxes are fond of them, prevention better than getting sick suckin on second hand fruit!👍

DeeMango

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #16 on: July 31, 2016, 05:48:07 PM »
Definitely. Just cut away the area the critter has nibbled on and eat the rest. Otherwise the little hairy fruit terrorists win.
Dee (I can haz a) Mango

greenman62

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #17 on: August 01, 2016, 09:28:46 AM »

I can't imagine ANY problem eating second paw fruit. I have seen Costa Ricans eating fruit that had been half eaten by god knows what. I watched a bunch of kids here feasting on black zapotes that had been laying on the ground for an undetermined amount of time and in horrible condition. They eat guavas that have worms, too. We in the so-called developed part of the world have been infected by supermarket perfection syndrome. As for me, having a bunch of young fruit trees, I'll eat whatever condition that FIRST fruit is in that they produce. I wouldn't miss that for the world.

yeah, and i agree with that to some extent
as a society we throw away way too much food just because its not picture perfect,
 but parasites ARE a real threat.
My best friends wife is from Nicaragua. When she first came to the states,
 she had several types of parasites when she saw a Doc,
 it took her months of medicines to remove them all.

i have cut off bad bits of fruit in the past, and often still eat fruit that hit the ground
IF it looks like nothing bit into it,
 but recently i got some kind of skin problem that looks like a fever blister on my arm,
accompanied by a bad headache.
Still not sure what the heck it was, but, i am starting to wash fruit now,
 and leaving anything which was obviously bitten into.

FYI, a couple of links...

A rare parasite found in snails and rats that can cause serious health problems in humans and animals is more pervasive in South Florida than previously thought, a new study has found.
http://phys.org/news/2015-02-parasite-infecting-florida-snails-poses.html
"As long as food is cooked and you wash your produce, you will most likely never ingest it."


// Neglected Parasitic Infections (NPIs) in the United States //
The neglected parasitic infections (NPIs) are a group of five parasitic diseases
 that have been targeted by the CDC as priorities for public health action
http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/npi/index.html


Doug

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #18 on: August 01, 2016, 10:05:26 AM »

QUOTE....
yeah, and i agree with that to some extent
as a society we throw away way too much food just because its not picture perfect,
 but parasites ARE a real threat.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Of course you're right.... I'm sure there could be problems with parasites, etc., but I think it's probably rare. But, I guess I'm concerned more about what humans add to the food we eat to make it look perfect than what Nature does. BTW, parasites and other "bugs" won't find happy homes for themselves to thrive in when the potential "host" has a relatively healthy and balanced body and mind. Works for me! Not even mosquitoes like my blood! Hahahaha

ScottR

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #19 on: August 01, 2016, 11:04:02 AM »

I can't imagine ANY problem eating second paw fruit. I have seen Costa Ricans eating fruit that had been half eaten by god knows what. I watched a bunch of kids here feasting on black zapotes that had been laying on the ground for an undetermined amount of time and in horrible condition. They eat guavas that have worms, too. We in the so-called developed part of the world have been infected by supermarket perfection syndrome. As for me, having a bunch of young fruit trees, I'll eat whatever condition that FIRST fruit is in that they produce. I wouldn't miss that for the world.

yeah, and i agree with that to some extent
as a society we throw away way too much food just because its not picture perfect,
 but parasites ARE a real threat.
My best friends wife is from Nicaragua. When she first came to the states,
 she had several types of parasites when she saw a Doc,
 it took her months of medicines to remove them all.

i have cut off bad bits of fruit in the past, and often still eat fruit that hit the ground
IF it looks like nothing bit into it,
 but recently i got some kind of skin problem that looks like a fever blister on my arm,
accompanied by a bad headache.
Still not sure what the heck it was, but, i am starting to wash fruit now,
 and leaving anything which was obviously bitten into.

FYI, a couple of links...

A rare parasite found in snails and rats that can cause serious health problems in humans and animals is more pervasive in South Florida than previously thought, a new study has found.
http://phys.org/news/2015-02-parasite-infecting-florida-snails-poses.html
"As long as food is cooked and you wash your produce, you will most likely never ingest it."


// Neglected Parasitic Infections (NPIs) in the United States //
The neglected parasitic infections (NPIs) are a group of five parasitic diseases
 that have been targeted by the CDC as priorities for public health action
http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/npi/index.html
Good link, that sounds like the one they have in Hawaii rat hole lung disease, snail infected and transformed to fruit laying on ground.Funny story on the Best of Both Worlds -CRFG & HTFG conference in 2013 we toured Hawaii Germ Plasm Repository, we were touring on Day US Govt. shut down so local H.T.F.G were touring us around huge grounds and people were picking up fruit and tasting about half way thru tour one of the guilds said that Hawaii has this 'Rat hole Lung disease" and infects fruit on ground. You never saw so many people spit out or throw away fruit so fast in your life!!! Be aware!   

forumfool

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #20 on: August 01, 2016, 09:29:18 PM »
All the people who have gotten sick from it directly ate raw/undercooked snails. Not sure what the concern would be with fallen fruit (unless there was a snail on it and you ate the snail too, but I think most people look at the fruit they pick up and brush it off)

Regarding rabies, seems like it has a very short lifespan (like HIV) outside of the body:
http://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2012/07/articles/animals/dogs/rabies-virus-survival/

I just cut the piece off that was directly bitten and eat the rest of the fruit.

Guanabanus

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #21 on: August 01, 2016, 11:12:53 PM »
Some of us refer to bushey-tailed rats as "quality control", since they sample the best mangos, and leave the rest of each one for us to relish.   Of course even squeemish persons can cook such fruits.
Har

palmcity

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #22 on: August 02, 2016, 11:52:11 AM »
 If you read these cdc documents, you will be much more careful handling dogs, cats, visiting tropical climates, eating rare cooked meat, etc. Of course, I'm glad I finally got around to reading these from your previous posts.

Great information, thanks for mentioning above and will pass some of this information on to my friends and family. It is interesting how many of us are probably infected with some of these parasites now and totally unaware.

http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/npi/index.html


http://phys.org/news/2015-02-parasite-infecting-florida-snails-poses.html
« Last Edit: August 03, 2016, 09:08:31 AM by palmcity »

VirginiaHart

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #23 on: April 11, 2021, 02:12:17 PM »
My son ate yesterday an apple that was half-eaten by a squirrel. Should I bring him to see a doctor?

CarolineMay

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #24 on: April 11, 2021, 02:19:06 PM »
I don't think you should take your son to see a doctor. Unless your son doesn't have any symptoms that he is sick or something. I remember when I was a kid and once our family's dog licked the apple I was eating. I just continued to eat that apple and nothing bad happened after that. I didn't get sick. I had the same situation last month. Some squirrels got into my house and made holes in the apples and oranges in the kitchen. My wife threw them all. We always have some trouble with squirrels so I contacted a squirrel removal service from this site https://tampa.aaacwildliferemoval.com/squirrel-removal. They helped me a lot. I should have called them earlier.
« Last Edit: April 15, 2021, 03:57:05 AM by CarolineMay »

Tommyng

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #25 on: April 11, 2021, 02:33:34 PM »
It’s highly unlikely that any blood borne or mucosal targeting virus or other pathogen can survive or be transmitted via fruit, unless reconsumed immediately after a bite. . More concerning are fruits  insulted with infective waste material. With that said, I just cut the bitten part out, and as for visiting a doctor, that’s a parents informed choice to make:
Don’t rush, take time and enjoy life and food.

zands

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #26 on: April 11, 2021, 02:57:16 PM »
It all depends. If it is a mango or fruit I really want to eat... Then I take a garden hose, put a thumb over the end and blast away at the spot that has been eaten.  My Caribbean eaters will not eat anything that has touched the ground. Some of my fruit eaters will take home a mango that I blast this way and if the fruit is a bit "melted" or soft where it got critter eaten. You blast this away too.

An average mango is a maybe. A prime mango that has been attacked, I turn the high pressure water hose on it.
The best Carambola are the last ones and are full yellow and have hit the turf. I will eat those.

Giannhs

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #27 on: April 11, 2021, 03:19:46 PM »
When the crows nibbled at my persimmons, well, i cleaned the bitten part and ate them (ate the persimmons, not the crows). Rarely that happened with very little birds. There is a traditional belief that if you eat from the same plate or drink from the same cup, then you learn the secrets of that person who drank/ate from the same receptacle. So, after eating the same fruit, i hope to learn the secrets of the birds!
Well, the birds nibbled at many persimmons and ate no whole fruit, not even a large part of any fruit; so, if i did not eat those persimmons, i would lose too many of them. As to the strawberries that the woodlice ate, i did not eat the remnants, because that was no nibbling: they eat the whole strawberry from inside and leave only a thin empty outline of strawberry.

fruitlovers

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #28 on: April 11, 2021, 05:47:18 PM »
All the people who have gotten sick from it directly ate raw/undercooked snails. Not sure what the concern would be with fallen fruit (unless there was a snail on it and you ate the snail too, but I think most people look at the fruit they pick up and brush it off)

Regarding rabies, seems like it has a very short lifespan (like HIV) outside of the body:
http://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2012/07/articles/animals/dogs/rabies-virus-survival/

I just cut the piece off that was directly bitten and eat the rest of the fruit.
The disease you are referring to is called rat lungworm disease. It's a problem in Hawaii and much of Asia and Australia. Can be fatal or crippling if you accidentally eat a slug or snail. Not hard to do if the fruit has a hole in it as baby slugs and snails can crawl in and are very tiny. There is also concern about eating fruits or vegetables with slug slime trail on them (unwashed fruits). If the slime trail is fresh it could contain the parasitic nematode (roundworm) that causes the disease.
Oscar

spaugh

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #29 on: April 11, 2021, 06:11:33 PM »
Rats chew on avocados occasionally, usually on dropped fruit.  We just cut the bad part off and eat them.
Brad Spaugh

palmcity

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #30 on: April 11, 2021, 06:33:36 PM »
All the people who have gotten sick from it directly ate raw/undercooked snails. Not sure what the concern would be with fallen fruit (unless there was a snail on it and you ate the snail too, but I think most people look at the fruit they pick up and brush it off)

Regarding rabies, seems like it has a very short lifespan (like HIV) outside of the body:
http://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2012/07/articles/animals/dogs/rabies-virus-survival/

I just cut the piece off that was directly bitten and eat the rest of the fruit.
The disease you are referring to is called rat lungworm disease. It's a problem in Hawaii and much of Asia and Australia. Can be fatal or crippling if you accidentally eat a slug or snail. Not hard to do if the fruit has a hole in it as baby slugs and snails can crawl in and are very tiny. There is also concern about eating fruits or vegetables with slug slime trail on them (unwashed fruits). If the slime trail is fresh it could contain the parasitic nematode (roundworm) that causes the disease.
Life is a risk.... As long as your still in the game playing.... Know your risks... Think about snails when a fruit is found on the ground::: http://phys.org/news/2015-02-parasite-infecting-florida-snails-poses.html

wonderfruit

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Re: Do you eat fruits that animals have nibbled on?
« Reply #31 on: April 11, 2021, 08:56:55 PM »
Rabies virus does not get on you. It does not cross any epithelium or skin. It needs to be a bite where the saliva gets in your flesh.
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo