“I found what I think are dead worms/ larvae in some sliced turkey that I got from a Whole Foods deli counter,” states this reader in his submission. “They are medium green and appear to have a rounded back,” he says of the creatures’ physical appearance.
He adds that “they are about a half of an inch long and perhaps 1/16” to 3/32” wide.” He guesses that the creatures “were perhaps flat on the bottom before dying” and “shriveling” up, though he admits that this is a “total guess”.
The worms in question were not “embedded in the meat, but lying on the surface of the bottom slice or two, as if they were scooped up from the counter or bin that the turkey was kept in in the display case.” He concludes his submission by asking us if we think they are worms or larvae of some kind.
In our opinion, these look like green beans. From what we can tell, these objects do not have any discernible heads, appendages, segmentation, or any other characteristic that would single these out as once-living organisms. Of course, that is not to say that there are not organisms without all of these things.
If anything, these might be intestinal parasites that infected the turkey when it was still living. However, it would be impossible for us to confirm this when the turkey is already dead, as one could not check for symptoms in the turkey to go along with the infection. And in any case, since we are not medical professionals, we are not qualified to make such a diagnosis, regardless if the infection affects a human or a non-human animal.
In the case that our reader really wants to know what these worms are, we suggest taking samples of them to his local county extension office for a second opinion. There, they will be able to physically inspect the worms, which gives them a greater advantage in figuring out what they are. Additionally, if our reader is worried about his own health as a result of finding these worms, then what we can recommend is that our reader do one or more of the following:
1) Search for a medical parasitologist in their area using this directory of medical parasitology consultants: https://www.astmh.org/for-astmh-members/clinical-consultants-directory.
2) Search for a local parasitologist by doing a Google search for “medical parasitologist (name of the closest big city)” or “tropical medicine specialist (name of the closest big city)”.
3) Get in touch with Dr. Omar Amin at the Parasitology Center at https://www.parasitetesting.com.
In conclusion, the worms our reader found really do resemble green beans, but if they are indeed organisms, then we must admit that we have no idea what they could be. If any of our other readers have any clues, they are welcome to suggest their ideas in the comments section below. Otherwise, our reader can go to his county extension office for a second opinion and/or consult a medical parasitologist. We wish him the best.
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