Can maggots get in to fresh meat?

Question

My husband bought a half beef from his parents. We have been eating it so far, but yesterday once I thawed out a package of steak, I opened it to cook, and it was full of maggots. They were not alive, so they must of got into it before they were frozen. It still disgusted me and now I cannot even think about eating any more of the meat. What I was wondering is this. Was the meat already going bad in order for them to be in there, or can they infest fresh meat as well. None the less, I won't be able to eat it after my find.

Answer 1

Flys are not fussy where thye lay their eggs, fresh or rotten meat... its still food for the maggots when they hatch;

Answer 2

Could it be another type of parasite that was infecting the cow when before it was slaughtered? It may be another type of worm.
I had deer meat that had a BB embedded in it once. It must have been in there for a while because the meat was almost green around the area. It made it through the processing and didn't noticed the discolored meat until after it was cooked.

It takes 8-20 hours for maggots to hatch from eggs. So your meat must have been sitting out at least that long since the eggs shouldn't hatch in a refrigerated environment.

Answer 3

Yes, blowflys often lay thier eggs on live animals out in the field. Its more common with sheep than cows.

Its life threatening as they burrow under the skin into the muscle and can get into the bloodstream causing liver and kidney failure. sheep with maggot-strike can sometimes be saved even if the skin is broken and raw so long as the maggots haven't burrowed under the skin. Its extremely painful for the animal.

Maggots can be in the muscle with the animal alive ( but dieing ). If its not spotted at a slaughter house then its likely you'll get the maggots in your meat.

Its all decaying meat, why would a meateater have problem with eating dead cows and not dead maggots ?

The other answers about it needing to be dead are just not true. I see this all the time

If you eat meat, its highly likely you eat parasites and small animals like maggots. Its just that fly maggots are larger and you've spotted them.

Answer 4

Maggot eggs were on the meat before. They started developing after slaughtering while the meat was still hot and decomposing, and finished growing during/after freezing. They are cold resistant I would not eat this meat deffinitely.
Eggs

present in clumps of up to 300
laying to hatching takes 1 day
Larva - 1st instar

initially feeds on fluid exuded from the body
migrates into body
hatching to first moult takes 1 day
Larva - 2nd instar

moves around in maggot mass
first moult to second moult takes 1 day
Larva - 3rd instar

still moves in mass
greatly increases in size
second moult to pre-pupa takes 2 days

As with fleas and ticks, maggots can be a threat to household pets. Flies reproduce rapidly in the summer months and maggots can come in large numbers, creating a maggot infestation and a high risk of myiasis in pets. Despite the fact that most maggots only eat dead tissue, some maggots, such as certain botfly larvae, spend part of their lifecycle as parasites under the skin of living animals. They can be painful and present a serious risk to pets or any other animals. Humans are not immune to the feeding habits of maggots and can also contract myiasis. Interaction between humans and maggots usually occurs near garbage cans, dead animals, rotten food, and other breeding grounds for maggots. Maggots will look for dark moist areas and are commonly found in unclean places such as under bed sheets.

Maggots are the larval forms of flies, and these larvae hatch from eggs laid by the flies. The eggs laid by flies (including fruit flies and house flies) are so small that they usually cannot be seen with the naked eye.

Maggots do NOT arise from bacteria or any other contamination in meat.


What this means is that at some point flies had enough contact with the surface of the meat to lay a few eggs on it. It wouldn't have taken more than a few seconds to lay dozens of eggs. The eggs would not have been visible unless the meat was examined by an expert using a high power magnifying glass.


The development of the eggs into larvae (maggots) would be slowed down by refrigerating the meat and stopped altogether by freezing. But they would not be killed. They are letargic.

Answer 5

Flies lay their eggs in dead meat. If the cow was slaughtered and some flies wera about, the fly laid the eggs in the meat and the eggs hatched before the meat was frozen. There obviously was no problem with the meat before you thawed this steak. You also may have left the meatt exposed for too long before you froze it. It doesnt take a fly long to do its thing. The meat did not have to be going bad...just dead.

Answer 6

"clean" isn't conducive to maggot infested meats. you will generally scent the putrid meat earlier recognizing the maggots (they're somewhat seen by applying the loads). in short; No.

Answer 7

yeah, they can get into any meat, fresh or bad, if a fly can land on it then they can lay their eggs in it. Sorry that is really nasty! i'd be afraid to eat any meat after that one!

Answer 8

I wouldn't think that they could get into fresh meat unless it was left out for a time. Complain to the company/store that the meat was purcheased from! That's just nasty!

Answer 9

throw out the meat. yes they can specially if there were any flys around the meat .probally got in there from were the beaf was processed.

Answer 10

oh yes your meat is infested with either worms or maggots.


time to talk to your parents about safety and sanitation. their stock or whatever has been contaminated.