Goose Fat And Duck Fat?

[carolynmay]

Dear all,

I know this is probably ridiculous, but someone asked me the other day how I can be sure that duck fat and goose fat are safe given that the animals spend their lives surrounded by grain and are indeed probably covered in grain dust for most of the time, and presumably processing may not be awfully careful in terms of removing grain dust. I guess the same would apply to the skin of any poultry in fact.

I just wondered if anyone has ever suspected they have reacted to duck fat / goose fat (jarred) or whether we can regard it as entirely safe?

Thanks so much for any thoughts - and sorry if this sounds rather ridiculous!

Best wishes, Carolyn

[MrsVJW]

Birds have feathers for reasons. To protect their skin from things, for one.

I really don't think there is anything in the USA that is 100% safe from any and all forms of grain dust/pollen, etc. But once a animal is killed and the outside is cleaned and all is removed from the inside, it's not like you're going to find partial wheat grains hiding in the meat. Animals don't work that way. They eat it, they digest what they can from it to make their bodies work, and they expel the rest. And as for veggies, once they are cleaned, you're not likely to find stray wheat grains among your tomatoes, etc.

Now, a jarred product may be suspect due to production rather than source materials. I cook ducks several times a year (and save that duck fat like the culinary gold that it is!) but my ducks are cooked in non-contaminated cookware and the fat is saved in non-contaminated jars. Never had a problem. But I am slowly becoming highly suspect of pretty much any pre-packaged, mass-produced product (especially from companies/plants that also process wheat in any form).

[Stewart]

Hi I found this post because I had a reaction to goose fat and thought I was imagining things. I am usually quite good at narrowing things down and have definitely found that jarred goose fat gives a reaction. Just wanted to share.