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The German government is considering approval of a food for thought ingredient that most people try their best to avoid : parasite eggs .

The country ’s Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety is value the safe of a product that consists of cop whipworm ( Trichuris suis ) testicle , New Scientist reportedAug . 7 . If approve , the eggs would be sold as a food ingredient .

In Brief

A human whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) egg. A company in Germany wants to sell the eggs of a related parasite, the pig whipworm (Trichuris suis).

The product , made by a Thai company called Tanawisa , would be sell in small vials curb up to 2,500 egg , which could be summate to foods or drinks . It was approve for sales event in 2012 in Thailand .

Some experts have push aside the estimation that ego - infect with aparasiteis a well musical theme .

For example , in 2013 , the pharmaceutical fellowship Coronado Biosciences ( now hollo Fortress Biotech ) announced that its clinical trial using cop whipworm egg to treat Crohn ’s disease had miscarry , according toThe Boston Globe .

human whipworm, whipworm, Trichuris trichiura

A human whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) egg. A company in Germany wants to sell the eggs of a related parasite, the pig whipworm (Trichuris suis).

" In my opinion , worm therapy belong to in the same family of pseudoscience cult therapies as chelation therapy for autism , " and approving this mathematical product in Germany would be a " dumb idea , " Dr. Peter Hotez , the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas , told New Scientist . ( Chelation therapyis a controversial technique in which harmful heavy metals are take out from a person ’s blood . )

learn more atNew Scientist .

Originally published onLive Science .

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