Know2eat

Wild boar

Sus scrofa

What wild boar has been studied for

2 associations assessed — 2 with at least some human evidence behind them. Strongest first.

  • 2 Limited
4 things to know first — allergies, interactions and intake limits

About wild boar

The wild ancestor of the domestic pig, hunted across Europe, Asia and the Americas where feral populations have expanded rapidly. The meat is darker, leaner and stronger-flavoured than farmed pork.

Also known as Feral hog, Sanglier, Jabali, Cinghiale

Women's HealthMuscle & Physical Performance

The evidence in depth

Best supported: Limited

What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Iron status

Women's Health
Limited evidence

Has been studied as a source of heme iron. Boar is darker and more iron-dense than farmed pork, though the evidence concerns heme iron rather than this meat.

Limited evidence. Early human work, or mostly lab and animal research.

3 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Muscle protein synthesis

Muscle & Physical Performance
Limited evidence

May support muscle protein synthesis as a lean complete protein. Support comes from the protein quality of meat in general rather than from any study of game boar.

Limited evidence. Early human work, or mostly lab and animal research.

1 source

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Ask about Wild boar

Ask about Wild boar

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
NutrientAmount% DV
Macronutrients
Calories122 kcal6%
Protein21.5 g43%
Total fat3.33 g4%
Carbohydrate0 g0%
Fibre0 g0%
Water72.5 g—
Fats
Saturated fat0.99 g5%
Monounsaturated fat1.3 g—
Polyunsaturated fat0.48 g—
Linoleic acid (omega-6)0.38 g—
Vitamins
Vitamin A0 µg0%
Vitamin C0 mg0%
Thiamin (B1)0.39 mg33%
Riboflavin (B2)0.11 mg8%
Niacin (B3)4 mg25%
Minerals
Calcium12 mg1%
Phosphorus120 mg10%
Selenium9.8 µg18%
Other measured compounds
Ash0.97 g—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Game meat, boar, wild, raw (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 175297).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

  • cookedReduces Trichinella larvae and hepatitis E virus

    Cooking the meat through to a safe internal temperature inactivates Trichinella larvae and hepatitis E virus. Curing, smoking and drying, the traditional treatments for boar, do not reliably do so, and freezing is unreliable against the Trichinella species found in wildlife.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

  • Worth knowing

    Trichinella in wild boar

    Trichinellosis has largely disappeared from commercial pork in countries with modern husbandry, but wild boar and bear are now the leading sources of human cases in North America and Europe. The larvae encyst in muscle, survive curing and cold smoking, and are not reliably killed by home freezing of the sylvatic species. Cooking the meat through is the control step.

  • Worth knowing

    Hepatitis E and Toxoplasma

    Wild boar is a recognised reservoir of hepatitis E virus, and cases have followed eating undercooked boar meat and liver, with the most serious outcomes in pregnant women and people who are immunosuppressed. Toxoplasma gondii is also common in wild suids. Both are inactivated by thorough cooking.

  • Worth knowing

    Lead shot and, in some regions, radiocaesium

    Hunted boar can contain lead fragments from ammunition. In parts of central Europe, wild boar also remain the meat most persistently contaminated with radiocaesium from historic fallout, because of the underground fungi they root for, and regional testing and limits still apply.

  • Too much

    Red meat and cured products

    Boar is unprocessed red meat, which the IARC places in Group 2A. Boar salami, sausage and cured hams are processed meat, which sits in Group 1 with sufficient evidence for colorectal cancer, and they are also high in sodium.