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I recently discovered I have mice or rats in my garage, where I had some stuff stored for space purposes, including a barely-used newly-seasoned frying pan. I found a bunch of rodent droppings in it (blegh), and I scrubbed it hard, twice, with soap and hot water, and washed it out.

I also re-seasoned it (stove-top method, not oven method, where the oil smokes and burns) since the seasoning was not that well done. I thought the soap/water/scrub would damage it, but I didn't see any visible deterioration of seasoning.

I have young children (two under 5 years old), and I'm not a food safety expert. Is this enough, or do I need to do something more to guarantee the sanity of my cast iron pan?

Edit: After doing some reading, I've found a few things to verify:

  1. Bleach dissolved in water, soaked for ~5 minutes, will kill everything rodent-specific. But what will that do to my cast iron?
  2. Droppings themselves are easily discarded, if not green (from poison)
  3. Rodent urine (which will exist anywhere droppings exist) will soak into the seasoning, even if it's sterilized now.
  4. Baking it in the oven for a couple of hours is probably a safe way to sterilize it. 350F seems okay. Is it high enough?

Based on all this information, I think the best approach would be to strip down and re-season the pan from scratch. That'll remove anything soaked into the existing seasoning, and it'll sterilize the surface.

Cees Timmerman
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ashes999
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    I'd bleach it, personally. Why take chances? – Aaronut Sep 29 '13 at 15:56
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    Stainless steel cookware is not normally seasoned. – SAJ14SAJ Sep 29 '13 at 17:17
  • @SAJ14SAJ I meant cast iron, sorry. – ashes999 Sep 29 '13 at 19:40
  • @Aaronut maybe you should add this as an answer. There's some information frmo the CDC here: http://www.cdc.gov/rodents/cleaning/ – ashes999 Sep 29 '13 at 19:42
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    The CDC link is good information, but it is not culinary or cooking information. – SAJ14SAJ Sep 29 '13 at 20:06
  • I've updated my question with more questions. I'm not sure how to proceed. – ashes999 Sep 29 '13 at 21:15
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    Washing the pan and then heating it to the point of smoking oil should kill every organism on it. I wouldn't hesitate to use the pan after that process. – Carey Gregory Sep 29 '13 at 21:33
  • There are many questions and answers already here for managing routine food safety, and for stripping and seasoning cast iron pans. You are venturing into more specific bio or medical or disease control territory with the questions that remain; these are not fundamentally culinary. – SAJ14SAJ Sep 29 '13 at 21:37
  • @CareyGregory even with the possibility of rodent urine? I find that a touch discomforting. – ashes999 Sep 29 '13 at 23:17
  • @Aaronut I've updated my question. What would bleach do to my cast iron pan and seasoning? – ashes999 Sep 29 '13 at 23:18
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    Ok, stainless steel != cast iron, that's a pretty significant change. Regardless, we're talking about a very dilute bleach solution (like 1 tbsp/gal), which is used for all kinds of food contact surfaces - I admit I've never tried it on cast iron but I'd be very surprised if it damages the pan. – Aaronut Sep 29 '13 at 23:54
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    Incidentally, urine is almost always sterile, it just smells. Feces are what you really need to be concerned about. I wonder what the local health department would have to say about something like that happening in a restaurant; maybe they'd tell you to get new pans. – Aaronut Sep 29 '13 at 23:56
  • @Aaronut I'm just a hobby chef, never mind actually running a restaurant. Thanks for your comments though. (I still think you should formalize them in an answer.) – ashes999 Sep 30 '13 at 02:28
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    That's not really what I meant. Obviously you're not dealing with questions of legality. I was just thinking that this is probably a situation that health inspectors encounter with some frequency - quite a few restaurants get closed either temporarily or permanently due to rodent infestations, and I was thinking that they probably have some policy over what to do with the cookware/tableware/etc. You might find an authoritative answer in your local health/foodservice code. – Aaronut Sep 30 '13 at 04:17
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    @ashes999 - The urine is just a mental ewww thing. The bacteria are dead, and whatever residual taste imparted by urine (that I doubt could be detected by anyone) will be destroyed by the re-seasoning. In all likelihood, you and everyone here has eaten from utensils that were exposed to rodent urine without your knowledge. At least in this case he knows it and can provide a thorough washing and a smoking hot sterilization. – Carey Gregory Sep 30 '13 at 04:35
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    Comments are not for answering questions. As much as I (honestly) really appreciate the discussion (since I now have my answer), this information should really be put into a cohesive answer. +1 @CareyGregory – ashes999 Sep 30 '13 at 13:11
  • @Aaronut "... tell you to get new pans"? Not likely. Apparently [cocoa beans can have up to 10mg of rat poo](https://www.livescience.com/55459-fda-acceptable-food-defects.html) in them and still be sold. Look at 'page' 3 o the link (preferably not before eating!) – mcalex Jul 23 '18 at 04:47

4 Answers4

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If it's cast iron, and you're really paranoid about it, just stick it in the oven, run a clean cycle, then re-season. Cast iron can withstand stupidly large amounts of heat: in traditional Chinese cookery, woks are cleaned by building a big fire, and throwing them in...When the fire burns out, you dig out your wok, re-season, and you're back in business.

If it's stainless, just stick it in the dishwasher.

Satanicpuppy
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A full cycle seems like overkill to me. Anything toxic will burn when you reheat it on >110°C (that's botox). Seasoning / Maillard reaction happens at over 150°C.

BaffledCook
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Had a cast-iron Dutch oven that went through the same thing: rodents decided to make it a home for a while. Re-seasoning, especially anywhere over 350 degrees F, should take care of the problem. My wife has asthma and gets bothered with excessive smoke, so I do it outdoors with a charcoal grill. My dutch ovens I just set directly onto the coals, then re-season as necessary once they're cool. It's worth the $2 in charcoal to not have to deal with the smell inside the house.

MasterShizzle
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Hunta virus is rampant here. Several Native Americans die here every year. I have found alcohol scrub and fire, not oven,kill this virus. Then reseason over extrme heat.

D Rhett Black
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    If you can find some evidence to back up the claims that would be much appreciated. Also if you could state where 'here' is? – canardgras Jun 28 '19 at 15:14
  • The hantavirus is sensitive to heat. https://www.msdsonline.com/resources/sds-resources/free-safety-data-sheet-index/hantavirus/ – BaffledCook Jul 24 '20 at 08:03