as if we didn't already know this...

Link

FDA Allows Bug Eggs, Larvae In Food

Make Sure To Eat Food Before Expiration Date

CLEVELAND -- We don't like to think about, but everything we eat comes with a few microscopic "treats."

The Food and Drug Administration allows a certain amount of insects in your food.

A baby eating his cereal is far from cute when you open up the box and find creepy crawlers.

"And I opened the little tip of the box, and I looked inside and there was what looked like a cobweb," Claudia Teagle said.

Behind the cobwebs, Teagle found larvae.

"I threw the box down and I screamed, and I grabbed the baby and we ran upstairs to get my husband," she said.

She looked at the box more closely. The cereal had expired, but she still reported it to the health department. What she heard wasn't very comforting.

"He told me to call him back if it ever happens where the box hasn't expired, because you can expect to find in cereal and rice and bean products a little bit of insects," she said.

"It's allowed because again, in the processing or harvesting of the cereal, you're going to find insect parts, larvae or eggs," said K. Melendez of the Cuyahoga County Health Department.

Officials said that's because our food comes from Mother Nature, and so do bugs. Food isn't sterile, but it shouldn't harm you.

The federal government has set some guidelines. Pasta is allowed to have 225 insect parts per 225 grams. A jar of peanut butter is allowed to have rodent hairs. In a can of corn, two or more larvae are allowed. And in orange juice, five fly eggs or one maggot per 250 milliliters is OK.

Dead bugs or their eggs are harmless. But officials said that if the can or box squirms, that's no good.

"That probably sat on the shelf too long, and it had enough time for the eggs to hatch and surprise, you found them," Melendez said.

Like it or not, it's in there. But if you don't think about it, it's OK. Just buy your food and eat it before the expiration date.

-- Anonymous, March 26, 2002

Answers

In some foods there wouldn't be any protein at all if it weren't for bugs.

-- Anonymous, March 26, 2002

I freeze all packaged foods that I intend to keep for any amount of time. It "pasturizes" it and kills any larvae or eggs. I can then store it in an airtight situation and know it will be fine when I open it. Particularly with rice and cereal products, you can almost count on them containing potential problems.

-- Anonymous, March 26, 2002

When I first came here in 67 (19, not 18) and didn't know a thing about American brands and products, I started subscribing to Consumer Reports. One of the very first articles I read was about hot dogs and I learned that a certain amount of filth was permitted--including rodent hair and other wholesome little additives.

I don't want to think about it any more!

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2002

Would anyone be interested in what they put into pet food, specifically dog food?

My sister sent me some articles and links, and it made me sick to think that we have been feeding them this shit. And continue to do so.

Consider that there are some people in the US as well as elsewhere that eat pet food to survive.

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2002