Ewww, gross!

[daner94]

Posted today in our Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The USDA deems certain levels of insects and insect parts safe in the food that you eat. Here is what the gov't says is safe in:

Apple butter: 5 or more whole or equivalent insects per 100 grams.

Ground Cinnamon: 400 or more insect fragments per 50 grams.

Fig Paste: 13 or more insect heads per 100 grams.

Canned or dried mushrooms: 20 or more maggots of any size per 100 grams of dried mushrooms.

Peanut Butter: 30 or more insect fragments per 100 grams.

Ground Pepper: 475 or more insect fragments per 50 grams.


Why oh why do they do this? Yuck!!

:(

[LaraW]

Talk about "what I don't know won't hurt me!!"

:eek:

[Ohioan]

This is all very distressing to a vegetarian, of course....

Nitpickingly, :rolleyes:
Phoebe

[Mandy]

yuck

[emilycat]

That is the most disgusting thing I've ever heard -- I am officially repulsed (as opposed to unofficially, I suppose)
What I want to know is why the *#@ they're in there in the first place!!!

[gertdog]

An excellent, excellent reason to never use pre-ground pepper. How easy is it to grind large quantities of cinnamon oneself? :(

I knew there was a reason I don't eat figs. Why does the info on figs specify "insect HEADS" while the others just read "parts"?

[beacooker]

I first heard about this years ago, when I was a teenager. At first, it really put me off all food for a few weeks. Then I realized that I had to eat. And even vegetables that you pull from your garden are going to have all sorts of insect pieces (and bug poop!) all over them. So I decided that life is just a messy prospect, and learned to live with it.

It still bothers me when I think about it too much. For some reason the food that always makes me remember this (not that I hardly ever eat it anymore) is Chef-Boy-R-Dee products. No reason, just something about their tomato sauce makes me think of bug parts!

[beejayw1]

Originally posted by beacooker
Chef-Boy-R-Dee products... No reason, just something about their tomato sauce makes me think of bug parts!

ROFL!

I have to say, I've read all the information, have handled cases involving...shall we say, disgusting...foods, and concluded that if I couldn't see them, I didn't care. (sort of like biting into an apple and finding half a worm.)

Once, while touring a winery, I watched a film showing the grape harvesting machines and the machines that picked out stones and such. Upon being assured that anything that didn't fit the size and weight of a grape was tossed out, one woman said, in a quavering voice, "Yes, it's very impressive, but what does it do when it encounters a bug that's the same basic size and weight as a grape??" No one answered.

Meanwhile, we get our protein however we can. I'll take mine in champagne, thank you!

[olive101]

If you all are squimish about this subject, how do you eat out at restaurants? At least most of these items are processed and canned. I know I read on this board about someone that works in the food service industry and how nasty it can be. I was a waitress during high school and college. I primarily worked at a place that scored very high on the inspections, but there was still alot of nasty things that happened there. I really try to ignore that all of these things exsist or else I would probably never eat again!!!

[JHolcomb]

Why dosn't this bother me? I'm not horrified by this news at all. I always figured I was eating bug parts in canned food, and knowing for sure won't change my eating habits. My stomach's made of steel, though.

[Pat]

Many years ago when I was in college, I worked for the engineering department of a brewery (yes, I live in KY) and I toured the processing plant where the grain ferments in large, uncovered vats and my first question was, "What keeps the bugs from flying, falling, etc. into the fermenting grain?" I did not receive a satisfactory answer. It was just left to my imagination. Of course, at 80 proof it would be sterile, wouldn't it?

[HighSierra]

Several years ago, while half way through a glass of orange juice, I happened to see the leg of an insect in my glass. I did the only logical thing - removed the leg and finished the glass! Now, every time I drink juice with pulp, I wonder what are those little "lumps" I feel passing over my palate.

[kirkbyky]

Gertdog--
this link should explain the insect heads in figs. Bleagh...
it's why I won't eat figs.
http://www.soupsong.com/ffig.html

Kyle

[Mamasue]

Kyle....thanks for posting the link. When I started to read this thread I immediately thought of Under The Tuscan Sun written by Frances Mayes and you saved me from locating the book and finding her statement about figs. In her book she talks about the fig trees on her property in Italy and the story behind the fruit. She explained about the wasp and very visual. I was completely surprised when I learned this but it hasn't stopped me from enjoying this fruit.

I heard differently about peanut butter......certain % of rat hairs is acceptable!

[SandyM]

Too funny.....

Kyle - I had a package of Figs in my hand the other day at the produce store, and wondered if I'd like them (I've never tasted a fig before). Now, I think I'll just pass.

Mamasue -I just borrowed Under the Tuscan Sun from a friend - will start reading it this weekend!

[daner94]

I guess we really don't know what goes into our food. Well, I think we've all done okay so far. And as long as it tastes good.... :)

[emilycat]

Fresh figs are positively one of my favorite fruits (second only to strawberries), so although I'm finding this wasp larvae information exceptionally disturbing, it won't stop me from savoring them every fig season. I just may not eat them ever again without scrutinizing the inside. :(

When I was in 10th grade biology, my teacher's lectures during the parasite chapter brought me to tears -- she went into great, great detail about all the dwarf tapeworms that were in cereals, crackers, etc. I freaked out and wouldn't eat anything that wasn't boiled for a couple of weeks (like oatmeal, because that would kill the little beasts). Then I regained my senses and began enjoying Wheaties again. :)

[KValley]

Originally posted by JHolcomb
Why dosn't this bother me? I'm not horrified by this news at all. I always figured I was eating bug parts in canned food, and knowing for sure won't change my eating habits. My stomach's made of steel, though.

I'm with ya', JHolcomb. Peanut butter and ground cinnamon are really the only things on this list I eat, but even so I am not disturbed (or, perhaps I am :p !). There are certainly worse things (pesticides!!!), as as long as the insects are clean, it's only protein. :D

[Jeanne G]

Originally posted by beacooker
And even vegetables that you pull from your garden are going to have all sorts of insect pieces (and bug poop!) all over them. So I decided that life is just a messy prospect, and learned to live with it.

I am quoting you b/c not too long ago I encountered a worm :eek: in a 'sort of' baked pizza mixture with kale and swiss chard from my garden. Luckily I found it and REMOVED it (whew!!!) before baking it and serving it at a party I threw!!! Can you IMAGINE if someone had gotten it in their slice ???? No one would ever want to eat at my house again!

So my motto is to just look really close and HOPE I got rid of all the bugs. And beacooker, thankfully I don't think I'd recognize bug poop if I ever saw it!!! :D

[gertdog]

Thanks all for the info on figs. :)

Would you believe I grew up next to a fig orchard and didn't know they were fertilized by wasps? I remember there were little brown paper sacks hanging among the trees, and the rumor among kids was that they contained "fly eggs and maggots", which, I think, is why I don't like figs today. But I never made the connection between insects and fertilization.

Well, while all this info does bother me, it won't stop me from eating peanut butter, cinnamon, black pepper, etc. But figs are still a no-go for me.

I do find it interesting, though... how do they decide what's safe? Why 400 parts per 50g for cinnamon, but 475 parts per 50g for ground pepper? Nobody has to answer that... I'm just pondering. ;)

[mb]

i've always been turned off by fig newtons because they taste like cookies filled with little ants or something! i've never eaten fresh figs, and now i'm not so sure i will...

however, this news won't stop me from eating my peanut butter! :D

marisa :)