If you have a vegetable garden you will expect to find ear wigs, worms, and bugs in your harvest. You make sure your food is properly washed and double check for any insects that might have been overlooked. It's easy to be sure you get the bugs out before you serve your family but, it isn't as easy for large scale commercially harvested food. It would be impossible to check every vegetable, grain silo, corn crib, and flour mill world wide to avoid such contaminants so the FDA has set guidelines for how much foreign matter…more precisely bugs, larvae, eggs, and rodent hair can be safely allowed in our food. It is estimated that each of us eats an average of one pound of insects every year.
Some insects are purposely used in food like the Cochineal bug. Cochineal bugs are small, scaly bugs used to make red and pink coloring for our food and beverages. Colouring from Cochineal bugs is listed on the ingredient list of food packaging as cochineal extract.
Male and Female Cochineal Bugs
Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons
Food grade shellac used to give candy its shine is secreted from the Kerria lacca or Lac bug. Its deep red secretion is harvested from trees in India, Thailand, China, and Mexico. The bug secretes the resin on tree twigs where it is harvested by breaking off the laden branches and melting the resin from them.
Kerria Lacca Bug
Courtesy of Wikipedia commons
Other ingredients that you won't find listed on packaging ingredient lists are; bug wings, fly heads, bug larvae, insect eggs, rat hair, maggots, and worms.
Peanut Butter
Courtesy of Flicker commons
One pound of peanut butter can contain rodent hair and up to 60 pieces of bug parts. While rodent hair is easily found in peanut butter, roach parts are not because they are pulverized with the peanuts. (Who counts the bug pieces?)
Chocolate
Courtesy of Flicker commons
Chocoholics love their chocolate but did you know that one chocolate bar can contain up to 80 bug pieces and other debris and still be safe to eat? (Could it be that you are actually addicted to bugs and NOT the chocolate?)
Pasta
Courtesy of Flicker commons
Pasta contains around 225 insect parts per 225 grams of pasta. (Italian anyone?)
Orange Juice
Courtesy of Flicker commons
Two hundred and fifty milliliters of orange juice can contain either one maggot or five fly eggs. (Do we have a choice?)
Sauce
Courtesy of Flicker commons
Pizza and pasta sauce is allowed either 30 bug eggs or 2 maggots per 100g. (Free toppings!)
Flour
Courtesy of Flicker commons
Wheat flour has up to 75 bug parts per 50g. (Bah… Bug Buns!)
Mushrooms
Courtesy of Flicker commons
Canned mushrooms have up to 20 maggots per 100g. (Is this a new canned food? Mushroom with Maggots)
Meal Worms
Courtesy of Wikipedia commons
In some countries meal worm is a common additive in meat and meat products. Meal worms are a larval stage flour beetle or Darkling beetle that lives in the wild wherever flour and grains are stored. The Yellow meal worm or Tenebrio molitor are easily raised and well suited to home farming. As long as you keep their containers clean and in a dim, well ventilated area, regulate their heat, and feed them you will always have fresh food whenever guests drop by. The kitchen is an excellent farming area ensuring easy access to fresh worms anytime.
Bonus: Easy, Company's Coming Meal Worm Appetizers
Ingredients
- 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine
- 1/3 cup fresh meal worm larvae
Method
- Melt butter or margarine in skillet.
- Add remaining ingredients.
- Sauté until golden brown.
This recipe can be served as is or added to a heated store bought snack mix such as Party Mix, Trail Mix, or Bridge Mix.
Bon Appetit!
