I'm a big proponent of protein. Eggs for breakfast, grilled chicken
for lunch, lightly seared filet of salmon for dinner—I can't get enough.
But even I have a limit, and that limit generally begins about the time
I see exoskeletons, tentacles, pinchers, or stingers sticking out of my
food.
I realize that in some parts of the world, bugs are
considered a reliable source of protein. But the people who eat those
bugs do so willingly. It's a normal part of their diet. Here in the
United States, we're pretty squeamish about chomping into insects or
stabbing our forks into larvae. And that's why it might come as a shock
to discover that, because of the FDA's lax food-safety regulations, your
food might very well be crawling with creepy, slimy, buzzing things of
all sorts. In fact, it's been estimated that the average person
unintentionally eats a pound of insects every year. And I'm not talking
about gummy worms here. I'm talking about real live (or formerly live)
bugs.
With the help of Rodale.com writer Emily Main, we've
identified a few of the more disgusting bugs infiltrating your food.
Prepare to be grossed out.
Thrips
At
anywhere from 1/25 to 1/8 of an inch long, these tiny little winged
parasites are legally allowed in apple butter, canned or frozen
asparagus, frozen broccoli, and frozen Brussels sprouts.
Aphids
Those
same little green or black bugs that can destroy a bouquet of flowers
can infiltrate your frozen veggies, particularly spinach, broccoli, and
Brussels sprouts. And if you home-brew beer, you might consider growing
your own hops: The FDA legally allows 2,500 aphids for every 10 grams of
hops.
LENIENT LEGISLATORS: Pest control isn't the only area
where the FDA is lax—many food-packaging claims are entirely unregulated
by the government! Don't believe it?
Mites
These
tiny white bugs are common in wheat and other grains that have been
stored for a while, but expect to eat a few with your frozen vegetables.
And if you have indoor allergies, that could be a problem. Storage and
grain mites can cause the same type of allergic reaction as the dust
mites common in homes.
Maggots
If
you’ve ever eaten canned food, you’ve probably also eaten a maggot.
These disgusting little critters abound in things like canned mushrooms,
canned tomatoes, tomato paste, and pizza sauces, as well as fresh or
frozen Maraschino cherries. Mushrooms are by far the worst: 20 maggots
are allowed for every 100 grams of drained mushrooms, compared with
between 1 and 5 for every 500 grams of tomato products.
SCARIEST FOOD ADDITIVES: Some gross ingredients, like bugs, are supposed to be removed from food.
Fruit Flies
Buy
a piece of fruit covered in fruit flies, and you can wash them off. Buy
a can of citrus juice, and you’ll be swilling five fruit flies with
every 8-ounce cup of juice. Grab an 8-ounce handful of raisins and you
could be eating as many as 35 fruit-fly eggs.
Not sure how to pick the best produce? No problem.
Corn Ear Worms
Corn
is notoriously difficult to grow organically, because it’s prone to
insect infestations. But in most cases, it’s easy to avoid eating the
earworms that burrow into corncobs and eat the silk—just cut the kernels
off the cob, and voilà! However, canned sweet corn will come with some
extra crunch from all the larvae, skins, and skin fragments allowed by
the FDA.
CHUCK BOMBS: If bugs don't scare you, maybe this will: Applebee's
Quesadilla Burger has more than 1,200 calories!
Cowpea curculio
Love
black-eyed peas? Buy them dried and cook them yourself, rather than
buying them frozen or canned. A can of black-eyed peas, cowpeas, or
field peas may contain an average of five or more cowpea curculio
larvae, which will grow into dark brown, beetle-like weevils that infest
all manner of peas and beans.
Caterpillarsa
Fuzzy,
ugly caterpillars are supposed to turn into beautiful butterflies for
people to marvel at—not eat in a mouthful of frozen spinach. But along
with the 50 or so aphids, mites, and thrips allowed in 100 grams of
spinach, you may also find yourself munching on caterpillar larvae and
larval fragments. Mmm . . . probably not what was giving Popeye all that
strength.
By David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding
