Creepy Crawly FYI

CREEPY: FYI

Those that know me know I like scary,creepy action packed, suspense movies, but this gave me a ton of chills.With the help of Rodale and Yahoo here is some creepy crawly information.  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.


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.Storage and grain mites can cause allergic reactions 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.



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 chopping on 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.

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Corn Ear Worms


Corn is  prone to insect infestations, but in most cases, it’s easy to avoid eating the ear worms that burrow into corncobs and eat the silk.  However, canned sweet corn will come with some extra crunch from all the larvae, skins, and skin fragments allowed by the FDA.



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, cow peas, 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.


Caterpillars


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.