Bugs in food - weevil etc

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jallen2, Jan 19, 2:01am
I recently bought some polenta and it is full of weevil so I threw it out.
But a friend of mine said she would have sieved it out -
What do you do !

nfh1, Jan 19, 2:01am
I would have taken it back.

jallen2, Jan 19, 2:06am
I know - I bought it online and didn't feel like paying the return.
Plus I bought it to build up a stock pile, so the day I received it I poured it into bottles and sealed. I didn't find the bugs for a few weeks.

nfh1, Jan 19, 2:16am
That would be annoying jallen2 - I think I would have to throw it away, I am paranoid about food hygiene.I suppose you could sieve it, but I would be scared I had missed something!

jallen2, Jan 19, 2:19am
I know - I feel the same as you nfh1.
I'm just pleased it couldn't contaminate my other food !
Pesky bugs. lol.

pickles7, Jan 19, 3:03am
So they were not there when you poured the polenta into bottles. If they were there when you received the polenta you would have noticed. Clean out your entire kitchen and look at every seal on your containers.
My husband worked in grocery many years ago, one of his jobs was to wash the grubs out of dried fruits, lay it out to dry and bag it up. The rice was just spread it out in the sun. He is laughing his head off as to the tricks way back then. These days with transport the way it is there would not be the need. He said nothing got thrown away, if they didn't get all the grubs they put golden syrup in to colour them. yum

beaker59, Jan 19, 3:18am
If you eat grain or grain based products dried fruit or pretty much any dred foods cooked or uncooked then you have eaten weevils and indian meal moth and thier eggs faeces dead skin etc etc probably more than once this week. Live with it, well you already do.

elliehen, Jan 19, 3:25am
That must have been a very, very, long, time time ago pickles.the 1930s! 1940s!Didn't prepackaging come in about 1960!

uli, Jan 19, 3:40am
Depends what "weevils" we are talking about. The small black long-nosed item is actually not very healthy to eat - there are rules about how many weevil parts are allowed per kg of pasta .

The moths on the other side are harmless and you can eat all the grubs you like (adds some more protein to your rice or flour or pasta).

So in future anything like that needs to go into an airtight container and if worried there could be "livestock" on board you can place it in the freezer for 5 days.

arcane1315, Jan 19, 3:53am
LOL - apparentely they are in there when you buy it anyways - YUCK!I am living on Rarotonga, and have learnt to keep my pasta and flour in the freezer - otherwise they hatch in this heat - really yucky, and I try not to think about it too much.

uli, Jan 19, 4:02am
Yes they are a fact of life. Freezing for a few days is all you need.

And yes in Raro I would KEEP them in the freezer otherwise they will get re-infected.

davidt4, Jan 19, 4:27am
One of the many joys of a grain-free kitchen is no more pantry moths.

kay141, Jan 19, 4:36am
A cooler climate seems to be an advantage as well. I have never had pantry moths. No ants either.

jallen2, Jan 19, 5:15am
Most definitely arrived in with the polenta. Nothing else is affected. I can only assume they were at egg stage (that I did not notice them)

davidt4, why is your kitchen grain free! Is it a better diet for us!

davidt4, Jan 19, 5:28am
It's certainly a better diet for me, and some other family members feel better on it as well.I do eat a bit of rice occasionally, but not very much and not often.If you are interested in more information look up "Paleo eating" on Google.

jallen2, Jan 19, 6:04am
Thanks David, that is interesting reading :-)

nfh1, Jan 19, 8:05am
We have it pretty warm here in Hawke's Bay and I have never had pantry moths - we do have ants in the garden, but none in the house, thankfully.

uli, Jan 19, 8:10am
Yes Paleo/Primal is the eating you want to look up depending if you want to include dairy or not.

thewomble1, Jan 19, 1:32pm
Addsprotein to the meal. They don't eat much so just leave them in.no wastage.

lythande1, Jan 19, 6:37pm
I would have sieved it. Do you know how many bugs are in things before they get packaged! You think they throw it all out! No.

ansypansy1, Jan 20, 6:40am
I can remember back almost 70 years and remember the reason those days for sifting flour was to remove all the nasties that were in the flour. Our flour came in huge sacks and lasted several months, meanwhile the eggs would hatch and we'd have all sorts of livestock to sift out

kuaka, Jan 20, 7:02am
Ha, I had to laugh when I started to read this thread, as I had a tupperware container with some dried peas I bought a while back at Bin Inn.I had planned to go shopping today but had been busy doing other things and couldn't be bothered. I said to hubby "I've got no frozen peas" or other greens, but he reminded me I had some dried peas.So I checked, and yes, I had what used to be dried peas.They were now almost yellow and were crawling with these black things.He suggested that before I put them down the waste disposal unit, I should drown the little buggers in boiling water.So I boiled the jug, and then filled the tupperware container, put the lid on, (tight) tipped it up, gave it a good shake, and next thing the kitchen and myself were covered in yellowy-green dried peas and little dead black things.This transformation was accompanied by a quite loud "bang" which was almost loud enough to wake the dead.Another one of those things to remember not to do again in future.

jallen2, Jan 20, 9:11am
OMG kuaka - that gave me a giggle !
I nearly pee'd myself laughing - well not quite but I couldn't resist saying that :-)
Although I am pleased you didn't burn yourself !

Ansypansy, that makes total sense. I feel a bit silly now for throwing it out after reading all these comments. You live and learn !

kuaka, Jan 20, 9:22am
I was lucky not to have had a heart attack or scalded myself, the bulk of the water went into the sink, across the bench, up the window and across the floor, I got a little on my arm and down my skirt, but I just shoved my arm under the cold water tap and it was okay.But what a mess to clean up.Would have been much easier to just tip the contents of the container into the waste disposer or put them in a plastic bag and tie it tight and put out in the rubbish on Tuesday.

jallen2, Jan 20, 9:31am
You were very lucky alright.
It goes to show we should never listen to our husbands lol