OT - This is DISGUSTING!

This morning I was preparing to make another batch of my post-op staple - Homemade Split Pea Soup...I always rinse and sort the split peas as I always do with split peas and beans to make sure that I remove any foreign materials or dirt.  Imagine my surprise as I started to sort them and started to see all of these little bugs start crawling up out of the peas. They're called granary weevils, and like other "pantry pests" are sometimes found feeding on grains, flours, and beans.  Luckily I had just picked this bag of peas up at from Publix yesterday, so they didn't have time to infest the rest of my pantry, so the damage was confined to just this 89 cent bag of peas....Makes you think twice though about some of your favorite foods and how clean they are! Here is a picture along with a closeup from an entemology website - note the little holes in some of the peas where the weevils bored through!

I've noticed a lot more contamination of grain and seed type food products in the stores lately -- I don't know if this is related to poor sanitation or poor vigilance on the part of food processors and vendors, and/or is related to changes in the types of pesticides the EPA and FDA allow to control these insects, or perhaps these types of products just don't have the turnover they once did, because most people seem to buy processed, ready to eat foods instead of cooking from scratch. At one of my local grocery stores, the bulk food aisle is so infested with Indian meal moths that I see them flying all over every time I go down that row.  I can't believe that the store management isn't aware of this problem -- it's been like that for at least two years.  Needless to say, I don't buy anything from that row (but, I have to go down there, though, the other side of the aisle has canned soups and canned tuna that I buy regularly).  This is a large, "supercenter" store in a suburban area. I've also noticed a lot of various weevils and beetles in flour and grain products. I'm not the type to get overly grossed out about this -- for most of human history, we've probably been eating "buggy" grains and legumes more often than not, and our ancestors survived.  However, I try to be really vigilant about keeping them out of the house -- I bought a bad bag of dog biscuits once, and fought the Indian meal moths in my kitchen for several months. If you do get them, the best way to get rid of them is to go through your pantry, and throw out everything which is contaminated, being sure to check even things you wouldn't necessarily think to check, like spices, and then HEAT TREAT the things you are keeping, just to be safe, in a 225 degree oven for about half an hour, to kill any little larvae or eggs you might have missed.  I used to think that sealing things tightly would help, but I found that the little buggers would chew through any container except glass or metal, and could get into and under lids unless they were extremely tight fitting.

Mmm...extra protein. Womder if  they've started importing this stuff from China, too or just cut something out of the quality control proces to save $$?

Lived in China 20 years ago. There's no way they could be ready for massive export even now!

Dave

Damn.... (Not)Dave beat me to the punch, but I'll say it anyway... that's the high protein peas... they charge extra for that in some countries. back to seriousness... glad you caught it before you started eating it.  Hope you took them back to Publix, if not for the measly refund, at least so they check the neighboring shelves... who knows where the infestation took place.

Hey Mike - It could have been the REALLY big bugs in there instead of the small ones.. so, you can really count your blessings, because by getting the small ones... (keep scrolling) (almost there) (ready?) You TRULY got the LESSER of two weevils!!!!! Bwahahahhahaha - Sorry couldn't resist!!! ....Nick

Haha...but if they're big you can just eat around them...

Michael, When I used to work with meal programs for the homeless we used to receive huge bags of flour from the USDA. We often had problems with bugs that would bore through from inside the bags. i was told that all flour actually contains some insect eggs that we don't notice if we use the flour up at a normal rate.