Okay, all.....my son told me his chemistry teacher told him artificial strawberry flavoring was made from bugs....right. So, I did some research and found that it's not really the flavoring, but the coloring; of most things that are reds, purples, etc. and they most definitely ARE made from dried and ground bugs!!! Here's some info; enjoy your reading! LOL

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/10-quirky-facts-about-mass-produced-food.htm/printable
(Scroll down to #5.)

(Mod edited to replace copyright cut & paste with link.)

There's obviously more to read, but that's the main of it. I thought it was interesting, if not completely disgusting, reading!

Nothing wrong with a little protein,right?

If we knew half the stuff that was in processed foods we would all be really skinny!

I'm going to be reading some labels next time I go shopping...but hey its not an artificial ingredient so thats good, right!??right?

Don't forget about the colors that we use for our cakes. I try not to think about it though.
If you really want to get grossed out I learned in a Government class that there is a silly law that you are only allowed to have a certain amount of maggots in ketchup. I really really hope that teacher was wrong.

Meh, I'd rather eat bugs than high fructose corn syrup.

The FDA has standards for how many parts of bugs/foreign objects/rodent droppings are acceptable in processed foods. There is weevil larvae in ALL the flour you buy in the grocery store. I once knew a food scientist's adult daughter who immediately put her flour in the freezer after she purchased it to kill the weevil larvae.

Next time you're shopping in the grocery store, pay close attention in the baking aisle, you might see a moth or two fluttering around. That's because they love to lay their eggs in flour. Yes, I learned this the hard way about 10 years ago with a nasty pantry infestation after my favorite grocery store closed and I had to switch to a new one.

So you might say "Ewwwwwww, I'm never buying processed food again!"

So you could grow it yourself, but you're never totally in control. Bugs crawl all over things as they grow. The neighbor's cat could come pee on your carrot garden. Insect infestations are just a fact of life.

The fact is that food is just kinda gross if you think about it too much. Life is not for the squeamish.

Ok....LOL! This is kind of like the dust mite thing in all of our beds.... gross if you think about it..... ewwww......

Jen

Do you keep the flour in the freezer at all times? Just bought 10 lb bag of King Arthur from the wharehouse store. Into the freezer it goes. OOps got to break it down or find large freezer bags.
Thanks,Karen

i guess my family isn't vegetarian after all !

If you girls are putting flour in the freezer, how do you prevent condensation issue?

Thanks..

If you really want to be bug free, look for food coloring with kosher certification. Those that keep kosher can't eat bugs, so the dyes aren't bug-based.

In terms of flour- due to kosher laws, I sift the flour before use with a very-fine mesh sifter (you'd be surprised what's in flour!) and then keep it in the freezer.

All foods and chocolates and candy have bug particles-the FDA even has regulations on how much. Gross, but it never hurt you before you knew it!

LMAO... I always find it funny when things like this pop up. If you never knew you'd never care so why start now? It's like not knowing about the amount of "germs" you come into contact with on everyday items. Nothing in life is sterile... we eat poo and bugs... facts of life.

Yeah, I don't want to know. Ignorance is bliss and so forth.

Yeah, that same bug is used to make lipstick red. Almost all of the true red lipsticks have bug bits in them.

...and all the iridescent makeup has ground up fish scale.

you guys are making me hungry!!!

i buy 25lb bags of flour from sams. then i pour them into a large tightly sealed bucket. So a couple of months ago i got a bag of bread flour. Its for my home kitchen not my cake kitchen. I haven;t made any bread for a while and decided to make some this weekend, opened the bucket and it was crawling!!!!! so are you saying that the weavils are already in the flour? i threw the whole lot out, it was disgusting. is there any way to prevent them?. im not sure i can get a bucket that size in my freezer. i was so ticked, i really fancied some homemade bread sticks.

I have to second the question about keeping flour in the freezer - wouldn't it harden up and be unusable? I've never done it, but that's what I would think about happening...

Supposedly you only have to keep it in there for 72 hours to kill the larvae. I've never had a problem with condensation, or hardening.

Thought of this thread today when I was jogging outside and swallowed a bug. I guess it's just more protein.

Y'all are so amusing! Haha! But I agree, ignorance is bliss. Just eat and be merry! Although, I am kind of glad that my son and I can't have much red 40! Just a couple bugs we won't eat in our lives!

And don't forget about the little bugs that live at the base of your eyelashes!

Why is this thread like a bad wreck...you know the kind you pass and dont want to look but somehow, you are just drawn to it??? LOL, I didn't read the article, this was enough for me. All I can say is..Oh my goodness!!

I have kept flour in the freezer before, and I have never had a issue with condensation or hardening of it. I have however, had freezer odors get in it if it stays too long.

Bugs in eyelashes??? Seriously? Nevermind, I really don't want any other information . LOL

Yes, that's true countrygirl. We all have tiny microscopic bugs that crawl all over our skin, eat the dead cells, etc. They are on the eyelashes too!

Doesn't bug me!

Yeah they taught us this in art class... along with the dangers of Lead in red lipstick (even though its at a safe level of lead??)