In the last period, there are more and more reports of small animals such as worms or butterflies in pasta. This is a phenomenon that certainly causes many problems for manufacturing companies, but consumers are also on the lookout because it is certainly unpleasant to find insects that contaminate food. The foods most affected by these unpleasant events are pasta. Especially in packages that are about to expire, the probability of finding pops or moths that have formed from the eggs that had previously deposited the grain parasitic insects is very high.
According to what emerges from certain analyzes carried out by experts in the sector, the parasite most frequently responsible for these contaminations is Tenebrio molitor. This parasite is a small beetle and is capable of laying a very large number of eggs in a short time. If, on the other hand, butterflies infest our pantry, these scientifically take the name of moths or moths. The latter lay their eggs in small spiders’ webs and will remain there until they become real insects.
Another insect that has an ability to lay eggs in cereals is the weevil. It belongs to the family of elytra and cannot fly. But how does contamination occur? Parasitic insects settle in attics and in all places where grain is laid, laying their eggs. These eggs are able to survive even during grain processing processes where processing temperatures even reach 100 degrees. It is not possible to see them with the naked eye: the only way to see them is to use the microscope.
Experts announce that it is possible to eliminate eggs completely thanks to specific insecticides which, however, release chemicals into cereals that seriously harm our health. With regard to the production processes that lead to the formation of the pasta, there are substantial differences: in this case, in the production processes, the temperatures do not exceed 75 degrees and therefore a greater number of larvae and eggs resist intact until the final product.
But what do the experts tell us? Following some analyzes carried out, it emerged that if you accidentally ingest larvae or insects that contaminate food, the damage caused to our body would be almost nil, except for allergic subjects who could develop mild adverse effects.