What's the worse that could happen if you eat flour or pancake mix that has bugs in it?

I really don’t think you will suffer any ill effects. You might want to read this. http://www.fluther.com/disc/27348/anyone-every-get-tiny-moth-like-creatures-on-your-screen-doors/

extra protein?

Intestinal parasites?

you get meat

Well the WORST that could happen, I think, is that one or more of the bugs was infected with, say, triple E, and you got it and now you’re screwed.

Also the pancake mix was the support for a beam for some reason, so in eating it the house collapsed and some people died.

And there were candles burning so the house burns down.

And there was a gas leak so it explodes.

The drought and high winds cause it to burn up the whole neighborhood.

It spreads to the forest and the government exhausts a lot of effort taming it. It goes on for weeks, and taxes raise dramatically.

The people revolt against the government and establish a new world disorder. Anarchy ensues, and without proper medical care, viruses and the like take over. Many try to flee the country, and those who survive spread across the world, sickened by the plaugue of their homeland.

The sudden influx of sick visitors overwhelms medical facilities in industrial nations and the world is quickly overcome with horrible illness.

Everybody dies.

I think that’s the worst, but I might be wrong.

Extra protein. I find teeny tiny bugs in my rice and flour from time to time and while I can rinse rice, I can’t rinse flour. Not like I really care too much. But if I’m serving others I buy new bug free rice and flour.

bugs as in insects or bugs as in salmonella?

It’s kind of creepy to realize you have eaten bugs but chances are you’ll be fine.

Mt daughter found a giant bug head in Rice-a-roni. Never eating it again. ugh!

Where do you people live that you are finding bugs in your flour and rice? Remind me not to move there.
(Alternative question: What are you storing these things in that you can’t keep bugs out of flour and pancake mix?)

Yuck a puck.

Maybe you will never like pancakes again. That would be pretty bad.

@les My daughter found 1/2 a bug. It was a really big bug and it was just the head, as if it had been cut in two during processing. We live in California but if it happened at the plant it doesn’t really matter.

Those small bugs are probably of no concern.

ahhh….did someone say pancake?
you had to know someone would say something

Anything like flour, pancake mix, corn meal, will indeed, get bugs in them. It doesn’t mean you have a dirty kitchen. Their eggs get in there during processing. I can’t imagine anyone who would go ahead & eat someting with them in it! How desperate are you to eat it??!!

There was an article not long ago about outdated Bisquick. A woman ate pancakes with it, got severe stomach pains & died. It was determined that the yeast in it got bad & it made her deathly sick. Check the dates on your boxes. It’s dangerous to let them get old.

I think “manna” from the bible was kind of bugs. It’s protein. Kind of weird to think about, but probably won’t hurt you.

It’s not desperate, it’s a matter of not wasting perfectly good food. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

@judi: I see. That is terrifying. I better make sure I check my Rice a roni from now on. ;-)

According to the FDA it is permissable for 50g of flour to contain up to 75 insect parts. Apparntly not only is this harmless but unaviodable.

So even if your flour doesn’t have any whole bugs in it there are probably enough fragments to make a whole bug

@dyna, if it has bugs in it that you can SEE, it’s not perfectly good!

@lightlyseared: That’s OK with me, but my impression of this question is that luna actually saw moving, living bug creatures in her/his flour.

Anyone remember that Simpsons episode where Marge wants to sell pretzels? In the instructional video, the host says “Check for… millipedes.” And there are moving millipedes in the pretzel mix. That’s what I’m imagining here. And if this is the case, gross luna. Just gross. Why would you eat that?!

I don’t think anything bad will happen. But just to warn you: If you found bugs in your pancake mix and flour, be sure to check any other kind of boxes that contain food, like cereal, crackers, etc. Because one year, little moth things got into our flour and they then infested and laid eggs in practically everything we had. We tried throwing out what only we knew they were in, but it didn’t work. Started infesting everything new, too. Didn’t matter if it was unopened either. I don’t know if that’s what you’re facing, but I wanted to throw it out there, just in case.

I bet if you looked further into this you will see that we all have eaten bugs unknowingly in a dry ingredient such as pancake mix or flour at one time or another . It’s gross to think about, I know, but true all the same.

Here’s a little more info for you.

Remember in the Movie (I think it was) Oh God Part 2 When they guy asked God, “What’s the grossest thing I ever ate?” God said, “You don’t want to know” He got down to about the 25th grossest thing before God would tell him what it was he ate?

Ha ha.. yeah!!

If they are indeed weevils, then you can not eat them. They carry E. Coli. According to pest control (just had a problem with them myself) that once you find an infestation you should check your pantry/cupboard/cabinet, etc. for any more of them, paying special attention to corners and cracks. Then spray a lite layer of insecticide. After about an hour you can wipe it down and store your food again. Nasty litte bugs.

In response to people wondering why bugs are in their flour…it’s because of improper storage and of course it being outdated. I encountered weevils in my flour and yes it was my fault because I kept the flour in a bag with a clip. It really must be stored in an air-tight container. If it’s stored for too long, even if you don’t see bugs, it’s best to throw it out and buy new. They definitely are nasty little bugs. We checked the pantry and other stored foods in there and haven’t encountered them again, thank goodness.

Does anyone know why Bisquick would make a person sick? My mother says she is allergic to it and now I’m wondering if I am because I seem to get a stomach ache if I eat anything that has it. A coworker brought in a casserole that had Bisquick in it and now my stomach is starting to cramp. Just wondering.

The red flour beetle (which we encounter the most from time to time) may cause an allergic response but is not known to spread disease or cause damage to structures or furniture. They cannot feed on whole, undamaged grain. They feed on broken grain, grain dust, and other household food items such as flour, rice, dried fruit, nuts, and beans. Damage to food is caused somewhat by the beetles’ feeding, but also by their dead bodies, fecal pellets, and foul-smelling secretions. In addition to creating a foul odor, the beetles’ presence encourages the growth of mold.
If you want to conserve food they are found in, sifting them out works pretty well, but eggs are laid inside broken grains and may be missed. So cook the grains. Or throw it all out. Check every nook, cranny, and package in the cupboards & clean them up. Use airtight containers to store food, including ziploc bags. (much info from wikipedia)