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bugs in school lunch food

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Started 1 year ago by Mae
Latest reply from Chris Sherman

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schools

Mae
Olde Towne East
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Something from Ohio news:
Ohio school: Bugs found in noodles used in lunches
In case you were wondering, New Boston is about 10 minutes east of Portsmouth.

I don't know how they determined that the bugs were boll weevils, but the person who made that determination was wrong, unless the noodles were brought freshly from somewhere south of Kentucky and made of live cotton plants. The bugs were probably just flour mites -- much more common, but still disgusting, and just as unacceptable.

Mmm...school lunches. I wonder what sorts of compromised foodstuffs I consumed during my school years.

Posted 1 year ago #
rus

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On the other hand, there's this:

http://io9.com/5731132/insect-meat-is-the-new-beef

Cattle and other livestock create tons of damaging greenhouse gases, particularly when you consider everything humans have to do to turn a cow in a field into dinner on your plate. There may be one environmentally friendly solution: eating bugs.

Yes, that's the conclusion reached by Dutch researchers at Wageningen University, who have been looking for the most sustainable form of protein production. Even when you consider how many insects you would need to equal the meat of a single pig or cow, the difference is enormous. For instance, a pig produces anywhere between ten and a hundred times as much greenhouse gases per kilogram as mealworms would.

Bugs. Environmentally sound. Probably OK for you.

Posted 1 year ago #
Bear
The woods
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I noticed they took the silkworm pupae dish off of the menu at Diaspora. Apparently bug is a hard sell.

Posted 1 year ago #
Mae
Olde Towne East
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rus wrote >>
Bugs. Environmentally sound. Probably OK for you.

Even if they did not affect the flavor of foods they infest, and were not sources of pathogens and allergens, pest insects are unacceptable in food, especially to a diner who is vegan, keeps kosher, or just doesn't want to eat bugs.

People have been predicting insects as the food source of the future for as long as I can remember. Cockroach ranches were supposed to be our source of protein in the post-nuclear-war years.

Posted 1 year ago #
Mae
Olde Towne East
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Bear wrote >>
I noticed they took the silkworm pupae dish off of the menu at Diaspora. Apparently bug is a hard sell.

While they offered it, did you try it?

Posted 1 year ago #
Twixlen
Westgate, Columbus
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I am mildly amused at the brouhaha over the mites (agree - they couldn't be boll weevils, even if that is more fun to say).

Country people have been managing flour beetles forever. For as long as there has been flour. While I agree that serving the noodles wasn't the best course of action, it's just not that big a deal.

Posted 1 year ago #
rus

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Bear wrote >>
I noticed they took the silkworm pupae dish off of the menu at Diaspora. Apparently bug is a hard sell.

Yeah, not for everyone. Pan fried grasshoppers aren't that bad, though. Kinda like cheetos but without the cheese.

Posted 1 year ago #
Bear
The woods
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Mae wrote >>

Bear wrote >>
I noticed they took the silkworm pupae dish off of the menu at Diaspora. Apparently bug is a hard sell.

While they offered it, did you try it?

I did. Not a bad flavor, kind of like fish. But the exoskeletons were a big minus. Get caught between your teeth, kind of like popcorn kernels. Only made of insect.

Posted 1 year ago #
Mae
Olde Towne East
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Twixlen wrote >>
I am mildly amused at the brouhaha over the mites (agree - they couldn't be boll weevils, even if that is more fun to say).
Country people have been managing flour beetles forever. For as long as there has been flour. While I agree that serving the noodles wasn't the best course of action, it's just not that big a deal.

I agree that the bugs were not a health threat in the quantity they found. However, while each of us is free to set our own food safety standards regarding the foods we eat in our own homes, I think that it is reasonable to have a higher set of standards for the food service industry.

Posted 1 year ago #
Mae
Olde Towne East
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I did. Not a bad flavor, kind of like fish. But the exoskeletons were a big minus. Get caught between your teeth, kind of like popcorn kernels. Only made of insect.

Speaking of popcorn, I know someone in who tried witchetty grubs in Australia. He said he thought they tasted like popcorn.
I don't know if I will ever experience eating insects. I am past the point in my life where I want to experiment a lot with food (I've had some bad allergic reactions, too). There aren't that many insects that are considered kosher, anyways, and of those, I don't know how many I could bring myself to eat, much less actually have the opportunity to ever consume.
I was hoping this topic would turn into stories about disgusting school lunches. I should have guessed it would turn into a discussion about entomophagy.

Posted 1 year ago #
alexs
Limestone bluffs of the Scioto
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I've mentioned before, when buying dried foods like peppers in clear plastic, always look for dust in the corners of the bag, it's evidence of contaminsation.

Posted 1 year ago #
Chris Sherman
East Franklinton
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I worked with a guy once who saved dead roaches and stored them in an empty 1qt yogurt container. When it was filled he added the dead roaches to a patch of pizza sauce and puraid it all together.... What the fuck is wrong with people.

Posted 1 year ago #
alexs
Limestone bluffs of the Scioto
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Then there are those damned pantry moths, they can be a pain to get rid of.

ETA:

Posted 1 year ago #
berdawn
near that stretch of N. High Street in the Short North
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Mae wrote >>

I did. Not a bad flavor, kind of like fish. But the exoskeletons were a big minus. Get caught between your teeth, kind of like popcorn kernels. Only made of insect.

Speaking of popcorn, I know someone in who tried witchetty grubs in Australia. He said he thought they tasted like popcorn.
I don't know if I will ever experience eating insects. I am past the point in my life where I want to experiment a lot with food (I've had some bad allergic reactions, too). There aren't that many insects that are considered kosher, anyways, and of those, I don't know how many I could bring myself to eat, much less actually have the opportunity to ever consume.
I was hoping this topic would turn into stories about disgusting school lunches. I should have guessed it would turn into a discussion about entomophagy.

Have you tried topix?

Posted 1 year ago #
Roland
Clintonville
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Chris Sherman wrote >>
I worked with a guy once who saved dead roaches and stored them in an empty 1qt yogurt container. When it was filled he added the dead roaches to a patch of pizza sauce and puraid it all together.... What the fuck is wrong with people.

I've never eating pizza with you again!

Posted 1 year ago #
Chris Sherman
East Franklinton
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Roland wrote >>

Chris Sherman wrote >>
I worked with a guy once who saved dead roaches and stored them in an empty 1qt yogurt container. When it was filled he added the dead roaches to a patch of pizza sauce and puraid it all together.... What the fuck is wrong with people.

I've never eating pizza with you again!

Ha!

Posted 1 year ago #