How much insect do we eat?

Insects are eaten around the world as part of traditional cuisines, but most people in Western countries do not intentionally eat insects regularly. However, we do end up eating more bugs than we realize. Insects and other creepy crawlies can make their way into food during harvesting, processing, packaging, and transportation. While there are regulations to prevent insect contamination, it still happens frequently. So how many secret insects are we really eating?

Why do insects get into our food?

Insects are a natural part of agricultural ecosystems and can infest both growing crops and stored foods. Some of the most common insect pests include beetles, moths, mites, weevils, aphids, flies, and cockroaches. They can damage crops in the field and easily infiltrate food processing and storage facilities. Insect parts like legs and antennae can break off and mix with grains and other foods. Larvae can also leave traces of their presence even after they have matured into adults and left the food. So there are many opportunities for insects to inadvertently become part of our food before it even reaches our plates.

How much insect matter is allowed in food?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognizes that a small amount of insect contamination is unavoidable and has established guidelines on how much is permissible in different foods:

Food Product	Maximum % Insect Contamination
Chocolate	60 or more insect fragments per 100 grams
Peanut butter	30 or more insect fragments per 100 grams
Canned tomatoes	10 or more fly eggs per 500 grams
Orange juice	5 or more fly eggs per 250 ml
Macaroni	225 or more insect fragments per 225 grams

As you can see, the FDA allows a certain number of insect parts like fly eggs, maggots, larvae, mites, and hairs in many common food items. This is based on their risk assessment of how likely insects are to get into these products and what level of contamination is unavoidable through good manufacturing processes.

How many insects do we eat without realizing it?

While the FDA guidelines refer to maximum permissible insect contamination levels, various studies have tried to estimate just how many insects the average American actually consumes without realizing it. Here’s a look at some of those insect intake estimates:

• A study published in the journal Scientific Reports estimated that Americans consume between 1 and 2 pounds of flies, maggots, and other bugs each year without even knowing it.
• Entomologists at Montana State University calculated that people eat around 1,121 insect fragments annually in their food, not counting any whole insects that slip through.
• Research at Harvard and the University of Vermont places the figure at 0.5-1 gram of dried insects per American per day.
• Cornell entomologists have said we ingest about 440 grams of insects per person each year.

While the exact numbers vary, most research indicates that roughly 1 pound of insect bits and pieces makes its way into the average American diet every year. For a family of four, that translates to about 4 pounds of unintended insect consumption annually.

Which foods contain the most insects?

Some of the foods found to harbor the highest amounts of insect contamination include:

• Flour – Flour obtained from grain storage facilities can contain high levels of insect fragments from grain moths and beetles.
• Pasta – Like flour, dried pasta can also contain insect fragments that make their way in from the grains.
• Frozen berries – Berries are vulnerable to infestation by fruit flies, aphids, and thrips.
• Fig paste – The sticky texture of fig paste makes it prone to contamination by insects.
• Canned mushrooms – Small insects can stick to mushrooms and get packed into cans.
• Chocolate – Chocolate has a high allowed threshold for insect fragments since cocoa beans are harvested outdoors.

Stored grains and produce that grows out in fields where it is exposed to insects are at greatest risk of harboring hitchhiking bugs.

Can we avoid eating insects in our food?

While we can’t eliminate insect ingestion completely, we can take some steps to cut down on the number of bugs we unwittingly eat:

• Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables thoroughly under running water.
• Inspect grains and flour for visible webbing or signs of infestation.
• Discard any food products that look contaminated by insects.
• Store foods in airtight containers to keep pantry pests out.
• Keep kitchen surfaces clean to deter roaches and ants.
• Refrigerate perishable foods to inhibit insect growth.

However, even with good hygiene practices at home, insects can still infiltrate food before it reaches grocery store shelves. Some bug bits are inevitable despite regulations and modern food processing equipment. The reality is that we share our food supply with a small community of six-legged farmers.

Should we worry about eating insects?

Eating an occasional insect or bit of insect is not considered a health hazard. In fact, the same FDA guidelines cover levels of mammalian excreta, rodent hairs, and mold that are also naturally present in the food supply. The allowed amounts are small enough that they typically don’t pose a food safety risk.

Some people do have shellfish allergies that can cause reactions to insects, but this affects a relatively small portion of the population. For everyone else, the microscopic insects we eat are more of a psychological concern than a physical one.

Intentionally eating insects as part of a normal diet offers nutrition benefits and is gaining popularity. Insects are high in protein, vitamins, and minerals yet take fewer resources to farm than beef or poultry. From crickets to ants, many cultures around the world already include insects in their cuisine.

As for the unintended insect consumption that is already part of our modern food system, a little extra fiber and protein from swallowed bugs here and there probably won’t do us any harm.

The takeaway

Insect contamination in food is common and essentially unavoidable. While the thought may trigger disgust, the reality is that we all regularly ingest around 1-2 pounds of insect parts, eggs, larvae, and feces annually without even realizing it. This “secret ingredient” is allowed and regulated by the FDA up to certain maximum thresholds in different foods. While eating bugs may seem unappetizing, these microscopic insects are not considered dangerous and may even provide some extra nutrition.

Conclusion

Insects find their way into many common foods despite quality control efforts by farmers and food manufacturers. Our food supply essentially contains a small hidden insect component that we inevitably consume each year. Though the thought of eating creepy crawlies may not seem very appealing, the small amount of bugs we unintentionally ingest are not hazardous based on food safety guidelines. And as using insects as an eco-friendly protein source gains acceptance around the world, eating some extra insects could provide nutritional benefits.