I was wondering, are there bugs in peanut butter? Is it safe to eat?
Peanuts are naturally prone to aflatoxin (a type of mycotoxin) production during drought stress, thereby turning rancid. Aflatoxins are carcinogens that have been isolated from many foods, including peanut butter. They are tough to remove by any commercial processing method, allowing them under the FDA at low concentrations. These toxins may be inhaled or ingested orally, even when consuming peanuts that do not taste or smell “rancid.” According to the Food Allergy Network, peanut allergies have skyrocketed in western countries over the last few decades, and scientists believe these are about 1% of children who now show some reaction to peanuts. This is not due to peanuts becoming any more or less dangerous on their own but is rather likely the result of the above toxins staying in many foods while being allowed under the FDA.
Are there bugs in peanut butter?
This is a common question made by many people. This is an excellent question because there are indeed bugs in peanut butter! That’s right, bugs are in our everyday food products, and everyone should be informed about them—[I admit, I do not know where to go next with the lead sentence].
First of all, bugs are everywhere. We don’t notice them, but they are around us every second of the day. Bugs live everywhere on earth, including your bed. Even though you can see bugs, that does not mean that you also see bugs when you eat something like chocolate or nuts. Yes, there are bugs inside these foods as well – bugs love eating chocolate and nuts! No bugs are added to the food; they are already there. Insects, bugs, and little animals like mice can be found in vast amounts inside these foods – sometimes even more than the actual product itself! That is why you should check your favorite chocolate or nuts before putting them in your mouth – bugs might have eaten some of it already!
Did you know ?
That bugs (and other small animals) eat on average about 5 grams of food each day? And if bugs do not find anything to eat for a few days, they will save their energy by sleeping. This means bugs need less quantity of food rather than more because bugs grow very slowly. Bugs also have high metabolisms, so they have to eat often. Some people say bugs eat bugs, but bugs do not eat bugs – bugs love eating other bugs’ poo! This is called a coprophagous diet, and it can be very harmful to many bugs.
Why are bugs in peanut butter?
It’s pretty simple! Bugs live on the chocolate or nuts that get ground up into peanut butter. Bugs are pretty much living inside of your jar of peanut butter right now! So next time you open a brand new jar of peanut butter, take a good look at the bottom of the pot to see what kind of critters have been there before you!
