How is it that processed cereals contain so many viable insect eggs?

Question

I live in a hot climate and if I keep the cereal in a glass or plastic container, after six monts or so, many types of insects and/or larvae appear? I`m not talking about simple oats or granola but the more processed ones which contain artificial coloring and are squeezed into shapes and so on. I never fail to be amazed. Protein indeed!

Answer 1

I dont think there are bugs in your cereal I think that the bugs are flying/crawling/slithering in the OPEN container and laying their eggs when your sleeping. If there were bug eggs in the cereal the FDA would have seen it and would have shut the company down already.

Answer 2

It is far more likely that these insects got into the cereal after the package was opened and were not in the cereal originally.

Most cereals are made by flash cooking grains with superheated high pressure steam. There isn't much that's going to survive that process.

It's conceivable that insects and their eggs could get into the cereal after the cooking process and this does occasionally occur but it is very rare. If you are finding infestation on a regular basis, they are getting into your container somehow.

Hope this helps.

TV

Answer 3

The insect eggs are probably in there after you opened the Cereal Box. They are attracted to the sugars and wheat, I suggest you not to eat that cereal lol. Next time after you open the cereal box for the first time, get a container to seal it shut so no more of your pesky neighbors will visit. Hot climates also attract bugs, especially ants, I hate ants.

Answer 4

It's a big problem and the USDA have been working on it.

Cereal grains aren't infested when they are processed.

But products can become infested later, during transport and storage at retail outlets or in the home.

This report may help to answer your question, it's interesting:

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/ma...