Part 110.110 of the code of federal regulations allows the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to establish maximum levels of natural or unavoidable defects in foods for human use that present no health hazard. (Or so they think/hope)  For example, manufacturers can’t allow more than 225 bug parts (No clue of how many insects constitute 225 bug parts) in 225 grams (Almost 8 ounces) of pasta. Are they asking the question ‘which part of an insect (Not ‘bug,’ they’re different than insects) would you eat? Could they then separate those parts from the, shall we say ‘tasty’ parts? Is there a ‘tasty’ part? So there are questions and questions.

Question: How are these things counted? Are they counted? With federal oversight being cut how can we be sure there’s a government worker sitting along the Barilla line checking for rat balls in the spaghetti? Is really good eyesight a prerequisite for that job?

Fact check: “crickets and other insects are an excellent and common source of protein in parts of the world” says Marvin Lipman MD, Consumer reports chief medical advisor. Consumer reports article on ‘Weird Foods Worth Trying’ moves our attention away from the best garden implement values for the summer.

Specifically, they tested cricket flour. They tell you that you can’t taste an actual cricket in there, but if you know it’s in there wouldn’t you feel like the FDA is full of shit (245,450 parts per million). If you want me to have my protein, don’t tell me where it comes from! If I want cricket parts, I’ll go to Japan and cruise the local ‘Golden Corral’ buffet.

In different parts of the world some people can’t just walk into a fresh market and choose dinner. They have to catch it.

A few years ago, two Australian government workers were dealing with a huge locust swarm devastating farm crops. They encouraged residents to eat, not kill the flying insects they called ‘sky prawns’ and produced a recipe book to make it sound more appealing.

Locusts are just grasshoppers in a breeding frenzy, and insects like these are arthropods just like their cousins, the shrimp, prawn and lobster so how far from your dinner plate is that?

Truth in advertising lesson #1

The ‘Little Debbie’ billboards that prominently say ‘Unwrap a Smile’ may not mean what they say. If truth in advertising were the law, it would have to say ‘Unwrap some sugar disguised as food, get that sugar rush and come back for more’.