Carol S. wrote:
Hi,

I had a bag of brown rice in my pantry for a long time (over a year)
that was unopened. I finally decided to try it out, but when I poured
it into a pot, there were little brown bugs crawling around it, and
the rice grains were hollowed out. I threw it out, of course!

I'm pretty sure they were rice weevils, based on a google search. My
question is do I have to throw out everything in my pantry now? I
inspected a few other things and didn't see any signs of the bugs.
Could they have just come along in that bag of rice to begin with, and
then just stayed there? How can they live in a plastic bag for a
year with no air or water?

Thanks, Carol Scheible


Bugs live everywhere in the environment, so expecting a few NOT to hitch
a ride would be unrealistic. The USDA or somebody has a standard for
rodent parts in processed flour for a good reason - the wheat comes from
a BIG field, gets dumped into a BIG truck, taken to a BIG elevator, etc,
etc, etc. Whilst it is in the BIG field or the BIG elevator, the
rodents in the neighborhood come over for a BIG feast, with the bugs of
the neighborhood not far behind. They do what rodents and bugs do -
eat, ****, and reproduce. They do not excuse themselves from the table
to do so. The bugs don't do the Lamaze thing, they just lay eggs. Nice
and cozy inside or between a kernel of grain or a nut or an apple or a
head of lettuce. It's mostly the grain where it is noticeable because
nothing else conceals it so well or lasts as long. Sooooo.....any
foodstuffs kept around for a year are likely to experience several life
cycles of whatever hitches a ride. I doubt the little, teeny critters
breathe much - sort of like you and I being locked in the Sears Tower
for a year. If you like critter experiments buy a bag of nuts - or a
Hershey bar with almonds - put into a tightly sealed container and
forget about it for a year. ) If you have year old food in the
kitchen, throw it out. If you have open packages of grain, nuts,
starch, corn meal, they are likely to have had some migrants move in.
Use this sort of food soon after it is brought home from the store. It
is truly a sinking feeling to spend the day cooking a big pot of
vegetable soup, add a little pasta to cook just prior to serving time,
and see the migrant population floating for the nearest island. Just
sink them and cook until done )