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Article: The bugs that bug FDA inspectors the most. (flour beetles; Food and Drug Administration; includes related article)
- Article from:
- FDA Consumer
- Article date:
- April 1, 1986
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1986 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Bugs That Bug FDA Inspectors the Most
One thing you can say about flour beetles: They know their nutrition. When they go after stored wheat, for example, they eat only the germ portion where all the nutrients are and leave behind the kernels.
And they're clever in other ways. They have functional wings that they use judiciously, preferring not to expose themselves needlessly. They burrow down into flour so they cannot be seen and, with food particles clinging to the hair on their little (one-seventh of an inch long) bodies, look just like what they are hiding in. Even their eggs have a sticky surface that catches food particles, adding to their ...