While we’re all pretty aware of the horrors that go into fast food, not everyone may be aware that there are some sketchy things in everyday food products. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) published a report in 2009 outlining acceptable levels of “extraneous matter” in different food products. Here are five surprising things that the CFIA allows that could be hiding in your next meal.
1. Bug fragments
While eating bugs may be the next “big” thing, not all of us are crazy about this trend. It’s even worse when we may be eating them and not even know it. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency allows 35 bug fragments in 25g of coffee, 25 fragments per 100g of rice, and a shocking 200 fragments in 50g of ground black pepper. Nothing like a cappuccino with a hint of insect parts.
2. Whole bugs
If you thought bug parts were bad, that’s not the worse of it. In certain products, entire bugs are tolerated by the government. If you like mushrooms, better inspect them carefully, because they allow 10 tiny maggots per 100g mushroom. They also allow up to 5 dead mites per 2.5cm cubes of cheese. At least you might get some extra protein out of it.
3. Hair
We’ve probably come across stray strands of hair in our food at least once. It’s pretty gross when it’s someone else’s hair, but imagine coming cross hair that’s non-human. The government allows 1 rodent hair in 225g of bakery products, 1 rodent or mammalian hair in 225g of cheese, and 1 rodent hair per 100g of chocolate.
4. Metal particles
When machines produce most of our food, it’s not surprising that there’s a risk of running into metal fragments. What’s surprising is how much the CFIA allows in our food. For example, they permit 100 minuscule particles in 100g of chocolate and cocoa powder, and 8 pieces in 225g of cheese. It might not seem like a lot, but if you’re a chocoholic or cheese lover, you might be consuming more iron than your diet calls for.
5. Heavy filth
You don’t have to know what the word means to know that it sounds pretty bad. Heavy filth refers to “materials separated from products by sedimentation,” like sand, insect or rodent pellets. The CFIA allows 70mg per 25g of kelp products. You may be relieved, thinking you don’t eat kelp products on a daily basis, but they’re used as thickeners in salad dressings, puddings, cakes and dairy products.
These days, you can’t always tell what you’re eating simply by looking at the ingredients list. Though CFIA allows these things in such small amounts that it’s safe and unnoticeable, it’s still pretty startling that there could be some “extra” toppings on your next slice of pizza that you never knew about.