Part of my Monday routine includes picking up food to eat at work, so the other day I decided to go for a chorizo quesadilla from a nearby Mexican place that I frequent. They’ve consistently delivered great food before, so I figured this time wouldn’t be an exception. Midway through eating, I felt something brush against my tongue: a piece of brown hair that didn’t belong to me. I threw it away, shrugged, and finished my quesadilla – which was just as delicious as before.
At this point, I’m sure many of you are wondering why the hell I kept eating. Two things: one, it was just that good. But two, and more importantly, eating a strand of hair isn’t that big of a problem, whether it’s yours or someone else’s.
GIF courtesy of giphy.com
If this happens to you, don’t spit out your food right away. Fine, human hair is able to carry staph bacteria, which causes diarrhea and other stomach problems. But that’s really only an issue if you eat close to an entire head’s worth, which I’m sure 99% of you aren’t going to do anytime soon. Even if there is bacteria on the strand you ate, consuming only one or two of them isn’t going to affect your body.
It should be noted that an amino acid found in hair, L-cysteine, is commonly used in food. While it’s a component of the protein keratin, it also stabilizes dough and enhances the flavor of salty foods. Be sure to thank your luscious locks for making your bread nice and firm next time.
The FDA doesn’t even have a specific number of hairs allowed on your food before being deemed a health hazard. There’s no reports of getting ill from accidentally consuming food-borne strands either. So really, if there’s no regulations related to it, it’s not as problematic as you think.
GIF courtesy of tumblr.com
The next time you feel something stringy on your tongue after eating at your favorite restaurant, just shake it off. Accidents happen, and in the long run, you’re not going to suffer from a few loose hairs. It may be abnormal, but it’s not worth wasting all that delicious food.