Average person accidentally eats up to one POUND of bugs each year – here’s what effect it has

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the average person accidentally consumes a pound of bugs per year.

This is because fruits, vegetables, herbs, and many processed foods are legally allowed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to contain small amounts of insect particles, which add up over time.

For example, fig paste can contain up to 13 insect heads in 100 grams, canned fruit juices can contain one maggot for every 250 milliliters, and 10 grams of hops used to make beer can be home to 2,500 tiny sap-sucking insects.

And while there’s much debate about how many insects we consume in our sleep, scientists agree it’s not zero.

Eating insects may not sound appetizing, but most people consume them daily without realizing it.

The FDAs Food Detect Levels Handbook outlines the amount of insect heads, thoraxes, legs, and even whole insects allowed in a given food.

There can be up to five whole insects in apple butter, 500 grams of larva in berries and 10 percent of packaged coffee beans may be infected with bugs.

And after eating 220 kilos of chocolate in your life, you can be sure that you’ve also eaten a kilo of insects.

The FDA allows up to 30 insect fragments and one rodent hair to be detected in every 100 grams of peanut butter. A standard jar of peanut butter is often between 300 and 500 grams.

This means that a single jar of peanut butter can contain about five rodent hairs and 150 insect fragments and still pass inspection.

The bugs come into proliferation when peanuts are harvested to be made into peanut butter — with the FDA saying they cannot reasonably be removed.

This also applies to peanuts, with the agency allowing 20 whole bugs for every 100-pound bag of the snack.

Accidental swallowing also happens to the average person – from walking down the street, riding a bike, and sleeping.

Recently, Taylor Swift had to stop singing during a performance in Chicago when she swallowed a bug on stage.

There have also been cases of people unknowingly eating maggots on spoiled meat exposing them to salmonella and Escherichia coli.

While most insects usually don’t survive the journey through the mouth to the stomach, a Mayo Clinic microbiologist said people should be most wary of those that sting or bite.

Bobbi Pritt said bees, wasps, fire ants or certain caterpillars can cause pain, swelling and even cardiac arrest — if the individual is allergic.

Many people can become overwhelmed with worry after accidentally swallowing an insect, especially wondering if the insect can be inhaled into their lungs.

Small insects can pass through a person’s lungs, but this usually only happens in rare circumstances, such as inhaling a large number in a swarm.

In this case, the bugs would largely dissolve before entering the lungs, but they can cause inflammation and infection.

If you inhale a winged bug, experts recommend inhaling through your mouth and out your nose, but don’t try to remove it with your fingers – you could hold it further.

Diane Gorgas, MD, director of emergency medicine at Ohio State University, said in a rack: ‘Coughing usually expels the insect, but it’s concerning if it gets significantly below the vocal cords.’

In this case, spit out as soon as possible and drink a strong-tasting liquid.

Houseflies and other arthropods like spiders, beetles and centipedes can only be a problem if you ingest one that carries bacteria.

Carol M. Anelli, PhD, a professor and interim chair of the Ohio State Department of Entomology, said, “Houseflies can mechanically transmit certain bacteria (Shigella) that cause dysentery.”

University of Sydney medical lecturer Cameron Webb advises that if you risk eating it, you’ll probably be fine.

Webb said flies are notorious for spreading disease because of their messy habits.

“Flies landing out of sight and then wandering around for a few minutes, vomiting and pooping on your food or food preparation area are more of a concern.”

Adult houseflies (musca domestica) transmit more than 100 diseases to humans and animals.

These include salmonella, anthrax, typhoid, tuberculosis, cholera, diarrhea and a host of parasites including pinworms, roundworms, hookworms and tapeworms.

Anthrax is a rare but serious bacterial disease that can cause breathing difficulties.

Maggots are a sign that the food you are devouring has gone bad and eating the worm-like creatures can cause the bacteria Salmonella enteritidis and Escherichia coli.

However, you can eat maggots if they have been dried, cooked, or powdered.