Inmates Boycott Jail Meals Because of Bugs : * Food strike: The prisoners stash candy and chips. Officials deny their claims.

Nearly 100 inmates went on a food strike Thursday at Ventura County Jail, saying that maggots, ants and worms have been found in their meals.

The inmates, who are eating candy bars and potato chips they’ve stashed away, say they will boycott the jail’s fare until something is done to get rid of the bugs and improve the quality of the food.

Jail officials, however, say there are no insects in the food.

“There’s nothing wrong with the food,” said Sheriff’s Sgt. Ken Warren, a watch commander at the jail. “Compared to other jails, it’s way above the standard.”

The complaints over the jail’s food heated up Sept. 13, when one inmate complained that he found a maggot in a meatball.

The food was sent to the lab and tested, but authorities were unable to tell whether the small, white substance was an insect larva, Warren said.

“It could have been a fingernail or anything,” Warren said. “We still . . . looked through all the food. Nothing else was found.”

But on Tuesday, the inmates in the maximum-security unit complained that there were bugs in the cooked beans.

“There were little white pieces in the stock,” Warren said. “Everyone started yelling, ‘Maggots.’ ”

County health inspectors, responding to the new complaints, checked the food at the jail on Tuesday and found no bugs.

But the inmates again refused to believe authorities.

As a result, 96 of the jail’s 930 inmates decided to stock up on junk food and go on strike.

“This thing is out of hand, and we’re not going to take it anymore,” said Max Majeno, who is in jail for probation violations. “We’ve found worms, ants, maggots. . . . This is serious.”

Just the thought of bugs in the food has given him nightmares, Majeno said.

“I’ve been dreaming about flies and worms and rats,” he said. “I can’t get any sleep.”

Gerard Holloway, awaiting trial on a burglary charge, added: “The food is really raunchy. Half the time we don’t even know what they are feeding us.”

Majeno said the inmates are prepared to continue to boycott the jail food “for as long as it takes.”

“We want better food and we want larger portions,” Majeno said.

Added another inmate: “I was in jail in L.A. County and the food was a lot better there. This food is bad.”

Although authorities said no bugs were found, Robert Williamson, the manager of community services for the environmental health division, said an insect called a “stored product pest” may have been living in the food.

He said the food served to the inmates last Friday had been thrown out by the time health officials did their inspection.

“Based on our understanding of the jail, we didn’t think there were maggots in the hamburger because . . . it’s refrigerated,” Williamson said. “But a ‘stored product pest’ could be found in noodles and in grains. They look like maggots.” He said such pests are very small and could not cause physical problems.

Watch commander Warren said inmates who choose to eat will be placed in another unit so they will not be subject to retaliation by other inmates. So far, only two men in the maximum-security unit have chosen to eat the jail food.

He said jail officials will not force the inmates to eat.

“They can refuse to eat if they want to,” Warren said. “But we’ll keep preparing their meals.”