Beating the Beetle

Weevils, a type of beetle, are basically outsiders. They’d much rather be in a field of rice than a bag of rice. But swept up into the sequence of harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, warehousing and marketing, they are smuggled into our homes.

Once inside, they and their many food-infesting cousins can stray from their primary diet to whatever is at hand: flour, pasta, rice, dried chiles, cereals, spices, candy, nuts, dried fruits, pet food.

The good news, says food safety consultant Ellen Schroth, based in Washington, D.C., is that these intruders are more annoying than dangerous. “They don’t transfer disease. This is not a public safety issue, more like a public disgust issue. People get grossed out. Nobody wants to think about the food we buy being contaminated with insects.”

But whether we want to think about it or not, there will always be contamination, says Schroth. “The foods we eat are being pulled right out of the environment. And insects are a natural part of the environment.” Tighter control of pest populations would require widespread use of pesticides. In fact, in response to rising public concern and stiffer federal regulation of these chemicals, food producers have cut back on bulk fumigation. “There’s a trade-off: fewer chemicals, more infestation,” says Schroth.

But there are some things you can do to reduce the problem:

* Check food for signs of insects at the store; make sure packaging is intact.

* Transfer food to be stored for some length of time to glass, metal or plastic containers with tight-fitting lids. Canisters with pressure-sealed rubber gaskets are best.

* Keep food in cool, dry place. Many foods can be refrigerated or frozen for longer storage.

* Use older packages of food before newer ones: First in, first out.

* If you are unfortunate enough to have an infestation, clean your cabinets thoroughly. Experts advise that a vacuum can be more effective than a sponge in routing pests from cracks, crevices and under shelf paper, where eggs may lurk.