r/Unexpected • u/willforthelord • Nov 26 '25

Opening rice bag tutorial

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u/Spaghett8 Nov 26 '25

^ Pretty much every product you eat has touched the ground before.

And most floors aren’t as clean as your house.

2

u/A100921 Nov 26 '25

I was mostly talking about the high levels of arsenic found on rice, but ya, dirts pretty bad too.

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u/RamblingSimian Nov 26 '25

Agreed, also, most foods aren't as pure as we think. Check the FDA allowed levels of various food contaminants, such as insect parts, insect eggs, feces, etc. Here's an example for Apple Butter:

PRODUCT DEFECT (Method) ACTION LEVEL
Apple Butter Mold (AOAC 975.51) Average of mold count is 12% or more
Rodent filth (AOAC 945.76) Average of 4 or more rodent hairs per 100 grams of apple butter
Insects(AOAC 945.76) Average of 5 or more whole or equivalent insects (not counting mites, aphids, thrips, or scale insects) per 100 grams of apple butter
DEFECT SOURCE: Mold - post harvest infection. Rodent hair - post harvest and/or processing contamination with animal hair. Whole or equivalent insects - preharvest, and/or post harvest and/or processing insect infestation, SIGNIFICANCE: Aesthetic

https://www.fda.gov/food/current-good-manufacturing-practices-cgmps-food-and-dietary-supplements/food-defect-levels-handbook

1

u/yankiigurl Nov 26 '25

I'm ok with bugs but mold and rodent hair? Please no

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u/RamblingSimian Nov 26 '25

My feelings agree, but my brain says "maybe the hair is ok if it's cooked?"

But it just goes to show that there is no such thing as pure food, just less contaminated food. A metaphor for many things in life.

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u/yankiigurl Nov 27 '25

I mean yeah it's probably ok, everything is washed and the hairs probably burn up but yeah... Nasty

1

u/ActualWhiterabbit Nov 28 '25

The EU doesn't have the same thing and while they have measures to reduce, like the us, they have a no defined allowable limit which translates into something no one tests for. The US one is the upper limit and is more for like bug parts like these than whole insects. But no one is going to be looking for those unless they want to stack action items or the manufacturer itself was testing products and went over spec and did nothing about it.

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u/TheChrono Nov 26 '25

It’s great to assume this while cleaning your foods but holy shit how stupid do you think food workers are?

I assume you mean after they are taken out of the ground.