Q:What’s worse than finding a worm in an apple?
A: Finding half a worm!
As you bite into apples dripping with honey this Tishrei, you probably don’t have to worry about finding a worm. But that doesn’t mean everything that comes to the table is free and clear of bugs. When it comes to checking for bugs, we have to take it very, very seriously, and that includes having to check some of our favorite Yom Tov foods.

Back Off, Bugs!

Why are there bugs in the food to begin with? Simple: bugs, just like us, are trying to survive — on all the delicious things growing in our fields. “Bugs need to eat, too, just like human beings,” says Rabbi Sholom Tendler of Star-K Kosher Supervision in Baltimore. “The natural food that Hashem offers them is food that grows outside.”
Rabbi Tendler says insects are naturally drawn to healthier foods. “The greener they are, the more attractive they are to insects. That’s why romaine lettuce is more likely to be infested than iceberg or cabbage. It tastes better and it’s more nutritious.”
Unfortunately, the foods that are best for us are also the ones that insects adore. Dark, leafy greens, whole grains, and the nooks and crannies of broccoli, cauliflower, and other superfoods are just the places to spot some of the worst insect offenders.
In fact, Rabbi Tendler says that’s one reason bugs are a bigger problem today than in our great-grandparents’ day. “In Europe, they had potatoes and onions and carrots — that’s pretty much all.” Today, we not only have more choices, but we want to eat healthier, including those green and leafy veggies.
We’ve also become more environmentally aware, so many pesticides that once stopped bugs are no longer available. “They banned DDT, the most common pesticide used for produce,” says Rabbi Tendler. “It was extremely effective; it was killing bugs, but it was also killing people.” Today, farmers use the fewest pesticides possible, turning fields of produce into a bug buffet.

Legal Tender

Of course, in most countries, it’s illegal to sell food with insects in it. Shouldn’t the government be doing something to keep insects out of packaged products like flour or frozen broccoli? Actually, they do — sort of.
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) offers a guide to “food defects” outlining how many insect parts are permitted in food. You read that right: insect parts are allowed. According to the FDA, up to 75 “insect fragments” are okay in 50 grams of flour. Take an ordinary cup of flour… and imagine it holding up to 200 insect parts. The government allows up to 60 aphids in 100 grams of frozen broccoli — that’s over 200 in a pound!
“Government regulations are in no way close to satisfying the halachah,” explains Rabbi Tendler. Kashrus agencies go above and beyond government standards, ensuring that products like pre-checked frozen vegetables are guaranteed insect-free, and that no bugs get into your restaurant salad. 200 aphids is way too many for any kosher kitchen!
Actually, even one aphid is too many. “The tolerance in halachah for eating an insect is basically zero,” Rabbi Tendler says. “You don’t want to eat even a single insect.”

(Excerpted from Mishpacha Jr., Issue 726)