Bug larvae in baby food pouches

Insect Larvae in Earth's Best Baby Food Pouches

Claim: Pouches of Earth's Best brand organic baby food are contaminated with insect larvae.

UNDETERMINED

Examples: [Collected via Facebook, November 2013]

Came across this while scrolling through my feed. It's supposedly bug larvae in baby food pouches from Target. Wonder if it's true.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.asp?v=709510312394140

Origins: In November 2013 Facebook user Liz Tapan posted a video to that social network to document her claim that a pouch of Earth's Best brand Butternut Squash Pear organic baby food she had purchased at a Target store revealed upon opening to be infested with maggots or some other type of insect larvae:

Warning for all those that feed their babies from Baby food pouches!!!! This just happened to me! I bought 4 pouches at Target this evening. We got home, I gave Molly the bag and she tried it and spit it out! Then I tried it, squirted it in my mouth and almost threw up! I spit it in the sink to find bug larvae!! Yes!! Watch the video to see them for yourself!

It is unknown at this time what the point of origin (e.g., production facility, retail outlet, post-purchase) or source of the reported contamination might have been, or how widespread a contamination issue with Earth's Best products there might potentially be. Ms. Tapan has since updated her own Facebook page to note that Earth's Best responded to her and is investigating the issue:

Earth's Best Organics has reached out to me and I just got off of the phone with the Chief Marketing Officer. They have reassured me that they are currently investigating this incident, and have gone through great measures to try and figure out how to rectify this. They have sent personnel to the Target store where I purchased the product to remove the leftover products from their shelves. The are tracking the lot numbers to get more information about this batch of food. It is very possible that this was an isolated case and could have resulted from someone tampering with their product on the shelf. Again, my wish was for people to be aware that incidents such as these CAN occur and to PLEASE check your baby food before feeding it to your baby. These packages are not tamper proof, and we cannot see what is going on with them. That is NOT restricted to any one brand of food - it applies to all of these pouch foods we buy for convenience. Hopefully they will consider moving towards a more tamper proof cap or even clear bags so there is transparency and we can see what we are purchasing!

On 13 November 2013 Irwin D. Simon, the Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of the Hain Celestial Group, Inc., posted an update on the issue to Earth's Best Facebook page, stating that the company had not yet been able to ascertain a cause for the reported product contamination and had not yet uncovered any other instances of similar problems:

As soon as we learned about a video posted on Facebook concerning Earth's Best Organic® Butternut Squash Pear Baby Food Puree in a pouch, we acted immediately to ensure that our highest quality standards were being met in every pouch we produce. We promised that we would update you as our investigation progressed and here is what we have learned:

- We went to the store where the mom who posted the video on Facebook said she purchased the product. We bought a variety of samples of Earth's Best Organic® Butternut Squash Pear Baby Food Puree in a pouch that was on the store shelves, including two from the same production date. Our testing did not show any contaminants or any signs of potential contamination and the product met our stringent quality standards.

- In accordance with our manufacturing practices, we keep samples from each production run. We tested product from this production run, including a sample which had been

produced less than twelve minutes after the pouch bought by the mom who posted the video. We did not find a single contaminant or any signs of potential contamination, and the product met our stringent quality standards.

- We reached out to the mom who posted the video to arrange for us to inspect and test the pouch she had purchased. She initially agreed to allow us to retrieve the product, and we quickly arranged to pick up the product, but she changed her mind. Therefore, we have not been able to determine if there was some damage to the product after it left our control that could have compromised the product’s integrity.

- We even consulted with a well-respected etymologist [sic] about the possibility of insects or larvae being able to exist in the product. The scientist confirmed what we had already known. Current Good Manufacturing Practices, set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and which the company strictly adheres to, provide for high temperature processing of fruits and vegetables during the manufacturing of this product. Living insects would not be able to survive the heat treatment.

By the following day, all material related to this matter had been removed from Liz Tapan's Facebook page.

Last updated: 14 November 2013

Maggots & Larvae found in food pouches [Archive]

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maybeebaby08

11-12-2013, 08:20 PM

Has anyone else seen this video? A friend posted it. There were maggots & larvae in an Organic Earths Best food pouch.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=709510312394140&id=100000055342829&_rdr

AngB

11-12-2013, 08:25 PM

It can happen with any food pouch type food. A couple years ago there was a big story about them on our news having mold, in Ella's Kitchen pouches.

Here is the link with a video with the mold chunks in Ella's Kitchen pouches..http://archive.ksdk.com/news/health/article/280777/9/Mom-finds-chunks-of-mold-in-organic-baby-food

jerseygirl07067

11-12-2013, 08:29 PM

When I was in college my roommate opened a packet of oatmeal with live maggots in it. She didn't realize until she was halfway through eating it!! There were also some other food we found with the maggots in it. My guess is her parents probably got them from the same dollar store where everything had been sitting around a while.

To this day, I always check oatmeal before I eat it!!

maybeebaby08

11-12-2013, 08:45 PM

I heard about the juice pouches a year or so ago and really don't buy them anymore. This has me so grossed out! I usually don't buy the food pouches but the thought of something crawling in it, I won't be buying any more.

citymama

11-12-2013, 08:59 PM

oh.my.god. DD2 gets a TJs Crusher in her lunch box every day. Eeek!

AnnieW625

11-12-2013, 09:10 PM

Another product I am soo glad that I have never once bought because I am too cheap to buy them (although DD1 did eat one the other day at the park, I think it was the TJ's ones that a friend gave her).

(Oh wait I did buy some pouches once for a plane flight because I figured the TSA wouldn't hassle me about them (but they did) and I still had to open them and test them (thankfully they didn't explode due to altitude and they gave me a baggy for them). )

BabyBearsMom

11-12-2013, 10:12 PM

:barf: No words!!!!

viba424

11-12-2013, 11:23 PM

I just got six emails from amazon about recalled Plum Organics pouches!

MamaMolly

11-13-2013, 10:32 AM

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

TxCat

11-13-2013, 11:11 AM

:barf: No words!!!!

:barf: Exactly. I feel ill. DD1 loves her applesauce pouches from WF. Guess I won't be buying those anymore...

hellokitty

11-13-2013, 02:36 PM

Ew! I just threw out our plum organics pouchs and after dh and the kids finish up the applesauce pouches, I am never buying pouches again. Just gross.

♥ms.pacman♥

11-13-2013, 03:01 PM

OMG, yuck!!! :( there was the plum organics recall, regarding possible food spoilage, but now this???

this makes me glad that i no longer buy these pouches anymore, and instead i make the kiddos smoothies with Vitamix and send them to school in their Sili Squeeze. after making the smoothie i pour into sili squeeze, put them in the freezer, then in the morning i pack it with the lunch and it thaws enough for them to eat it. i also use them for road trips etc. i mainly started doing it bc i couldn't stand to pay over a dollar for these things.

www.thesilico.com.

YouAreTheFocus

11-13-2013, 03:28 PM

Has there been any sort of official confirmation of this woman's claim?

♥ms.pacman♥

11-13-2013, 03:42 PM

Has there been any sort of official confirmation of this woman's claim?
well there's this.
http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/earthsbest.asp

thing is, it's just so new though, it happened two days ago.

still, with the plum organics recall, i definitely won't be buying these again!!

Snow mom

11-13-2013, 04:33 PM

Can someone explain what the inherent danger of the pouches is? Is it just that you can't see the food? We don't buy the squeeze packages based on the price and unrecyclable packaging but DD is constantly begging for them. Apparently she's the only child on earth to be deprived of eating from a pouch :rolleye0014:

twotimesblue

11-13-2013, 05:41 PM

Am I the only one who hasn't been put off buying these things?? My DS1 still loves pouches at 3.5 (he doesn't even get fruit ones, just veg combos like carrot and broccoli): I find it so useful to have some to hand when he demands a quick snack, and I love that he's upping his veg intake without even realizing. He's a great eater, luckily, but you can never have too much of a good thing IMO!

The Plum Organics spoilage issue is concerning (but from my understanding only a small number of pouches were affected - none of the ones I had in my stash had 'bad' batch codes, and I think the affected pouches would have looked noticeably swollen). Also the Earth's Best insect thing is totally gross but again these things happen all.the.time in all kinds of foodstuffs.

I opened a new box of organic spinach linguine last week and nearly threw up when I saw black beetles crawling all over the pasta! The second box was also infested - just gross. I took pictures, disposed of the product and went back to the store I'd purchased the products from: the manager refunded me, and although apologetic she also reminded me that the more 'natural' a product is, with fewer pesticides etc, the more likely you are to encounter bugs and the like. It made sense. Still skeeved me out, but I won't stop buying pasta!

TwinFoxes

11-13-2013, 06:52 PM

Am I the only one who hasn't been put off buying these things??

Nope. I don't think there's a problem inherent in pouches. I'm not sure I buy that woman's story.

KLD313

11-13-2013, 07:07 PM

Nope. I don't think there's a problem inherent in pouches. I'm not sure I buy that woman's story.

Agree, I don't see thr big deal, things happen. We don't even know if it has anything to do with manufacturing or the store that sold them or if shes telling the truth.

YouAreTheFocus

11-13-2013, 08:16 PM

Nope. I don't think there's a problem inherent in pouches. I'm not sure I buy that woman's story.

Agree, I don't see thr big deal, things happen. We don't even know if it has anything to do with manufacturing or the store that sold them or if shes telling the truth.

:yeahthat:

I am skeptical as well. And even if it is true, it wouldn't make me swear off pouches for life. Like the PP with the pasta story--it's not like I'd never eat pasta again. Our fridge was re-stocked w/ Chobani soon after that hullabaloo blew over.

mackmama

11-13-2013, 08:33 PM

I buy a lot of pouches and will probably continue to do so. Turns out I did have some Plum recalled products though (that were eaten) so that's a bummer. No ill effects so far though.

elliput

11-13-2013, 09:49 PM

Earth's Best/Hain Celestial CEO has a post up on FB about this incident and their response.

https://www.facebook.com/EarthsBestOrganic/posts/10151685807172257 (https://www. facebook.com/EarthsBestOrganic/posts/10151685807172257)

llama8

11-13-2013, 09:59 PM

My kids love pouches and I would not give up pouches over a small issue. The Plum recall was small and I had none of the affected pouches and the Earth's best video was denounced by EB and the women would not give the company the pouch to test, so I doubt that was real.

I once found a bug baked into a pretzel in a bag of pretzels from the store, but I didn't swear off pretzels. These things happen.

queenmama

11-13-2013, 10:26 PM

What pouches would you all recommend? They didn't have such things when Henry was little but we're having a hard time getting Agnes to eat any foods. We don't have TJs or WF here.

Lara

twotimesblue

11-13-2013, 11:33 PM

Lara, Plum Organics have some great, veggie-only flavors such as roasted carrot, spinach and beans and kale, sweetcorn and quinoa that both of my kiddos just love. I buy them on Subscribe & Save from Amazon (20% off for 5 items I believe?) and sometimes I can get them for less than $1/piece. Happy Baby and Ella's Kitchen also have some good flavors, like a vegetable bake and Four Bean Feast - I try to keep the fruity ones to a minimum as I don't want them to always associate snacking with sweet things. Oh, and I really like the Mama Chia pouches myself - scored a deal on some from Costco and they're quite yummy!

maybeebaby08

11-14-2013, 06:29 AM

This was just an eye opener to me because the only time I buy the pouches is if we're at the store and DDs are starving and need a quick snack so I don't check inside. You can't see inside the pouches just like juice boxes. At home we use Silisqueezes and Squooshis. If I found a bug in pasta that's different I could see it as 99% of the food we eat, you can see it clearly. It does deter me from buying any pouches because it makes me squeamish.

Little bloodsuckers | Medicine through the eyes of a layman

A lot of insects live next to a person, most of which are invisible and harmless; but there are those who greatly annoy with their existence, and some literally drink our blood. Who are these little bloodsuckers, how to recognize them and how to deal with them?

Mosquitoes, ticks, midges - all these small brethren drink people's blood in summer. The fact that the bite itches is not the biggest nuisance; insect saliva can cause allergic reactions, and some can be carriers of dangerous diseases.

In addition to free-flying and crawling natural inhabitants, there are parasites that have been "domesticated" for a long time and cannot exist separately from the hosts, at the expense of which they live.

Bed bugs

This insect is a small, blood-sucking, wingless parasite that is nocturnal. During the day, they hide in secluded dark corners - in furniture, under wallpaper, in clothes; and at night they crawl out to hunt. Their main victim is man; both adult insects (males and females) and their larvae feed on blood.

Bedbug bites, itchy red spots on the body cause a lot of problems for people. Depending on the reaction to the saliva of the bug, each person's marks from the presence of bugs are completely different.

Bed bug bites are sometimes difficult to recognize. They also look like mosquito or flea marks, and sometimes even pimples. Bed bugs attack people at night and prefer to feed at a time when the victim is sleeping and does not suspect anything. The parasite makes a bite using its sharp beak, it is with it that it pierces the skin of the victim, introducing its saliva into the bite site, and sucks blood. Mosquitoes use the same method; both of them have an anticoagulant in their saliva, which prevents blood clotting and acts as a local anesthetic. It is because of him that the victim does not immediately realize that he has already been bitten by a bloodsucker.

Juveniles and larvae feed for no more than three minutes, while adult bugs need at least 15 minutes to feed. After the bloodsucker has eaten, he hides in the nearest shelter in order to calmly rest and digest food.

What are the signs to determine that the bite was made by a bug? Although bedbug bites can be easily confused with those of any other insect, there are also characteristic features:

A large number of bites, concentrated close to each other, which have flat, swollen welts. The bug likes to feed several times in the same place - this explains the location of the wounds. Bite marks can become inflamed and itchy.
New sores appear every night, and those that already exist become more and more inflamed every day.
Pay attention to your bed linen: the presence of tiny blood stains on it also indicates that bed bugs live in your bed.

These insects are not particularly fastidious, so any exposed area of the body while the victim is sleeping can become a target for the bug. Most often, bites appear on the face, neck, arms and legs.

Each person's reaction to a parasite bite will be different, depending on individual characteristics and immunity. If some people may not have any reaction at all, then others may experience an allergic reaction, accompanied by severe itching.

Bed bug products are currently available as aerosols or emulsions. To destroy insects, it is necessary to treat the intended places of their accumulation and habitat: cracks in furniture and walls, wallpaper joints, skirting boards and window sills, door and window frames, ventilation grilles, under carpets and paintings. Sometimes a single treatment is enough, but in cases of mass destruction of parasites, a second procedure will be required.

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes in our area usually do not carry any infection, and the "itch" after their bites is nothing more than an allergic reaction. Moreover, in the heat, the buzzing squadron does not attack: it prefers warm, humid places.

Repellents work most effectively against these insects, and they need to be applied both on the body and on clothes. For children, many of these drugs may be contraindicated, but as a mosquito repellent for parents, aerosol repellents are the most common.

In the evening, in nature, clouds of these insects can be scared away by smoke from a bonfire. For greater effect, you can throw spruce cones and twigs into it. You can fight them by setting fire to smoking spirals soaked in insecticide. But if they managed to bite, the itch will help to remove the Asterisk balm, cologne or plain soda (half a teaspoon is diluted in a glass of water). In nature, it is also convenient to wear a special bracelet that repels bloodsuckers: they smell the essential oil that comes from it.

Midges

The poisonous saliva of midges causes unbearable itching. If their cloud covers a person, the temperature may rise from the bites and even signs of poisoning may appear. To fight against winged ones, you need to arm yourself with tea tree oil, which not only repels them, but also relieves itching from bites. Not a single insect will fly up to the face and exposed parts of the body moistened with a decoction of wormwood roots.

Children are most affected by midge bites; multiple bites can cause a serious condition requiring hospitalization. A good protection would be a repellant for children, harmless to humans

Clove infusion and Triple Cologne, with their strong scents, are also effective at repelling these voracious bloodsuckers. And there is a more pleasant remedy: dilute a bag of vanilla in water and periodically spray it on yourself from a spray bottle; This method is also suitable for children.

Ticks

Ticks are numerous arthropods, ranging in size from microscopic, indistinguishable to the naked eye, to quite noticeable, several millimeters long. The most famous, representing a danger to humans, are blood-sucking ixodid ticks. They live in moist, moderately shaded places in the grass, on the branches of trees and shrubs, where they patiently wait for their prey, putting forward their front paws, equipped with claws and suction cups, allowing the tick to hook securely. Having fixed, the tick bites through the skin with its proboscis, gets to the subcutaneous blood vessels and sucks blood.

This happens almost imperceptibly, usually the victim does not feel anything. Therefore, in order for the parasite not to reach the body, it is necessary to wear closed clothes when visiting the forest, and after returning from a walk, carefully inspect exposed skin and clothes for insects.

If a parasite is found on the body, it should be pulled out very carefully by throwing a loop closer to the place where it stuck the proboscis, and then “twist” it. You can’t just tear off a sucking insect, because. in this case, part of it will remain at the site of the bite, which can cause inflammation. The wound is treated with iodine or alcohol.

When bitten, a tick can bring into the human body pathogens of such dangerous infections as encephalitis and tick-borne barreliosis. Therefore, the caught insect should not be thrown away. In the territorial center of epidemiology, it should be examined to rule out infection.

Published on 10/14/2014 · Link | Headings: Useful tips

How to get rid of bedbugs manually

Self-control of bedbugs begins with a careful search for bedbugs and their destruction or catching. Success requires patience and checking all places where bed bugs can hide. This method will not kill all bed bugs at once, but repeated use will help reduce their numbers in your home.

Tools needed for manual bed bug extermination

Bed bug search and kill tools are easy to use; you can find them in hardware stores or at home. These include:

Flashlight. Bed bugs hide in dark places and in crevices and crevices. Typically, bed bugs are dark red to brown in color, but may be light brown if they have not been feeding. Therefore, they are very difficult to see. When searching for bedbugs, hold a flashlight parallel to the surface you are looking at. In this case, eggs and small bugs will begin to cast a shadow - as a result, it will be easier to see them.
Playing card or old bank card. Use a plastic or plastic-coated card - the edges of the card can be pushed through cracks and crevices. By moving the edge of the map along the cracks and crevices, you can push the bedbugs out and then catch or kill them.
Tape roll. Wide, clear packing tape is a good option - it will help you catch bed bugs and get a good look at them to make sure it's a real bed bug. If you see insects, and while retrieving the contents of crevices and cracks, keep the free edge of the tape ready to catch the bugs quickly./li>
Rag and hot soapy water. Like tape, a cloth and hot water can be used to catch bed bugs. Keep a bucket of water handy. After wiping the surface, check for bed bugs on the rag, then dip it into the bucket. Wring out a rag to remove excess water; there is no need to soak the treated surface with water. Also check freshly washed areas because the heat can lure out hungry bed bugs. The rag is especially effective if you find a cluster or group of bed bugs. Remember that wet surfaces make tape less effective at catching bed bugs.
Plastic bags. Household bags and trash bags can be used to store potentially contaminated items such as clothing and bedding. By placing infested items in bags, you can move them around without spreading bed bugs to other areas.
Mattress covers. Mattress covers are large "fabric bags" that hold a mattress inside. The zipper closes, and the bugs inside gradually die of hunger. You will need covers for every mattress and box spring in your home. If there are bed bugs in the mattress or box spring, they will begin to die out inside the cover after two weeks, but covers must be left on mattresses for at least 18 months.

There are many types of covers, it is important to make sure you are using a bed bug cover.

Creating a clean area

Before you start searching for bedbugs, designate a clean area into which you will move the examined items and cleaned furniture and things. This will reduce the risk of re-infestation with bed bugs.

Start at the corners and edges of the free wall. Check if you can extract the contents of cracks and crevices with a card. Check cracks and crevices one by one. For example, if you're testing baseboards, try slipping a card between the baseboard and the floor, and between the top of the baseboard and the wall. If you have a tile or wood floor, you can wipe it down with a damp cloth or mop. Do not use too much water - this can make floors slippery. When mopping the floor, look for any signs of movement. If you have carpets, vacuum the clean area. See Vacuuming as a Bedbug Control (www.bedbugs.umn.edu/bed-bug-control-in-residences/vacuuming). Be sure to check out the paintings and other items hanging on this wall.

You can now move on to inspect other items and move them to the clear area. As you move things into the clean zone, more and more space is freed up in the room, and you can expand the clean zone. Using this method means you won't have to move furniture and things more than twice. This will allow you to focus on finding bed bugs rather than moving furniture.

Select clothes, linens, and other laundry items. The fewer things you need to inspect, the easier your task. See Laundering as a Bedbug Control (www.bedbugs.umn.edu/bed-bug-control-in-residences/laundering).

Finding bed bugs

With your tools at hand, start looking for bed bugs. Remember, you are looking for: adult insects, young bugs, eggs, shed shells and traces of droppings. For more information on how to identify a bed bug, see How to identify a bed bug? (www.bedbugs.umn.edu/have-i-found-a-bed-bug).

Start with the bed, including mattress, box spring and bed frame. Look at the visible areas first. Check all edges and corners. Also check all seam lines and mattress labels. The mattress can be checked from five sides without removing it from the bed. When you have finished checking the top surfaces, stand the mattress upright to check the bottom of the mattress.

Repeat the same search procedure with the spring cage. The only difference is that spring frames usually have a plastic edge stop and a free piece of fabric - the so-called liner, secured with staples from the underside. Bed bugs very often hide in these seams and edges on the underside of the spring frame. To make sure there are no bed bugs inside the spring frame, you need to remove the lining and check the wood, cracks, crevices and bolt holes inside. After inspection, you can attach the liner back.

Check the bed frame from all sides, even if it is made of metal. Pay attention to the joints of the frame members and any parts that overlap. The head and foot of the bed are areas where bed bugs are especially likely to first colonize. Thoroughly check all surfaces, carefully inspect any crevices, screw holes, and cracks in furniture.

When you've finished examining the bed, move on to other furniture in the room. It is recommended that you first inspect large pieces of furniture because they can be securely placed against a wall in a clean area, and then place other items around large furniture.

Start with the visible surfaces of the furniture. Inspect all edges, corners and ledges. Carefully inspect all decorative items and any gaps. Move the furniture away from the wall and check its back wall. Carefully inspect the seams along the skin and any screw holes.

Remove all drawers and check all sides, corners and edges. Remove all items from drawers and set aside for washing or other suitable treatment.

After emptying the furniture, check it from the underside. You may need help to move the furniture and place it on its side. Make sure you protect the upholstery by placing a towel or something soft between the furniture and the floor.

Continue checking furniture and other items until they are all in a clean area. You may need to double or triple the size of the clear area to accommodate all of your belongings. To expand a clean zone, follow the same steps you used to create a clean zone.

When you have finished inspecting all the furniture and items in the room, check the remaining areas of the room that are outside the clean area.