Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

I've had a couple large mylar bags with rice and beans that I'd just duct-taped shut until I was able to get a new vacuum sealer (VS280 from Sorbent Systems) and as I was just opening the bags just now to check out the contents, I noticed obvious signs of bug infestation in the form of eggs. I'm thinking that the rice and beans should be fine to eat as long as they are cooked thoroughly (not that I'd eat uncooked rice and beans) but just wanted to get feedback from you guys on what you've done if you've found bugs in your food hoard. I really don't want to throw away 100 lbs. of food and figure that if cooking killed bugs in the days before vacuum sealers, it should kill them today. Any thoughts?

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

Yea sure go eat the stuff.....mmmmmmm

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

I have seen this question before. People in the know have a high tech solution: mix one pound of wild rice with twenty pounds of white rice. Then people can't see the eggs any more!

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

i think after rinsing/cooking they'll be fine, and i'm not an expert re this; but in u'r situation i'd do the following;

i'd freeze the contents a few days to kill the active bugs- not sure it gets eggs.

btw i don't think u are looking at leftovers from their eating as i have never seen the eggs.; & i think the beans are where the eggs came from., & if separate i'd rinse & dry well.

i'd mark the bag & rinse before cooking.

i'm not a pro ; but have sorted/rinsed/cooked behind bugs a few times, w/o a problem.

hopefully a pro will speak up.

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

sell it on CL and just buy new stuff.

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

Get a Chicken, slowly feed the rice/bug/bug egg mixture to the chicken (chickens love bugs and bug eggs) then eat the eggs from the chicken. :wink:

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

Great ideas, guys. Y'all wanna come over for soup? :D

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

Throw some food grade diatomaceous earth in. It'll kill the critters and is edible. 3 days in a freezer might work.

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

As lessoil wrote, freeze the rice and beans to kill the bugs. That should also kill the eggs. Since you have hundreds of pounds, maybe it would be easiest to wait a month or two and just leave them outside for a few days.

After killing the bugs, they should dry out and you can probably blow the dead shells off the food before cooking. Whatever you miss should rise to the top when you soak the food in water, and you can remove them with a spoon or carefully pour off the top layer of water taking the bugs with it.

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

i have a vegetable plant that has whitemoths. tiny white moths with loads of eggs on the underside of each leaf. it's a rare plant (walking stick cabbage/ tree chard), so i want to get some Safer's soap concentrate, mix up a bathtub full, and give it a bath.

UNTIL THEN - i eat the leaves steamed with the eggs.

it would be good to kill the buggers on your rice though. what stops them from infesting the whole bag ?

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

Why not? I've eaten plenty of bugs raw, they're even better cooked!
Good source of protein and minerals... and as far as I know, there are no bugs that are poisonous to eat (just revolting and nauseating, if you have a weak stomach!)

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

if you remove all the air before sealing would that not kill the bugs

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

Maybe best to just wait until you really need it and are starving hungry,dont think you will be too fussy then

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

Bull weavils float to the top when you rinse, although I threw my infested batch out and chalked it up to experience.

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

I agree with the chickens suggestion if the infestation is too bad. Nothing goes to waste at our house.

I've had flour get bugged. I just mixed it with water, cooked it as a patties and the chickens loved it.

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

Good way to get tapeworm Gaillo.

Crickets, grasshoppers, and earthworms all can carry tapeworm.

When in doubt, cook it.

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

Try hand rinsing it in a large bowl. Rice and beans should be rinsed this way anyhow. You should be able to see if the bugs float to the top.

When you're rinsing, cover the rice, then squeeze it in fists, dump the water off the top with any floaters, and repeat. When you're done carefully pour all the water off and you should be good to go.

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

Can you post a picture of what you are referring to?

"I noticed obvious signs of bug infestation in the form of eggs."

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

I've already vacuum-sealed everything that was infested. Maybe I can try to create a new bug magnet for a photo?:biggrin:

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

This is an excellent thread as to the importance of preserving properly.

Vacuum sealing alone, while good, is not quite enough.

Exposure to freezing for a week works well to kill parasites.

CO2 I believe is the best option, for long term.**

O2 absorders do the trick too.**

sb

PS Don't throw it away, something can eat it.

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

Or sell it TO C L and just buy new stuff. :4_1_72:

Re: Bugs/bug eggs in my rice and beans hoard--go ahead and cook them?
 

Sure it would; just that that is not possible with a vac sealer. Now, displacing the air with nitrogen or co2 works. As does removing the remaining oxygen with O2 absorbers. The bugs require only a tiny, tiny amount of oxygen to do their thing.