This Is Sick

In the September 2003 issue of Mens Health magazine, on page 38, there is a list of contaminants that the FDA allows in packaged foods. I looked on the FDA website but could not find a similar list, instead the information looks like it is located here and there in the myriad of documents they have.

• Canned Corn ..... 2 corn worms or larvae per case of 24 cans.
  
• Canned Mushrooms ..... 20 maggots or 75 mites per 3.5 oz can.
  
• Canned Pineapple ..... 20% rotten fruit per can.
  
• Cinnamon ..... 400 insect fragments or 11 rodent hairs per half c.
  
• Fig Bars ..... 5 insect heads per box.
  
• Ground Black Pepper ..... 475 insect fragments or 2 rodent hairs per 1/2 c.
  
• Macaroni Pasta .... 225 insect fragments or 4.5 rodent hairs per 7.5 oz uncooked.
  
• Peanut Butter ..... 30 insect fragments or 1 rodent hair per 3.5 oz.
  
• Popcorn ..... 1 pellet rodent excreta or 2 rodent hairs per lb.
  
• Potato Chips ..... 6% rotten potatoes per bag.
  
• Raisins ..... 40 mg sand or grit per 3.5 oz.
  
• Tomato Juice ..... 5 fly eggs and 1 maggot per 3.5 oz.
  

How do they figure this stuff out. Fig bars can have 5 insect heads per box? What about the rest of the insect, where did it go? What kind of insect? How do they know what's in there? Do they average the samples?

Tomato juice can have 5 fly eggs and 1 maggot per 3.5 oz? You can't strain out a maggot?

20 maggots or 75 mites in 3.5 ounces of mushrooms? There can be 20 maggots in that little can? Are they talking about the same maggots I think they are? What if there is a mix of maggots and mites? That seems like alot for 3.5 oz.

475 insect fragments or 2 rodent hairs in pepper, but 400 insect fragments or 11 rodent hairs in cinnamon? Why not make them the same? 400 is OK but 401 and you're shut down. It's someones job to count this stuff, too. I wonder how often? Only the government can make rules like these.