Is there a way to eliminaye the worm eggs in grains?

[sofasurfer]

Grain types of foods...flour, oatmeal, etc...will develope worms after being in the cupboard few a few months. I recently read that you can eliminate this problem by freezing the food before storing. Any truth to this? Any better ideas? Aside from the worms, if packaged with air tight bags and O2 absorbers, will these foods last a very long time?

[Cast-Iron]

I imagine you could either irradiate or "gas" (i.e. methyl bromide or nitrogen purge) the grain before storage, but that may introduce other issues especially if you aren't familiar with their safe handling. Storing in air tight packaging with oxygen absorbers is the best option I know of for long-term storage and the method I choose to utilize. Diatomaceous earth can also be added to the grains. It's sharp profiles will kill many different insects yet it is reported to be safe for human consumption. If faced with infested grains in a survival scenario you are probably better off just cooking the critters along with the grains. Insects have been and still are considered food in many cultures around the world. You likely eat many of them, or parts thereof, without knowing every year.

Full Disclosure: I'm sure I would have some difficulty eating that first "spoonful", but hopefully the will to survive and rational thinking would prevail for me or anyone who might find themselves in such a situation.

[Cast-Iron]

As an added thought about shelf life; your better off storing wheat as a whole kernel. Longer shelf life in that form. Just mill it as you need it. Not as much of an issue with oats, but the steel cut are claimed to keep the longest of the processed types.

[canid]

Kilning/parching will kill the eggs just fine. So will deep freezing.

Inert gasses will keep them from ever hatching, but only as long as they are sealed and the gas remains present.

[canid]

And of course, cast-iron's point is excellent. Grain weevils, moths, etc. are Harmless. And they will make extra proteins and vitamins while they are in there. If the situation is an emergency requiring your to depend on unpleasant food, it is likely that that is a benefit, not a detriment.

[gryffynklm]

I have read about freezing incoming foods below 18˚F for a week to kill the moth eggs. I just started doing this in june. No moths yet but don't know if its working or if I just haven't gotten any mothy potential foods.

[Rick]

I assume you are talking about store purchased grains rather than grains you put away yourself? I also assume we are talking about pantry moth larvae. If both of those assumptions are true then the grains don't develop worms. They occur because pantry moths are laying eggs in the opened grains. That requires you to toss the infected foods and do a thorough cleaning of shelves to eliminate the pest.

The FDA approved irradiation of wheat and wheat flour back in 1963 and virtually all foods are approved for irradiation today. Including all meats.

I have open boxes of oatmeal, rice, flour, cream of wheat and corn meal, some of it months old, and we've never had worms in any of it. That's been pretty standard for us in our storage of grains we use and we've never experienced worms.

Here's some information on pantry moths that might help. Again, if my above assumptions are correct.

http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Pantry-Moths

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-...y-moths-109729

Indian Meal Moth:

http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsh...dian-meal-moth

[Ken]

The only time I've ever observed any type of insect in a grain product in my kitchen was in a package of Barilla pasta that I had just opened.

Serves me right for not using fresh pasta. From then on, whenever I've used dried pasta, it's been this stuff: Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

[canid]

By far the biggest two vectors are the markets (if you don't turn over your goods fast enough, and clean your shelves regularly, you'll be breeding grain-pests; you simply have too many sources not to be bringing them in.) and home pantries (if you store your dry goods for less than a few months, they are unlikely to spread even if you do bring home something infested, and if you inspect monthly, no infestation is all that likely to get out of hand).

The key in both cases is inspection and cleaning. A damp bleach-water rag to wipe down any dust, eggs and live bugs does the trick. I don't even want to tell you what five gallon buckets full of infested flour and grains look like after sitting unused in an infested pantry for two or three years. I'll just say that I'll never let that happen again.

[Rick]

I think you are right on the market piece. I assume, but don't know it to be true, that most grains are irradiated to prevent this type of thing from happening as well as kill fungal and mold spores. I guess one other thing to consider is what Ken pointed out and that is the brand(s) you use. If the problem seems to occur with specific brands then a move to another brand would be in order.

[Ken]

One other thing.... I store all of my opened dry goods, other than cereal like Cheerios, in tight sealed plastic containers. Things like oat meal, cream of wheat, grits, flour, and sugar ALL go into plastic containers. Every new bag of sugar or flour (not the stuff in long-tern storage) goes into a zip-lock bag before it's put on a shelf. For cereals like Cheerios and Raisin Bran that have a bag inside the box, I compress the extra air out and fold the top of the bag over several times and hold it in place with a binder clip.

I'll eat pretty much anything, but insects are on my "always avoid" list, realizing that inadvertent mishaps do occur, especially when I'm hiking or on the bike. Yuck.

[canid]

I'll eat pretty much anything, but insects are on my "always avoid" list, realizing that inadvertent mishaps do occur, especially when I'm hiking or on the bike. Yuck.

Right. Right up until it's what you have left and you know that you have to eat. I'm not one to suggest that you eat bugs you don't want to if you don't have to.

[Ken]

Canid, I've eaten slugs, snails, ants, and large night crawlers. Not insects, but I've eaten snakes, frogs, and turtles, too. I draw the line at maggots, mealy worms, grasshoppers, and any insect with wings, but the same goes for dogs and cats. But you are correct - unless I have no alternative.

[Rick]

We don't do that. The items are in the original containers. I understand the reasoning it's just that we don't bother since we've never had a problem. I can't remember ever seeing an Indian Meal Moth inside or out around here even though I'm certain we're within their range.

"After larvae or moths have been found, it is important to throw out all food sources that are not in very tightly sealed containers. The moths are able to get into surprisingly tight spots, including sealed bags by chewing through them. They are also notoriously difficult to get rid of, and can crawl on ceilings and spin cocoons in rooms other than the kitchen or pantry where they hatched. Last instar larvae are able to travel significant distances before they pupate. When seeking the source of an infestation, the search thus cannot be limited to the immediate area where pupae are discovered. None of the stages of the organism (eggs, larvae, adults) is very temperature-tolerant and all can be killed by a week of freezing or by brief heating in a microwave or conventional oven when such treatment is practical."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indianmeal_Moth

[LowKey]

Food products are all well and good, but the only time we had a worm issue was with bird seed. Don't bring it in the house if you can avoid it. We keep ours in a metal trash can outside. If you have bear or raccoon problems, that might not be an option though.
The same might go for animal feeds, though I haven't had issue with any in my past dealings with it.

[canid]

dry animal feed typically has DE in it.

[canid]

I have to admit to the humor though of keeping worms out of something like chicken feed. That would be like treating people's oat meal so that it won't start growing filet mignon.

[Rick]

Ah...irony.

V: "I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is."

One of the greater lines of irony me thinks.

[LowKey]

Wasn't so much worried about the worms in the chicken feed. More about the worms getting in my feed.
As long as the worms stay outdoors, the birds and chickens are welcome to em.