Food - Drink
Is It Safe To Eat Flour With Weevils?
By MOLLY HARRIS
Weevils are brown beetles that are larger than flour mites, and they tend to have hairs on their bodies that shimmer. Unfortunately, it is possible to overlook these tiny bugs, and if you bake frequently and spot beetles in your flour, you may have already ingested some — but the good news is that it won't kill you.
Weevils do not sting or bite and are not poisonous, and using weevil-infested flour for cooking or baking kills weevil eggs, larvae, and adults, so it is technically safe to do so. However, no one wants to knowingly ingest beetles, so prevention is key to keeping bugs out of flour and other grains such as rice.
Toss any flour that still has bugs crawling through it, thoroughly clean your pantry, and always store flour and other grains in airtight containers. Also, freezing flour kills weevil eggs and larvae, so placing your flour in the freezer for a day or two after buying is the most surefire way to eliminate any possible infestation.