How successful are you at finding bugs in produce?

manyhats

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 2:03 pm

I have several pamphlets detailing how to find bugs. Regardless of which method I used I have only found 1 bug in @ a year. I was using romaine lettuce hearts which had not been sprayed.
Now I only used bagged lettuce with a hechsher.

Has anyone actually found bugs? If so, whose method do you use?

yo'ma

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 2:38 pm

I have found tons of bugs in iceberg lettuce and cauliflower. I don't but cauliflower because it's too difficult to clean for bugs. I separate the lettuce leaves and place in a clean sink filled with soapy water. Whenever I get around to it, I wash each leaf and check it under the fluorescent light I had put above my sink. Just yesterday I found a bug in one of he layers of an onion. I've seen a worm in a pepper.

amother

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 2:44 pm

I have found bugs in scallions but many times I don't find. The time I found I just threw the whole bunch out. It was to scary and gross to try to take them off etc.

But I often don't find any. I think it probably depends which veggies. I found something on a scallion recently but couldn't tell if it was a bug so I checked every scallion but it was really just a small dot.

Celery and lettuce etc. I buy everything greenhouse grown or checked.

thanks

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 3:01 pm

Please also say where you are from. The produce is different in E"Y and US. It is also different on the East Coast, Midwest and West Coast, although produce is shipped across the country.

I'm from the NY area. I hardly ever find any bugs on Romaine Hearts. If I see any dot, I remove it, but they usually are not bugs.

mirror

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 3:08 pm

manyhats wrote:

I have a friend who found worms in a bag of lettuce bought at a kosher store. You never know...

Chana Miriam S

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 3:10 pm

I am a caterer, so I have a lot of produce checked. I am also a mashgiach. In our community we follow the star k directions.

it is inevitable that you will find bugs occasionally, but if you buy smart, you may never find anything.
The time of year is relevent as well as whether it is local and or organic produce.
Organic is the WORST.

According to both COR and star k, many smooth skinned vegetables do not need to be checked. This is not to say that if you see something that looks suspicious, you should not check it out. I found a worm in a strawberry once before I ever kept kosher. I go further than the cor and star k on strawberries because the worm thing was so gross.

a lot of bug checking has to do with the odds of not finding one. doing a chazaka, or checking part of a batch is very commonplace and it is how 'bodek' type prodcuts are checked. If they had to check every single leaf, you would never be able to afford your lettuce. The odds of finding something in a pepper are slim but if you look for signs, like holes and rot, then you increase your odds of noticing something if it is amiss.
This does not mean that you need to be over the top insane. It just means a routine check of the vegetables your local hashgacha organization suggests washing only for.

You should ALWAYS go by your local or at least reasonably local checking guides. For example, if I live in Israel, I don't use the star k or COR guide. They are written as though most of the product is being purchased or even grown in north america.

for lettuces, buying something not organic AND already triple washed is your best bet for NOT finding something. and it's not that you should want to find something, although it can be reassuring to find something in case you wonder if you are doing it right.

not finding something is a combination of things c oming together, like buying the right produce, checking it appropriately and not insanely and ensuring that you not commence the checks until you are sure that the items are clean- and by this, I mean from dirt.

dirt can complicate searches because bugs are small and trying to tell whether something is dirt or bug can be time consuming.

I know a local rebbetzin who goes through a LOT of lettuce and other leafy veg. Because she uses the triple washed stuff, she never finds anything. A local chef for a vegan restaurant where we have been providing food also uses the triple washed stuff because he does not want to find anything- just because he does not want bugs in his salad.

Being knowledgeable in this regard is extremely helpful. Knowing what you can and cannot do to increase your odds of NOT finding something is invaluable. Take it from someone who has lost money on a lot of produce before learning how to buy it and use it appropriately. For example, I would never by romaine hearts over chopped triple washed romaine. The odds are much better not to find anything in the chopped as long as it is not organic. if you want whole romaine leaves, look for a product that is like a crispy lettuce wrap- in canada presidents choice makes them. they are whole leaves that have been washed and they are much easier to check because they are whole, but odds are you won't find anything unless it was super infested to begin with.

But its just really like anything in judaism. if you know what you need to know well enough to get around what you need to do with a minimum of fuss, you will have a much easier time doing it successfully. kind of like knowing what does and does not need a hechsher (although you need to stay up to date on that because procedures for food production can change as they did in recent years with canning.

if you insist on buying organic, completely non processed veg, then you will have a much more difficult time accomplishing this....

things that make leafy easier.
laccinato kale instead of curly kale (flatter and easier to check)
baby spinach that is flat instead of curly.
making sure that you get triple washed leafy greens or wash them at least three times before checking.
vinegar (white) in the water with things like cauliflower and broccoli will often help the bugs 'escape' and then you can check after they are 'clean'
with asparagus, we can almost never use them when they are in season in southern ontario

above all, speak to your local rav, because he probably has a lot of insight into what he needs to do to keep your shul kosher. if your personal rav lives nowhere near you then you could end up following his rules tht work for where he lives but not where you live.
hope this helps.

OutATowner

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 3:11 pm

I usually find at the bottom of romaine hearts. I don't use any specific method, I just separate and wash the leaves and you can see them clearly when they are there. It depends on the brand- som will be totally infested, while other brands I will find a bug every once in a while.
If you soak/rinse the leaves before the bugs usually wash off before you check.

yiddishekup

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 3:16 pm

I find bugs in Romaine lettuce all the time, almost all the time. They're smallish longish and brownish. I feel better when I check my own. And the taste? They just don't compare!
You asked how I check? Just my eyes with sunshine through the window. If you don't see any its either you have a better brand thats cleaner or idk are you farsighted? There's this amazing magnifier with light you can try. I think the halacha is you don't have to because anything human eye can't see is ok, but its a good thing in finding bugs cause who wants bugs anyway they're so ewww.

manyhats

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 4:55 pm

Would someone please comment om triple washed Romaine hearts . Pre Washed 3 times.
Does it need to be washed?
Does each leaf need checking?
Thanks

mummiedearest

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 5:01 pm

manyhats wrote:

Would someone please comment om triple washed Romaine hearts . Pre Washed 3 times.
Does it need to be washed?
Does each leaf need checking?
Thanks

is there a hechsher on the bag you trust? call them and ask. if no hechsher, I'd check each leaf. I don't generally buy triple washed romaine, so I don't really know.

Chana Miriam S

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 5:13 pm

manyhats wrote:

Would someone please comment om triple washed Romaine hearts . Pre Washed 3 times.
Does it need to be washed?
Does each leaf need checking?
Thanks

if not with hechsher, you should check but odds are good you won't find anything. whole leaves are much easier to check and also to remove anything you find. you can probably just check 3 leaves from the package and if they are ok, the rest is probably fine. look up chazaka if you don't know this concept.

5S5Sr7z3

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 7:13 pm

The only time I ever found a bug anywhere was a worm in an apple. I never buy pre-checked veggies because they are way too overpriced.

dee's mommy

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 7:23 pm

It's actually very rare that I find a bug, so when I do, it is exciting. Occasionally, I will find it on lettuce, and celery.

For lettuce, (Romaine usually) I separate the leaves, soak them in soapy water, rinse off each leaf and check both sides of each leaf by the light of a desk lamp. (If it is really sunny, I will use the window.)

I have checked raw broccoli and cauliflower, and still do sometimes, but I just find that really tedious, so I buy the frozen pre checked. Yes, it is more expensive, however eating healthy vegetables is a priority for me, so when I don't want tedious checking, I buy the frozen.

rivka6

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 7:52 pm

I have found bugs at the base of celery, and very rarely romaine leaves. I get so exicted that I take a picture of them! It keeps me checking closely.

seeker

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 8:19 pm

It depends where you come from and where you shop. I live in NY, buy non-organic, and find that produce is generally very clean but more so from certain vendors - I do well in the supermarkets generally.

I have found bugs in strawberries but generally it's either a really buggy batch or all clean. I only once or twice remember finding just one or few bugs.
Occasionally I find bugs in romaine hearts, but not many. They weren't hard to find when they were there. Generally really clean, good-looking lettuce hasn't had bugs.
Once I got an onion FULL of thrips. Joy. Not common. I don't even check onions really, they don't tend to have bugs, and bugs are usually only in the outer layer which you peel off anyway. But this was one buggy onion.
Cauliflower and broccoli I only buy the frozen kind with the bug-free hechsher. Too hard to check.

We follow the OU book.

ElTam

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 9:01 pm

I find bugs on my loose-leaf (not bagged) lettuce. Usually one or two. Usually they are thrips.

Store-bought herbs, fresh, I always find bugs. (Interestingly, I rarely find bugs on the herbs I grow myself, even though I don't use pesticides.)

Somethings I rarely or never find bugs--celery, hard things like that.

Broccoli and things like that, I only buy Bodek because it is too hard to check.

Method of checking depends on the veggie/fruit. I use the Star-K guidelines for each item and I have a magnifier that I look through.

I live in the Midwest.

Chana Miriam S

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 9:01 pm

we found afuzzy caterpillar in our sukkah which was being deconstructed today, but since we dont eat sukkahs it wasn't a problem!

ray family

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 9:42 pm

I'm in Israel. there's a strong tendency to find here. a few times I've found inside of my rice and other grains.
this year when checking the black eyed peas nearly every one had a hole in it (after consulting w/ a rav it seems like it was a common problem across the board this year so I had to open up each one to make sure the wasn't any bug inside) I've found inside of green beans, inside of fruit, inside of nuts, dried apricots, even a bar of chocolate!!!!! I've found in flour numerous times.
spices regularly have- especially paprika.
I only buy bug free greens (which is essentially only clean from tunneling bugs but you still need to soak the leaves to remove the bugs that are on the leaves)
in America, if you hold the lettuce up to a light very often you can see tunnels in the leaves- evidence of a bug.

basically I've found bugs in just about everything. you just have to check it usually doesn't take that long.

seeker

Sun, Oct 14 2012, 9:50 pm

Oh forgot to add, also in NY, I once each found a bug in a pistachio nut and a cashew. But in both cases the outside of the nut looked sketchy so I sort of had a warning to pay special attention and open it before eating (I think the general guideline is open a few and if they're clean you can then munch away with no worries)

ariellabella

Mon, Oct 15 2012, 11:08 am

I find a variety of different bugs almost EVERY time I wash romaine lettuce (from US supermarkets throughout the year).

We separate the leaves and soak in a bowl of veggie wash, then inspect the water. Repeating until the water is clean, and then washing each individual leaf under running water before checking a chazakah.
I find flies, aphids, thrips. You name it. Organic is usually much more infested than conventional.
Last week, I actually threw away a 3-pack of organic romaine hearts because after 3 soaks we were still finding bugs.

I've also found clumps of insect eggs on parsley, aphids on celery leaves, tiny flies in cauliflower, and I've completely given up on fresh broccoli because it's so hard to check.

As a vegetarian, I think checking veggies is the most time consuming and tedious thing I do.