[PICTURE!] Bugs in Rice

amother

Mon, May 09 2022, 6:29 pm

No, I don't usually check my rice for bugs. I don't know what I'd be looking for!

But today, I opened a 2lb bag of (Great Value brand) jasmine rice, and I saw that it was infested!

So in case you are like me and have no idea what you are searching for, here are actual photos of bugs in rice.

(There may be other bugs that show up in rice, if anyone has pictures of those I'd love to see!)

(If you'd like to see pictures of bugs in quinoa, here's the thread I made with those: https://www.imamother.com/foru.....54686

lotus2525

Mon, May 09 2022, 6:38 pm

Totally off topic but I was just eating a grapefruit and all of a sudden I see a white worm crawling around! Eeeewww!!!!

amother

Gold

Mon, May 09 2022, 7:02 pm

I found bugs in a bag of brown rice last week. Never happened to me before and I always check the rice eventhough I was told you do not have to check here in the states as oposed to israel.

amother

Mustard

Mon, May 09 2022, 7:06 pm

I was never a big rice checker - figured if there was something to see, I'd see it easily. Then a few months ago I was soaking rice (not to check for bugs but because those were the directions for this rice) and hundreds of these tiny, delicate, barely visible wings floated up. I would never have seen this in the rice without soaking it first. I wasn't even sure what I was looking at at first. Now I'm pretty careful with checking.

eeeee

Mon, May 09 2022, 7:09 pm

amother [ Mustard ] wrote:

And do you find anything from just checking without soaking?

ProudJew

Mon, May 09 2022, 7:16 pm

I also once had a bag of rice that was infested, way more than what you showed in the picture. Since then, I store my rice in the fridge. Bh never had bugs again.

amother

Trillium

Mon, May 09 2022, 8:07 pm

I had problems with rice twice (some time apart) with a specific frum company. I don’t buy their rice anymore b’n for this reason. Yes, I told the company.

amother

DarkPurple

Mon, May 09 2022, 8:46 pm

There is also a bug in rice that is a white worm and looks like rice. Always check your rice and store in the fridge.

amother

Mon, May 09 2022, 9:33 pm

It would be much easier for me if I could *SEE* what these bugs look like!

If there's a brand known to be regularly infested I'd love to buy it just for educational reasons...

amother

Maize

Mon, May 09 2022, 9:55 pm

Ugh but I do appreciate the pictures.

I always check rice for bugs but I don't even know what I'm looking for. So I'm always wondering if I'm doing it wrong.

WitchKitty

Tue, May 10 2022, 2:03 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

It would be much easier for me if I could *SEE* what these bugs look like!

If there's a brand known to be regularly infested I'd love to buy it just for educational reasons...

Rav Vayes book has lots and lots of pictures.

Goldie613

Tue, May 10 2022, 2:38 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

It would be much easier for me if I could *SEE* what these bugs look like!

Apologies in advance for the grossness factor, but these links might be helpful to you =

https://www.star-k.org/images/.....e.pdf

https://oukosher.org/content/u.....b.pdf

Iymnok

Tue, May 10 2022, 2:44 am

Yes, that’s the type I have found in oatmeal and rice. Those are brown, I sometimes see black. I’m okay with those, it’s the webbing and worms from moths that really make me nauseous.

myname1

Tue, May 10 2022, 3:21 am

WitchKitty wrote:

Rav Vayes book has lots and lots of pictures.

Yes, I also find Rav Vaye's book Bedikas HaMazon extremely helpful. He has clear pictures of what you're looking for in different foods, as well as pictures of non-issues.

amother

Charcoal

Tue, May 10 2022, 4:38 am

To check rice put it in a pot/large bowl. Add salt (a couple of tablespoons). Add water and swish. The insects or infested rice will float straight to the top. If it's just a couple of grains that float up (and no insects) then it's fine. If it's a lot then you know it's infested.

A couple of points:
- keep all grains in your freezer
- if you do keep all grains in your freezer and it's infested then you know you bought it that way
- insects are nearly always at the bottom of the bag so if you only find toward the end of the bag it makes sense
- please check other grains like barely - I have found several times. If it's a small bag I just dump out the whole bag and then you are more likely to find

aimhabanim

Tue, May 10 2022, 7:58 am

amother [ Gold ] wrote:

I found bugs in a bag of brown rice last week. Never happened to me before and I always check the rice eventhough I was told you do not have to check here in the states as oposed to israel.

I was told by the star k that they now recommend checking brown rice