Are There Cockroaches in Your Chocolate Bar?
It’s one of the simple pleasures in life. Chocolate is a mouth-watering, delightful treat. You might be shocked to hear that your favorite sinful treat has a few additives that you did not know about. Worse yet, those additives, despite being considered “safe” are making some people sick! This raises the question: Are cockroaches in your chocolate bar?
Secret Ingredient
We wish it wasn’t true but, sadly, it is! There are bits of cockroach in your chocolate. And shockingly, this is totally fine according to the FDA. Their official guidelines state that chocolate can legally contain up to 60 insect fragments per 100 grams. It doesn’t specifically state how small these fragments must be, but you’re unlikely to find a whole leg or wing in your Snickers bar.
The reality is that bugs are everywhere, and it’s impossible to keep all of them out of our food. Small numbers of insects inevitably find their way into production facilities. They wind up as a component of whatever foodstuff gets churned out at the end. The result is that almost everything we eat contains a little bit of bug and, for the most part, it’s completely safe to eat them. For this reason, the FDA considers a little insect consumption to be a natural part of the food industry.
If you believe you suffer from a chocolate allergy, it might not be the luxurious chocolate causing you to break out in hives after all. In fact, it could be the cockroach parts inside the chocolate. The allergic reaction to this are respiratory problems, migraines, cramps or itching. Allergists began skin testing for cockroach allergies in 1959 and today it is known as common cause of asthma. Such allergies can be effectively treated by allergy shots and removing chocolate from the diet.
On a happier note, it has been said the pricier chocolatiers take extra precautions in separating the bugs from the beans but there is no evidence that proves it.
Happy World Chocolate Day!
Check out another fun post about bugs: