There are many people who open the package of pasta to cook it and find inside worms, butterflies and larvae that move. The fact causes a lot of disgust in those who see these scenes of little animals in front of them that start walking on the table and often end up immediately in other foods such as flour, biscuits and even bread. To prevent these worms from ending up in the dishes that are brought to the table, those who are faced with such scenes throw away the packages of contaminated pasta.
In reality, these insects that can be seen in pasta packages are not bad for our health. Especially since there are countries in the world where insects, grasshoppers and crickets are eaten every day. Generally these worms that are seen in the pasta are moths that scientifically take the name of Tenebrio molitor which in some states is bred precisely to be eaten by men. A few months ago the law arrived in Italy which also led to the trade for human use of flours made with Tenebrio Molitor. They are made by drying and pulverizing these moths which according to experts are very proteinic.
What did they find out about pasta with bugs? Thanks to some checks it has been discovered that worms and butterflies end up in the pasta when it is not stored correctly and is instead exposed to heat and heat. The flour moths, in fact, are found in cereals where they manage to lay their eggs in an abandoned way in a few days. These eggs end up in the flour and pasta, when it is not made at a high temperature: only in this way are the eggs destroyed.
Therefore, if the eggs remain alive in the paste, it takes very little for the larvae to emerge from them and gradually also worms and insects which begin to feed on the food. The heat in which the pasta can be found when it is kept at home makes the eggs hatch. That’s why you should never put the pasta near heat sources but in a cool pantry. With the heat, the eggs hatch and the larvae invade the pasta they feed on.
In conclusion, therefore, the advice is first of all to always buy pasta which is made with systems that provide for high temperatures. If all this is not possible when you buy the pasta, you have to be very careful where it is kept. The advice is to always put it in a cool, dry place. And to close a recommendation: you will have no problem with your health if, opening a pack of pasta, you don’t realize that there are insects inside and you end up eating them.