Pantry Pests
Have you ever poured yourself a bowl of cereal and discovered, to your horror, grubs wriggling around in it? Or maybe you thought you’d make a cake, until you started sifting the flour and found it was riddled with weevils! Experiences like that are all too common with stored foodstuffs, and it’s also surprising that the insects manage to find their way into sealed packets and airtight containers. What actually happens is that eggs of little moths known as stored product moths are already in the food before the containers are sealed, and they hatch out and develop if conditions are warm enough. Peter Valder recommends freezing unopened packets in the freezer for at least 48 hours, during which time the eggs will be killed. You can then store the products safely in the pantry. However once you open a packet, it’s best to either use the contents quickly to avoid reinfestation, or keep the unused portion in the fridge.