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We are occasionally contacted by distressed people who have discovered a “worm” in some fish. This is actually a "cod worm," which although unsightly, is harmless.
Cod Worm
The worm is a parasite that lives in the fish as part of its life cycle. There is no evidence that anyone has ever had an illness associated with the cod worm. The worms are killed by the cooking and freezing process. Occasionally, in fresh fish a worm may be discovered alive. However, although they are alarming to see, they are harmless if consumed.
If you find a cod worm in a piece of fish, the best thing to do is to contact the manufacturer of the product. The address or phone number will be on the packet. Or take the product back to the retailer, who may give you a refund. They will then tell the manufacturer.
If you find glass or hard plastic in food, this is a serious matter which we will be happy to investigate on your behalf. However, before you call us, there are a couple of things to consider:
- Could the glass have come from your home? Sometimes when people find glass or hard plastic in food that they have prepared it turns out to have come from their own equipment. For example, we have dealt with complaints where the glass/plastic originated from a broken oven light and in another case was a piece of plastic from the base of the complainant’s pepper mill! Before you call us, it is worth checking whether something similar may have happened in your case.
- If you think you have found glass in some canned fish, it may in fact be struvite crystals. During the canning process of some seafood (notably salmon, tuna, mackerel, shrimp etc), magnesium ammonium phosphate can form. Occasionally, this chemical can form in to crystals. These can grow to a size large enough to attract attention. The crystals resemble broken glass. However, on close examination using a magnifying glass, the difference is obvious. Struvite occurs usually in the form of regularly shaped prisms, with the edges tending to form straight lines. Glass particles are more likely to be irregular in shape. You can tell the difference between struvite and glass by carrying out simple tests at home:
- Struvite crystals are softer than glass and can be scratched.
- They are soluble in a hot dilution of acid-vinegar or lemon juice. Boiling them for a few minutes will completely dissolve crystals, but not glass.
- If you squash crystals between two hard surfaces they will usually break down in to smaller fragments or powder.
Struvite
Hair in food
Again, we are happy to investigate allegations of hair found in food which may indicate poor personal hygiene practices at the manufacturing premises. However, sometimes what appears to be hair can in fact be vegetable fibres.
If the food item, typically a ready meal or similar, contains fibrous vegetables, the fibres can appear very similar to human hair. However, the appearance of hair and vegetable fibres under the microscope are quite different (human hair appears as smooth strands whereas vegetable fibres have a more ragged appearance). If you are not sure, we can examine the ‘hair’ under our binocular microscope which is usually sufficient to distinguish between a hair and a vegetable fibre.
We occasionally receive calls from people who have discovered that their food cupboards and especially dry goods such as flour, milk powder, sugar or semolina, have become infested with tiny grey or brown insects. The insects are called psocids (pronounced ‘so-sids’).
People naturally but possibly wrongly assume that the products themselves are at fault.
Psocids
Psocids are common but harmless household pests, smaller than a pinhead, which can live in dry powdery-type foods. They do not like the light and prefer to live in dark, warm, humid places such as the folds of packaging in food cupboards. They feed on microscopic moulds and mildews which flourish in warm, humid places such as the domestic kitchen. They are not caused by poor hygiene; they are just as common in the cleanest of homes. They can also be found in old books, carpets and other furnishings in the home. (Booklice and Dustlice
are alternative names).
To reduce the risk of psocid infestation, try to deny them the conditions they need to survive and multiply. Always keep your dry foodstuffs, cereals and the like, in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place. Clean out your cupboards regularly, but, if you use water, always make sure they are completely dry before you put the food back. When you are cooking, boiling the kettle or even just using the washing machine or tumble dryer, make sure that the kitchen is properly ventilated. If condensation shows on the windows, it is being produced on all other surfaces as well leading to mould growth on which psocids thrive.
If you find that you have psocids, remove the infested food immediately and dispose of it outside. Check everything else in the cupboard. Food in cans and bottles will still be all right but make sure that there are no insects hiding under the labels. The cupboards should then be thoroughly cleaned by using a dry cloth or vacuum cleaner ensuring that the cupboard is completely dry prior to restocking it.
Insects, molluscs, larvae etc in pre-packed fresh fruit and vegetables
Packers of these foodstuffs will have control measures in place to remove insects etc but on occasion even the best control measures will fail. However as such contaminants occur naturally we would not take enforcement action against the packer. Your best course of action would normally be to return the goods to the place where you bought them for a refund.
Yellowy-Green Discolouration of Poultry
Please see accompanying photographs of an example of a relatively rare condition (Oregon Disease - Deep Pectoral Myopathy) found in chickens and turkeys where the lower breast muscle has its blood supply compromised which leads to the meat decaying in situ and in consequence turning green.
The condition is clearly one of quality as opposed to food hygiene as the problem seems to have its origins in a genetic defect.
 
Oregon Disease Images
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