Home stored product entomology is the study of insects which infest foodstuffs stored in the home. It deals with the prevention, detection and eradication of the pests. The five major categories of insects considered in this article are flour beetles, the drugstore beetle, the sawtoothed grain beetle, the Indian meal moth and fruit flies.
This is an important branch of forensic entomology because consumers who find contaminated products may choose to take legal action against the producers. Suitably qualified entomologists are likely to be able to determine the identity of contaminant species, even when no insects are found and the only evidence of infestation is the resulting damage. They should also be able to determine whether the foodstuff was contaminated before or after purchase. Companies are required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to have no more than a certain number of larvae, insects or insect fragments in their products; when this defect action level is exceeded, a consumer can pursue legal remedies.
Read more about Home Stored Product Entomology: Detection of An Infestation, FDA Regulations, Conclusion
Famous quotes containing the words home, stored and/or product:
“The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.”
—A.E. (Alfred Edward)
“Health can be squandered, but not stored up.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“[As teenager], the trauma of near-misses and almost- consequences usually brings us to our senses. We finally come down someplace between our parents’ safety advice, which underestimates our ability, and our own unreasonable disregard for safety, which is our childlike wish for invulnerability. Our definition of acceptable risk becomes a product of our own experience.”
—Roger Gould (20th century)