“Did you know there can be 450 insect parts and nine rodent hairs in every 16 oz. box of spaghetti? Adding mushrooms to your spaghetti sauce or pizza? For every 4 oz. can of mushrooms there can be an average of 20 or more maggots of any size.” Jams and jellies also contain a surprising amount of contaminants: “Apple butter can contain an average of four or more rodent hairs for every 3.5 ounces and about five whole insects… Apple butter can also contain up to 12% mold, which is better than cherry jam, which can be 30% moldy, or black currant jam, which can be 75% moldy” (LaMotte).

But that’s not the real problem, experts say. “Cross-contamination from raw food, undercooking food, hand-washing and spreading germs from raw food, those are the things that contribute to the more than 48 million cases of foodborne illness we have every year in the US” (LaMotte).

“Microbial pathogens are responsible for the vast majority of food poisoning incidents; in the United States alone, the CDC estimates that 48 million people each year contract a foodborne illness, 128,000 are hospitalized as a result and 3,000 die; economic costs to society… are difficult to quantify but have been estimated to be in the billions of dollars. Since the CDC’s estimates are based on a voluntary reporting system, the actual number of cases is considerably higher” (Nadakavukaren).