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LARVAE in dried goods. Baalat Teshuva needs to know how to ensure not to consume larvae. We are now in EY – hot kitchens, and the worms are in the dried foods – found them in sesame seeds, dried roots, dates – pretty much everywhere where the food moth can light on. These apparently are the larvae of the food moth. They hang in sacks before dropping into the food to eat and then they set up colonies. HOW DO I eradicate them other than spraying toxic chemicals? What does Halacha say? Are there any experts who teach this in Bnei Brak?
Todah
Hang a bug zapper in your apt, multiple if large house. A 40 watt unit is best. Keep things frozen or in tightly closing glass jars. Dates should be split open to check for trouble and also dried figs. Learn the signs of infestation, “saw dust” webbing and of course moving things. Rav Vai is considered a machmir, but his books are thorough with excellent photograpghy. Fruit flies can easily become a problem, they are drawn to window light at the end of the day where they can be vacuumed up or squashed. Hatslacha from vegetarian in Jerusalem
You should buy only fresh products. The longer they sit in the store/storage area, the more chances of bugs there are. Buy in small quantities so that you don’t have to store them for long on a shelf. Things that can be stored in the freezer – like sesame seeds and that type, should be in the freezer. Other products, like rice, barley, etc, have bug-free brands, like Ki-Tov. Quinoa is also available from that brand. It sounds like the ones that you are getting are from perhaps a small store that does not have much of a demand for those products so they have been sitting around. Going to a larger supermarket will hopefully provide you with products that have greater turnover so less bug problems.
The freezer is great for any flour, corn meal, oats etc.
Wash your sifter after each sifting session.
Speak to your local Rabbi.
I’m sorry, I don’t think I was so clear. Obviously if you’re buying “dried goods” as you clearly state in your post, I’m not suggesting that you buy fresh ones, I meant that you should try to get newly produced ones, check the dates of production and/or last date of use to compare and get the most recently produced ones. Also definitely check inside of packages to see if there are traces of bugs being present in the package. As suggested, Rav Vaye has books on this subject that do a good job illustrating the various concerns.
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