The FDA allows up to 30 maggots per 3.5 ounces (about 100 grams) of canned mushrooms. Maggots aren't the only things making it into food — berries, including canned and frozen blackberries and raspberries, can have up to a 60 percent mold count without being rejected, and citrus juices can have up to five or more fly eggs or one maggot per 8.5 ounces (about 250 ml).
More facts about food and FDA standards:
- By FDA standards, "foreign matter" can include things such as plant stems, burlap sack material or cigarette butts.
- Tomato products tend to have low standards for mold counts, too; tomato ketchup can have as much as a 55 percent mold count, and tomato juice can have a 24 percent mold count calculated from six samples. It also can have as many as 10 fly eggs per 3.5 ounces (100 g), but only if there are no maggots. If there is a maggot, then there can be only five fly eggs before the juice is considered defective.
- Despite the cringe factor, the FDA has said that foods that fall under the defect limitation are not health hazards.
