Bugs Invaded My Brown Rice

[htc]

I keep my brown rice in a glass container that has one of those wood tops that pop right off. It has a rubber ring around the lid. I am not sure if it's air tight or not.

Anyways, I also keep a plastic scoop in there so I can easily get to my rice. I've had this rice for a while, one day I noticed on the scoop, there was all this red dust on it. If I looked closely enough, the dust was moving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had to toss out all my brown rice. Does anyone know what this was? The little red things were so tiny that it was VERY easy to mistake it as dust. If I didn't pay really close attention, I would have missed it.

Funny though, I have never seen this in my white rice. Thoughs?? Thanks!

 

[Michael in FtW]

It sounds like you have an airtight container ... but the little red bugs beats the heck out of me! I haven't seen anything like that (dust moving) since the 60's ...

 

[Caine]

Red rice yeast maybe?

 

[Andy M.]

The little red critters are probably chiggers. They are almost too small to see. When they bite, they cause an intense itching.

I suppose they could have gotton into the rice in a number of ways either before or after you put it into the jar.

I don't think they are connected to brown rice specifically.

 

[Barbara L]

I've never heard of chiggers getting into rice. I don't know what the bugs were, but I do know (from everything I have read) that any grains, flours, etc. come with bugs. Most don't hatch and become a problem for awhile. For this reason, I keep all those things in the freezer. It will kill them off. Whenever you bring grains or flour home, put it in the freezer for at least 24 hours. This is what I was told, and it seems to work. If you have a large freezer, like I do, you can store them in there. Just bring your flour to room temperature before using it.

Barbara

 

[subfuscpersona]

I don't know what the bugs were, but I do know (from everything I have read) that any grains, flours, etc. come with bugs. Most don't hatch and become a problem for awhile. For this reason, I keep all those things in the freezer.smile: Barbara

I second Barbara's response. In my experience, brown rice purchased from an open bin (eg - not pachaged) is particularly vulnerable to insect infestation (the eggs are probably already in the rice). I've had insect infestation develop in brown rice that I purchased from an open bin. In contrast, I've never experienced insect infestation in whole grain wheat or oats purchased from an open bin, nor have I ever had insect infestation in whole grain flours.

I'd suggest you go to the store where you bought this and complain, since its possible that the grain was contaminated (due to improper storage at the store) when you bought it.

I think its great if you have the freezer space to store whole grains. I routinely buy lots of different whole grains (brown rice - wheat - oats - millet - etc) and store them in tightly capped containers in my kitchen cupboards. Nature has devised the seed to be pretty durable over time and I like to take advantage of her wisdom.

 

[daisy]

Always keep a bay leaf or two in any container in which you store rice, flour, pasta etc. It keeps the bugs away.

 

[kitchenelf]

It sounds like you have an airtight container ... but the little red bugs beats the heck out of me! I haven't seen anything like that (dust moving) since the 60's ...

- roflmao Michael - that's what I would have said!!

I will have to agree with Barbara on this one - the bugs come free in so many things - just depends on whether they hatch or not. I had a bag of packaged soup with rice in it and when I opened it a flock of something flew out - now THAT was 70's, not 60's Nothing will keep them away - it just depends if they hatch or not. There is a certain percentage of bugs, rat droppings, etc., actually allowed in a lot of stuff by the food industry/government standards.

 

[bevkile]

Always keep a bay leaf or two in any container in which you store rice, flour, pasta etc. It keeps the bugs away.

This works well for me too.

 

[buckytom]

one way to keep the eggs from hatching after you've bought the rice is to freeze it overnight before storing it in your cupboard. freezing kills most eggs. i have to do this with my parrot seeds, or i'll get flocks of seed moths around the house. unfortunately, freezing also destroys some of the nutritional value of the food, but it shouldn't matter too much with rice.

btw, the bugs sound like red spider mites.

 

[Zereh]

*stands vewwy, vewwy quietly in front of the see-through canisters, ready to pounce*


Z

 

[kitchenelf]

....................

 

[middie]

bucky... so that's what those suckers are called !!!!!!!!!!!
everytime i ask about them people look at me like i'm nuts cause
i call them "those tiny red spiders things that squish really easy"

 

[Michael in FtW]

I'll have to go with buckytom on the red spider mites ... something that small that looks like dust is probably a mite of some kind. I was looking for something that would infect brown rice specifically .... but the answer was getting into knowing where the rice came from - and how it had been processed - since brown rice doesn't have the hull and bran removed like white rice. ARRGH!!!

That's one reason I always wash my rice before I cook it. But, what the heck - bugs - free protein!

Now - which LP should I break out while I cook tonight - Iron Butterfly, Jethro Tull, or Led Zepp?

 

[middie]

Can NEVER go wrong with Zepplin Michael !!

 

[htc]

Thanks for all the info, I knew I could count on my DC family to solve that mystery!


So, on the freezing method, I don't have extra space, but if I freeze overnight and then bring it back out to store in the pantry, is that ok? Or will it spoil?? I will go the extra mile and also add a bay leaf!

 

[Barbara L]

If you freeze it for 24 hours, then put it in an airtight container, it should be fine in the pantry. I've never tried a bay leaf, but if others have had success with it, you might as well try it!

Barbara

 

[subfuscpersona]

the consensus seems to be that red spider mites were the culprit in htc's brown rice infestaion.

Like htc I store my rice in tightly capped glass containers at "room temperature" (in kitchen cupboards). The bugs I've seen appear in brown rice is a little flying critter. I think the eggs have probably been deposited in the grain and some eventually hatch.

I'm not convinced that simply storing the brown rice for 24 hrs in the freezer actually kills the insect eggs but certainly storing the brown rice in the 'frig or freezer would prevent the eggs from hatching.

Frankly, if you have insect contamination in natural grains, you're best off throwing it out. However, if you catch an infestation in the very early stages, you can destroy it by spreading the grain in a thin layer on a large cookie sheet and putting it in a preheated oven at a low heat (about 100-150F) for about 30 minutes. Allow the grain to cool completely before returning it to the container.

I know about the "bay leaf" trick - I do use it. When I put brown rice (or any whole grain or legume) in a container, I put a bay leaf or two at about every 4 inches so that they're buried throughout the container. However, I think this is more to prevent infestation than to stop an infestation (eggs in the grains) that's already there. The scent of the bay leaves is supposed to repel insects. However, you need quality bay leaves that have a good strong aroma and, remember, over time the bay leaves dry out and will have to be replaced.

 

[Barbara L]

I'm fortunate, in that I have a large freezer, so I can store stuff like that and not worry about keeping it in the cupboards. I don't have much cupboard space, actually, so it works out!

Barbara