OT: weevils in flour

[terry.shitcrumbs]

I bought the wife a breadmaker a few years back and it gets occasional use. Since the use of said machine is occasional, it means that we often have f lour stored in the cupboard for months.

A regular problem with our stored flour is the appearance of weevils. It se ems that any quantity of flour stored for a couple of months or more develo ps a serious infestation. Our efforts to combat the problem have progressiv ely increased. Minimally, each infestation has been followed by a thorough cupboard emptying, vacuuming and wiping down. These days, all flour is imme diately placed in Tupperware (never mixing old and new supplies). It seems that the weevils do not appear in self-raising flour and that the recurrence of the problem is not down to a resident population getting into new stocks. Rather, it seems as though the weevil problem is endemic among the various shops that we buy from (major supermarkets). In fact, on more than one occasion, we've opened brand new bags and found substantial weevil populations already in place.

I don't recall my mother's baking cupboard having weevil problems when I wa s a kid, so as far as I am concerned, it's an experience limited to just th e last few years. I'd be interested, though, to find out whether other peop le have this problem.

Regards. Terry.

[jkn]

e. Since the use of said machine is occasional, it means that we often have flour stored in the cupboard for months.

seems that any quantity of flour stored for a couple of months or more deve lops a serious infestation. Our efforts to combat the problem have progress ively increased. Minimally, each infestation has been followed by a thoroug h cupboard emptying, vacuuming and wiping down. These days, all flour is im mediately placed in Tupperware (never mixing old and new supplies).

e recurrence of the problem is not down to a resident population getting in to new stocks. Rather, it seems as though the weevil problem is endemic amo ng the various shops that we buy from (major supermarkets). In fact, on mor e than one occasion, we've opened brand new bags and found substantial weev il populations already in place.

was a kid, so as far as I am concerned, it's an experience limited to just the last few years. I'd be interested, though, to find out whether other pe ople have this problem.

We occasionally get weevils in our flour. Interestingly, it has seemed to m e that the weevils usually originate from dried pasta stored nearby, and th en get in the flour, rather than coming from the flour. YMMV but perhaps worth checking.

Cheers Jon N

[NY]

If you are finding weevils in an unopened bag, then you need to take it back for a replacement.

If weevils are getting in later, then check how air-tight the Tupperware containers are. Do they have a plastic-on-plastic seal between lid and box, or are they the newer type which have a rubber ring in a recess in the lid, so the walls of the container are pressed into the rubber ring in the lid - these are probably more air tight. But that assumes that the weevils are getting in after you open the bag of flour - and that may not be the case...

Look upon them as a bit of added protein in your cooking ;-)

[whisky-dave]

A friend of mine had similar problems with seeled bags of rice or flour can;t reember which, he brought in thailand and when he opened them a week or two later in the UK he had weevils, or some small insects that looked like them.

[Tim Watts]

I hope you've been taking those to the council's environmental health and/or trading standards people?

Neither do I... My mum spoke of them, but we never saw any.

[Another Dave]

Is it "organic" flour? Insecticides should prevent weevils in unopened bags of flour. Certainly I've never been troubled but I never buy organic food of any sort.

In any event take it back to where you bought it.

Another Dave

[Mike Barnes]

We had an infestation in our larder many years ago. We were ruthless in throwing out anything that might be infected, scrupulous when cleaning the area with soapy and then bleachy water, and fastidious about keeping all the relevant foodstuffs in airtight containers (a habit that persists to this day). It worked.

Actually now that I think of it they were grain moths but I imagine much the same remedies apply.

[Capitol]

We found that we had to spray the cupbpoard joints with insecticide, worked for the last 20 years.

[Davey]

Just as the sailors of olden days did, when they knocked their dry biscuits on the table to shake out the excess.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Never seen weevils in the flour I buy - mainly Waitrose.

[F Murtz]

shake all flour through fine one of these, not sieve with rotating doover(it might mash them(