Can Flies Actually Contaminate Your Food?

Break from The Grind

Chapters

00:43:14 - The Gross Reason You Might Not Want to Eat Food If a Fly Lands on It

1:56 - Horse ranch flies are the worst

4:32 - Why Mindy hates flies on food

5:45 - What happens when a fly lands on your food?

10:02 - What kinds of diseases can flies spread?

11:44 - When should you worry and throw out your food?

14:59 - What other insects should you worry about buzzing around you?

16:04 - Mosquitoes love certain people

18:50 - Halloween Quiz

Summary

In this episode of the Break From The Grind podcast, Jason and Mindy delve into their mutual disdain for flies, particularly when they land on food. They explore the science behind flies and food safety, discussing how flies can spread bacteria and disease. The conversation shifts to outdoor gatherings and the importance of keeping food safe from pests. They also share personal experiences with mosquitoes and other insects, culminating in a light-hearted Halloween segment filled with riddles and reflections on their pet peeves regarding outdoor events.

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Details

The Gross Reason You Might Not Want to Eat Food If a Fly Lands on It

Nobody likes flies buzzing around and landing on food. It’s disgusting, for sure, but is it harmful? A study on what happens when a fly lands on your food found it’s more than gross: It’s germy.

Jason, how do you feel about fly’s landing on your food? Does it bother you and to what extent do you think about it.

If fly’s land on your food do you continue to eat it or do you throw it away?

Have you ever been to a party outside and people leave their food exposed to the elements? If you see fly’s land on the food do you still eat it or do you move onto another dish?

What happens when a fly lands on your food?

We did a short not too long ago about stinging fly’s and we discovered what actually happens when a fly lands on your food. So when a fly lands on your food, it vomits.

“When a fly eats, it has to throw up digestive enzymes onto the meal. “These enzymes also contain some remnants of whatever it last ate, and that might have been a meal full of pathogens. Flies eat some pretty disgusting things.”

But let’s back up: Before the fly vomits, it “uses its antennae to sample your food with taste sensors on its feet,”. If it likes what it tastes, it sticks down its tongue and coats your food with saliva containing digestive enzymes (a form of puke).

Are you grossed out yet? This detail may do it: “The fly also poops on your food. Some good news on the No. 2 front: “It’s such small amounts.

What kinds of diseases can flies spread?

Here’s something else that can happen when a fly lands on your food: It can spread salmonella, E. coli, parasites and dysentery. A 2023 study published in the journal Microorganisms found flies can pass along bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant strains. “House flies serve as a vector to move disease from one place to another,”. “Because we live together, they can spread many different pathogens between humans, animals and the environment.”

On the upside, a fly can share only a tiny number of germs. And fortunately, when it comes to food poisoning, the dose makes the poison, as the old saying goes.

So when should you worry and throw out your food?

If you let the food sit out at room temperature for a long time, those bacteria can multiply to the point where they become dangerous.

What happens when a fly lands on your food after it has been dumpster diving? That’s a red flag because a trash bin is an “obvious source of contamination. You should also steer clear of eating if the fly has touched down on raw meat or animal poop before visiting your dish.

How can you protect your food from flies?

Simple measures like using window screens and hanging nontoxic, sticky flypaper traps can prevent these pests from setting up shop in your kitchen. At picnics and barbecues, keep dishes covered as much as possible. Also key: “Make sure that foods are kept at the right temperature and don’t sit out too long, as that can turn a small problem into a big one.

I like to use Food tents for Parties. Also after everyone finished eating, I would bring it inside in the kitchen and cover so people could still come in and munch but the food was free from fly’s. Camping I like to use Food Tents or covers.