General clarification/ quasi-rhetorical questions (bordering on ground somewhere between editorial and rant) here:
- Aren't there identity standards that allow for this?
- I would expect a minimally processed / raw agricultural commodity could at anytime have an insect?
I qualify these questions with the acknowledgement that "many" insects or a vector insect (fly, roach etc.) would be a certain point of changing the approach.
I don't think we could ever bear to eat a potato if we could identify all that micro-biologically present on it - yet not harmful. Perhaps a bad analogy, but the world is not hygienic and sterile from farm to processing and we do well to come to terms with the need for applying adequate controls and keep moving rather than prevent everything or reject the food. As the food waste momentum grow this may become a more common topic of conversation.
The consumer obviously one one level could understand this kind of inclusion is likely to occur, and generally accept it easier if they don't encounter it personally. (for example, I know people who say they will not eat meat if they would have happened to know the animals name..)
So, our duty as responsible food processors is first keep them safe by producing wholesome food and second serve in a manner that they don't feel it is necessary to ask.
To the specific question, in the end, if this is a common occurrence look at the supplier options and/ or validate a way to rework the ingredient safely. There are times when destruction of an ingredient is necessary, minimizing it is .
I offer this for your consideration.
Bugs Happen!
Cheers!
(The opinions stated do not specifically represent the policy or practice of anybody I am personally aware of or work for, and have not been fully vetted even in my own mind (this expresses my initial feelings, from limited experience at the agricultural end of the supply chain), therefore I leave open the opportunity to update these positions as more useful information becomes available and pertinent to any specific situation including this one.)
