Maggots in Chocolate: Do You Need to Worry?
You may have seen the maggots in chocolate, so now you are wondering whether this is concerning or not. Maggots in chocolate or similar food are common, so it is regularly happening for people to ingest maggots accidentally. However, should you worry when this happens, and why do maggots enter chocolate in the first place?
Maggots usually occur in spoilt chocolate, i.e., the chocolate gets contaminated with fly larvae. Usually, when people ingest maggots accidentally, there is no reason to panic or to be alarmed. However, they can sometimes lead to bacterial poisoning, so health complications could be expected.
If you want to know more about spoiled chocolate, this article will come as really convenient to you. I will explain how maggots appear in chocolate, and whether or not you should worry and take additional measures if you accidentally ingest maggots.
You will also learn about the kind of worms that might enter chocolate, so you would have a better idea of when to be alarmed and look for health complications due to maggots in chocolate.
What Happens If You Eat Chocolate With Worms in It?
If this has happened to you, you need to know that you are not the only person to whom this has occurred. Appearing worms in chocolate and accidentally eating them would not be so uncommon for this to happen. Therefore, eating worms in chocolate should not be a reason for you to be immediately alarmed.
In other words, since it happens commonly, it is usually not a reason for concern. However, in some cases, eating chocolate with worms might lead to health complications and the occurrence of various diseases, such as bacterial poisoning, or intestinal myiasis. [1] In such cases, you will have to react immediately to reduce the risk to a minimum and go through the complications without severe damages.
Bacterial Poisoning
Worms can be carriers of common bacteria that they have picked up from human or animal waste. Afterward, they can spread it on food that people eat, such as chocolate. Usually, due to strong immune systems, people can withstand the bacteria reactions and go without any complications.
However, sometimes when people ingest these bacteria, they can have several reactions to food poisoning, such as salmonella or Escherichia coli. These two are the most common bacteria found in food like chocolate. If your immune system cannot withstand and fight off the bacteria on its own, you might experience some symptoms shortly after you ingest the chocolate.
Salmonella
Salmonella is the most common bacteria found in food. If you get poisoned, you will experience symptoms such as vomiting, nausea, fever, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. People who get salmonella usually do not need any special treatment since the bacteria will go away on its own in about 4 to 7 days.
Escherichia Coli
This is also a common bacteria that is transmitted through worms in food like chocolate. The symptoms are similar to salmonella, and usually, it is treated in the same way. The person who gets Escherichia coli needs to have plenty of liquid, as well as rest.
Myiasis
This is an infection that worms produce once the food is ingested. [2] The infection can cause serious damage to tissue, therefore, it requires medical attention. You might get slight symptoms, but it is always advised that you double-check everything, so you will be on the safe side.
How Do Worms and Maggots Get in Chocolate?
Since chocolate is mostly made of cocoa, which is a plant, it is common for a plant to contain fly larvae when it is taken for production. These larvae are not visible to the naked eye; therefore, people do not intentionally leave them on the cocoa plant. So, when chocolate is produced, the larvae stay on the cocoa and later come as worms and maggots inside the chocolate.
In addition, many types of chocolate contain nuts and other additional food, which are sources for even more possibilities for fly larvae that will later come as worms or maggots.
What Kind of Worms Get in Chocolate?
The most typical worms that enter chocolate are the type called maggots. Maggots are larvae of the common flies. They do not have legs and their bodies are soft, so they look like worms, but they are not actually the common type you might easily see in other types of food.
They usually live and feed on the tissue debris or rotting flesh of animals and plants. That is why it is common for maggots to appear in food that comes from plants, such as the cocoa plant from which chocolate is made.
Are Holes in Chocolate Bars From Worms?
There is a possibility that worm larvae have entered the wrapped chocolate, so you might see some tiny holes in your chocolate. These are usually harmless. As I mentioned before, however, you might stay alert if you experience any kind of symptoms shortly after you ingest the chocolate.
Maggots in chocolate can be occasionally seen, but that does not mean that you should be immediately alarmed. People can ingest maggots without causing any damage to their health. However, there are occasions in which it can come to complications, so you have to be careful.
