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"Are Fruit Flies Already Inside The Fruit That We Bring Home?" Topic


8 Posts

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Cacique Caribe26 Jul 2018 11:05 a.m. PST

One of my nephews is a fanatic Vegan* who is always trying to ruin our eating experience.

Well, on his grandparents' anniversary dinner he went on talking about how charred bone is used in the refining process of sugar, something I already knew.

So when he was about to have his organic fruit salad I mentioned that most pesticide-free organic fruit is already riddled with the eggs and larvae of fruit flies (often erroneously called "gnats" by some people**). That was just my automatic payback to him for always trying to make other people uncomfortable at mealtimes. I remember reading that somewhere, but I'm not sure if that's been scientifically confirmed.

Aside from the long lost source, all I know is that our house is always free of any fruit flies until any fresh fruit is brought into the house and not refrigerated. I've even noticed this in winter, when I know there are no fruit flies outside. People will of course say that this is just an anecdotal observation.

So, does anyone here know of an actual scientific reference, for the fruit fly point?

Thanks

Dan
* The dietary kind, not an inhabitant from that star system. :)
** The gnat is black and the fruit fly is the one on the right and at the bottom:

picture

picture

Ed Mohrmann Supporting Member of TMP26 Jul 2018 11:29 a.m. PST

I dunno from whence they come, but I do know how to
get rid of 'em.

Couple pieces of fresh fruit and a bit of soapy water
in the bottom of a plastic bottle with ONE way in…

Heheheheh….

Personal logo Parzival Supporting Member of TMP26 Jul 2018 11:34 a.m. PST

Dunno about the fruit flies, but organic vegetables have been behind several fatal E. coli outbreaks in Europe in recent years. Hardly surprising, as they are, after all, fertilized with poop.

Meanwhile, today I'm going to be using the meat-tearing incisor teeth which God gave me to chew a nice, juicy, medium rare steak. I'm an omnivore, and proud of it!

Cacique Caribe26 Jul 2018 12:08 p.m. PST

Parzival: "organic vegetables have been behind several fatal E. coli outbreaks in Europe in recent years … they are, after all, fertilized with poop."

I think the same thing has happened here, with several children fatalities each year, but they haven't really wanted to disclose that they were grown "organically". The organic food industry is growing in power and doesn't want to run into more media problems than it already has in the past when it was still in its infancy.

Dan

Bowman26 Jul 2018 3:23 p.m. PST

So when he was about to have his organic fruit salad I mentioned that most pesticide-free organic fruit is already riddled with the eggs and larvae of fruit flies

Sorry but you are probably wrong. Fruit flies are not attracted to normal fruit. The fruit has to be overripe or rotting. Why? Because the flies are attracted by the ethylene gas, given off by overripe fruit. The eggs hatch in 12 hours and the resultant larvae live for about 4 days on the now rotting fruit before transforming into the flies by day 5.

The larvae feed on the rotting fruit AND on bacteria that are breaking down the fruit. The cool thing is the mother fly laying the eggs places some fecal matter on the egg surface. Again why? Because that way the bacteria that begin to rot the fruit are compatible with the Fruit Fly's intestinal flora. Therefore, the best food for her larva.

I spent three years in the Genetics corridors in university smellingnthe pungent air when the agar food was prepared for the Drosophila. I had to learn a lot about those little Bleeped texts.

Bowman26 Jul 2018 3:36 p.m. PST

but organic vegetables have been behind several fatal E. coli outbreaks in Europe in recent years. Hardly surprising, as they are, after all, fertilized with poop.

Well, non-organic vegetables have also been prone to E. Coli contamination. Other reasons are human cross contamination, contaminated sorting and processing equipment, and surface run off into the fields.

But the point is taken. I believe you mean the outbreak in 2011, which was the largest E. Coli outbreak in history. Organic sprouts may have been the initial source. The high death rate seems to have stemmed from the virulence of the particular strain of bug. One that was very efficient at causing HUS and severe enteric bleeding, due to a verocytotoxin.

From a lawyer site whose firm litigates HUS victims, but is a nice overview of this "weaponized" strain:

about-hus.com

And both organic and non-organic vegetables are prone to botulism poisoning. That is because the genus of Clostridium is soil dwelling.

Andrew Walters27 Jul 2018 11:04 a.m. PST

If you buy inorganic bananas (!) you will still get fruit flies if you leave them too long. I assumed the eggs are already laid, but if they really hatch in 12 hours then the eggs must be laid after the fruit enters the house.

I'm pretty sure all food has a tiny amount of bug parts, microbes, bone, and who knows what else. If you grew your own food and washed it you'd still have all the same problems. That's just part of life. We need to thin no in terms of the journey the food took to get to us (because there is often icky parts of that trip), but of how that journey will affect our bodies.

Somebody is always getting E Coli, just like someone is always getting in car accidents. We still drive, we still eat, we wear seatbelt, we wash our food, and we have governments to penalize companies that aren't as careful as they could be.

And vegans are annoying for interesting reasons, but still annoying.

Old Wolfman03 Aug 2018 6:35 a.m. PST

Wouldn't surprise me in the least.

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