That looks like a juicy bell pepper.
But wait. Is something moving inside it?
How did that insect get into the pepper?
How did all these insects get inside?
"I don't want to know."
"Yes you do."
Insects are a diverse group of organisms.
There are 900,000 species that we know of.
These crawly beings live pretty much everywhere,
including inside the food you eat.
Which insects get into our food most often?
What happens if we accidentally eat a bug?
And which deadly cheese contains maggots
as its secret ingredient?
"No."
Some bugs, like the one inside the pepper, can infest crops
during the growing season and stay inside
until they mature.
And while it may upset you to find a bug in your burger,
it's safe to eat many insects.
You may have eaten one without knowing it.
Have you seen pests in your pantry,
like the ones that attack your cereal or cake mix?
And while it might be gross, finding bugs in your food isn’t
necessarily dangerous.
Government agencies don't consider them a safety hazard
unless there is an obvious infestation of many bugs from
different species.
Many people eat insects by choice.
Humans have been practicing entomophagy,
or eating insects, for tens of thousands of years.
So far, we know of more than 1,900 edible insect species.
Nearly 2 billion regularly eat these bugs.
These creepy critters are excellent sources of protein,
fatty acids, and other nutrients.
Beetles, caterpillars and bees are popular food choices.
People have safely eaten crickets and silkworms in
Asia, Africa and some Latin American countries for years.
Even some North American grocery stores sell insects
as food in whole, dried or powdered form.
Could eating these creepy-crawlies be the answer
to food insecurity? Perhaps.
Some experts believe eating insects could be a good
alternative to meat, which costs much more money and
has more environmental effects.
Insects produce significantly lower greenhouse gas
emissions during farming and need less land, feed and
water than traditional livestock.
Compared to cows, insects also contain higher amounts
of minerals such as iron and magnesium.
One place even makes eating an insect into a rare delicacy.
You might know that the Italian island of Sardinia
has beautiful beaches, bright blue seas
and fascinating rock formations.
It's also home to casu marzu.
That's the world's most dangerous cheese,
according to the Guinness World Records.
The cheese is created by and infested with maggots.
"I'm sorry, what?"
Casu marzu is produced around the end of June
when the local sheep enter their reproductive time.
The dry grass they chew changes the
taste of their milk.
Piophila casei, or cheese skipper flies,
typically lay their eggs in the cracks of a salty pecorino
cheese called Fiore Sardo.
The maggots hatch, eating and wiggling through the cheese
and digesting its proteins.
They transform the Fiore Sardo
into a soft creamy cheese.
After three months, the cheesemonger opens the top.
If you are squeamish, you might not want to see the
frantic and wriggling maggots inside the creamy cheese.
Sometimes, local people use a centrifuge to blend the
maggots into the cheese.
Other people just open their mouths and eat the infested
cheese without trying to hide the maggots.
Would you dare to take a bite of that?
The government banned commercial sales
of this cheese.
But local residents have been eating it for centuries,
and it is registered as a traditional product
of Sardinia.
Debate continues about this dangerous dairy product.
Some claim it’s an aphrodisiac.
Others claim that eating the cheese could be hazardous for
human health as some maggots could survive being
eaten and cause myiasis, microperforations in
the intestines.
There are no recorded cases so far.
So what does casu marzu taste like?
People who have tried it say it has a strong and spicy flavor
that they can taste for hours.
"I can taste it. On my tongue."
And while the maggots in this cheese could be dangerous,
the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations says it's important to be cautious
when eating other insects.
Eating insects could cause allergic reactions or illnesses
due to bacteria such as E. coli, and bugs could contain
pesticides and other toxic materials.
Experts recommended thoroughly washing
and cooking insects before eating them.
Are you intrigued by maggot cheese? To find out more,
watch our episode about why people indulge
in this hazardous treat.
By living in a cheese and turning it into an exotic food,
maggots have made their way to the
Guinness World Records.
And that's what makes them Crazy Creatures.