Open Writing

Having good eyesight can sometimes be a hindrance, you know. You can see things that you'd be better off not knowing. Let me explain.

From time to time, you may read that government scientists have discovered that 'some packet foods contain tiny mites'. Never seen them? Are you sure that you don't have any?

Have you checked that bag of flour in your cupboard? Go on - do it now!

If your eyesight is very good, you might be able to detect a few, very gently-mobile, slightly darker particles.

OK, so you have a few darker grains in your flour. But look at these under a magnifying glass - and panic!

So what do you do? Throw out the flour and buy more, with a new sell-by date?

Now you think you've solved the problem. You carefully transfer the flour into an air-tight container and breathe again, protected from invasion.

Really?

Next time you need the flour, look closely. Despite being many months away from the sell-by date, you have unwelcome visitors again.

A letter to the suppliers will bring assurances of scrupulous hygiene, stringent controls and, as likely as not, a voucher for a nominal amount, so that you may purchase more of their products. So that keeps you quiet, and it makes everything all right, doesn't it?

An information leaflet published jointly by the Pre-Packed Flour Association and the Institution of Environmental Health Officers seeks to reassure those who have discovered these creatures for themselves:

'Psocids - or booklice - are common but harmless insects between one and
two mm long, which can survive in dry powdery foods. They are not caused by poor hygiene, and are just as common in the cleanest of homes, be they old or new. They prefer to live in dark, warm, humid places - such as the folds of packaging in food cupboards. They feed on a wide variety of dry food products - such as flour.'

So now you know the name of these intruders, what they like to eat, and their preferred environment. But why are they in your flour? The leaflet goes on to exonerate the manufacturers from any blame: 'Our research has shown that psocids are rarely found where food is produced.'

The leaflet attempts to explain what causes psocids. Somehow it falls short of expectations: ' The kitchen is likely to provide the conditions they need and fitted cupboards provide the darkness which attracts them.'

Yes, but where do they come from? Are we to believe that they materialise out of nothing?

'Some food products, including flour, naturally contain some moisture. Moisture in the home can be caused by not having enough ventilation in the kitchen. In warm conditions they can rapidly increase in number.'

Notice the clever switch here: the responsibility is all yours.

The manufacturers think that by giving these invaders a name, re-assuring you that they are harmless, and giving you a voucher for a couple of pounds they have addressed the problem and that you will go away happily.

Really? Are we to accept them as a fact of life, rather like the unseen dust mites that share our beds?

Since these psocids thrive on paper/glue, you should check all the packages in your cupboards. If you find any of these insects on your shelves, you may decide to contact your local environmental health office. They will undertake to come out to treat your cupboards - at a price.

If you did take this option, would you be free from invasion - or only until further food was stored on your shelves?

What should you do now? Reject all purchases in paper or card containers? Refuse to buy any psocid-friendly products? Wait until your eyesight is failing so that you can remain oblivious to the threat lurking in the flour?

Get on with your home baking, if you like. Me? I'm sticking with the bought stuff. I might still be consuming these beasties, but at least I haven't seen them in motion.
As the saying goes - ignorance is bliss.