DAILY DIRT: Phobias, anyone? And can we talk about maggots, mites and flies?

Daily Dirt for Friday, Jan. 27, 2023

After you read thought No. 2 today, I think it’s probably safe to say we will all be inspecting what we eat just a little bit closer from now on … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 510 of The Daily Dirt.

1. So, what phobias do you have?

I think it’s safe to say we are all scared of something, and according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), phobias affect about 10 percent of U.S. adults each year. 

The NIMH says various phobias typically emerge during childhood or adolescence and continue into adulthood. They also impact twice as many women as they do men.

Here are the most common — where do you fit in?

• Arachnophobia: fear of spiders and other arachnids. (Especially those spiders that look they are covered in fur.)
• Ophidiophobia: fear of snakes. (The bigger the snake, the bigger the fear.)
• Acrophobia: fear of heights. (It’s not so much the fear of heights, it’s the fear of falling.)
• Aerophobia: fear of flying. (I don’t even like to be near an airplane, let alone fly in one. My last flight was in 1969.)
• Cynophobia: fear of dogs. (Only if their teeth are showing.)
• Astraphobia: fear of thunder and lightning. (Not really, unless biblical flooding is involved.)
• Trypanophobia: fear of injections. (Depends on the length of the needle.)
• Social phobia: fear of social interactions. (Nah. I love to talk and interact with people.)
• Agoraphobia: fear of places that are difficult to escape, sometimes involving a fear of crowded or open spaces. (I absolutely hate elevators.)
• Mysophobia: fear of germs, dirt, and other contaminants. (If this is a problem, I’ll tell you right now — skip thought No. 2.)

“These phobias lead to marked fear and can result in experiencing symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, and breathlessness,” writes Kendra Cherry for verywellmind.com. “In some cases, they may escalate into a full-blown panic attack.”I wonder what the phobia is called that deals with the fear of having a panic attack?

2. Our crappy food report of the week comes complements of businessinsider.com, which informs “the FDA says it’s legally OK to have up to 19 maggots and 74 mites in a 3.5-ounce can of mushrooms.”

And that’s just of the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Americans on average most likely ingest one to two pounds of flies, maggots, and mites each year without knowing it — a level the FDA says is safe, according to businessinsider.com. The agency established these guidelines in 1995 and has revised them several times, according to the website.

“It is economically impractical to grow, harvest, or process raw products that are totally free of non-hazardous, naturally occurring, unavoidable defects,” the FDA reports.

By “defects,” the FDA means rodent hairs, insect eggs, mold, animal feces, fruit flies and maggots.

Here’s a few other items to consider:

• The FDA allows up to 4 percent of a can of cherries to have maggots (and 5 percent if they are brined or Maraschino). 
• Up to one maggot (or five fly eggs) per 250 milliliters of canned fruit juice is also allowed.
• For tomato juice, the FDA limits up to five fly eggs and one maggot per 100 grams, the equivalent of a small juice glass. 
• Up to 15 fly eggs and one maggot per 100 grams is allowed for tomato paste and other pizza sauces.

3. One of The Daily Dirt’s loyal readers, Georgia Bonecutter, dropped me a line about how smart it would be to start a beer company named “Responsibly.”

That way, your brand would be promoted by all the other companies at the end of their commercials when they advise you “to drink responsibly.” That Georgia, she’s a real peach!

Steve Thought O’ the Day — I may have to rethink my love of pizzas after putting together today’s thought No. 2.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. Is Georgia Bonecutter a real person?