Can I Eat Food That Flies Have Been on?

If you see flies on your food, don’t eat it. Flies do not chew, and instead spit the enzymes from their digestive tracts onto your food. Because of this, they may carry a variety of illnesses, such as cholera, typhoid, and dysentery. In fact, flies can be twice as germ-ridden as cockroaches.

While flies don’t normally harm humans, their presence on food is enough to make people sick. A recent survey by USA Today found that only three percent of people would be willing to eat food that had been touched by a fly. Moreover, flies may carry a pathogen, and the fly-contaminated food must be thrown away. Even if you are unable to get sick from flies, the bacteria they carry could make you ill for several days.

In addition to carrying hundreds of diseases, flies also leave behind eggs and feces. Their spit and droppings on your food can transmit these germs to you. It is therefore safer to throw away the food. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent food from becoming contaminated with flies.

One way to prevent food contamination from flies is to keep your kitchen clean. The USDA has a list of acceptable levels of pathogens on food. These levels can be found on Google.

Continue reading:

Can Fly’s Make Cats Sick? Can Fly Larvae Lay Eggs in Your Ear? Can Drain Flies Jump? How Can Flies Harm You? Can Flies Eat Dogs Ears? Can Flies Die in the Dark? Can Flies Cause Food Poisoning? Why Are There So Many Flies Outside My House?