M&M&Ms

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Sisters: M-Azing Bars Contained M-Aggots

POSTED: 12:55 pm CDT April 29, 2005

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Two Boca Raton sisters said they bit into some candy bars this week and surprisingly got a good dose of protein. They said they were trying out the new candy called M-azing, but ended up getting maggots.

Monica Castanheeira said she bought some M-azing chocolate bars Tuesday night to enjoy while watching videos with her sister, Renee, and her 4-year-old neice.

Castanheeira said she took a big bite and then felt something moving in her mouth.

"I look on the table and on the chocolate, and there's a maggot walking around," she said. "It's really disgusting."

The sisters said they found maggots in each of their chocolate bars. They said they found some that were very small and crawling and others had yet to hatch.

The sisters are so sickened, they went to the emergency room. They said the child is convinced there are bugs walking around in her stomach.

"We're investigating, obviously," said Master Foods USA, the producer of the chocolate. "And we're really sorry. Maggots are a result of fly larvae and could happen in a matter of days after our products have left our factories."

"When I think about it, I still feel it on my tongue," Castanheeira said. "I can't eat chocolate no more."

Castanheeira said she bought the candy at a Shell gas station. She said all the candy is off the shelves because she went back and bought it all to see if it was infested.

A state health investigator has been assigned to the case and will check out the candy bars as well.
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It turns out that the maggots werent there for the chocolate, but for the little finger tip that was in the caramel nougat center.
Who makes this candy bar? re they worth suin the crap outta?

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It might be a case a couple of enterprising sisters concoting a maggot story to make a few bucks. I always like to side with the little guy, but we have to look at all the variables.

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That's gross. I would have freaked right out!!!

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I believe the makers of M&Ms make those.

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Looks like I've eaten my last bag of M&Ms :-(

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As far as I know, maggots only eat rotten food.

Don't most manufacturers put preservatives in processed food?

That story sounds a tad fishy.

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How did the flies get inside the candy bar to lay eggs?

How did the eggs survive first the heating and then the compression and molding?

Maggots will eat only dead flesh--as opposed to living flesh, hence their value in treating gangrene. The flesh doesn't have to be rotting. Further they are not devout carnivoires--sugar and refined fat are just fine.

I've found maggots in dog biscuits that have been in an open box on a cupboard shelf. I complained to Purina (stressing the open box) and got six cents-off coupons for my anguish.

Candy wrappers are designed to keep out all sorts of vermin--including rats and mice than gnaw. Neither flies nor maggots are known as tool-using animals.

I'm from Missouri.

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Well, I'm from Texas.

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I hope you guys are right - I love M&Ms! I will have to do a search and see for myself. Anyone find this on an urban legends site?

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I worked in a restauraunt where we found maggots in the little indivudially wrapped cracker packets.

We called the cracker rep who immediately picked up the crackers. The only thing they could figure out was that the maggots were in the plastic stuff used to wrap the crackers.

So I guess I could see how you might find maggots in other wrapped foods.

Still, the fact that they went back and bought all the candy bars "to check for maggots" makes me pretty suspicious of their motives.

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Flies seek out warmth for laying their eggs. (Which is why you find maggots in rotting meat, feces, compost heaps, etc.)

And maggots (fly larvae)

http://www.no-face666.com/images/MAGGOT.JPG

certainly look similar to other larvae

http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/urban/beetles/flour_beetle_02.jpg

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Glad I didn't read this before lunch. Yecch!

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Here's what I got off the internet - it explains how they think the maggots got there. Now I can't even eat anything cereal related either.

http://www.bocaratonnews.com/index.php?src=news&prid=11488&category=Local%20News

The Castanheira family ultimately bought 20 of the candy bars, including several opened in the presence of a police officer and several local news outlets, to prove they were not making the story up.
Banks said she believed that flies dropped the maggot eggs into vats of chocolate at the Mars processing plant where the chocolate was made.
But Bobby Bickley, environmental administrator for the Florida Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Division, said it's more likely that flies got into the candy bar peanuts at a warehouse or silo.
"I'm guessing these peanut-flavored bars have some cereal product in them that had eggs in them already," Bickley said.
He added, "It's pretty common for bug parts to get into rice, grain and peanuts. We get calls every day from someone who finds a grasshopper in a can of beans. We look at it and say, ?'yep, it's a grasshopper.' It's not harmful."
The Food Safety Division's 128 inspectors are responsible for regulating more than 47,000 Florida food establishments, including grocery stores and gas stations. Inspectors were planning to investigate the Shell station by Monday, Bickley said.
"We'll look for other contaminated foods or unsanitary conditions," Bickley said. "We do consider maggots to be contamination. The candy bar package was not tampered with."

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I don't know how I missed out on so many replies. I guess the episode is finished with, ya think?

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