As a subject matter expert in food safety and regulations, I can provide you with information on the FDA's guidelines regarding the presence of insects and other natural defects in food products.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has established certain guidelines for the natural defect levels in food products, which includes the acceptable number of insect fragments or other defects that are unavoidable due to the nature of the product. These guidelines are detailed in the FDA's "Defect Levels Handbook" and are based on the average of defects per 100 grams of food.

For example, the FDA allows an average of 3 rodent hairs in 100 grams of certain food products like powdered chocolate. In the case of canned fruits, the FDA permits up to an average of 2% fruit by count to be insect-damaged, which means that out of 100 pieces of fruit, 2 can be infested.

It's important to note that these are averages and not strict limits. The FDA expects that food manufacturers will take steps to minimize these defects, and the presence of these defects does not necessarily indicate that the food is unsafe. The guidelines are in place to provide a practical approach to quality control and consumer protection.

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The handbook allows for up to 13 ��fragments�� of rodent excreta in a 24-ounce container. The government permits three maggots in your 28-ounce can of tomatoes. In a regular-sized 16-ounce jar of peanut butter, the FDA will allow up to 136 insect fragments and four rodent hairs.read more >>