Recently, a sack of whole grain organic rice that we bought became infected with small black bugs. We bought the rice in the bulk bins at the same organic supermarket we always visit, but this time we didn't cook it until a few weeks after buying it. Since, the rice was stored in a sealed plastic bag, it seems like the bugs (or their eggs?) must have been in the rice when we bought it. Is this normal? Should I worry about buying rice there again? Is there a better way I should be storing the rice? It was in a plastic sack with a twist-tie.
Rice – Keeping bugs out of rice
cleaningricestorage-method
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Best Answer
Those bugs are probably weevils. I would take it back to the store and ask for a refund. If the rice is the only grain with bugs, chances are the larvae were already in the rice.
The weevils are about 1/4 inch long and they have a little tube sticking out of their head. The larvae take about 35 days to emerge from inside the kernels. A farmer can only control a weevil infestation with chemicals, which would preclude the organic label, and there is just so much frogs and birds can eat.