The next time you take a big bite of a peanut butter sandwich and savor the taste, ponder this: It has been processed by a food manufacturer and inspected by the federal government, so you think it is PURE peanut butter. Not necessarily! Under federal FDA guidelines, peanut butter may contain up to 30 insect fragments per 3 ounces and still be considered "safe" for human consumption!!!

The FDA has set ceilings, or "action levels," for certain contaminants, or "defects," as the FDA likes to call them, for various foods. Several of these action levels are:

* Golden raisins----35 fly eggs per 8 ounces
* Popcorn----2 rodent hairs per pound
* Shelled peanuts----20 insects per 100 pounds
* Canned mushrooms----20 maggots per 3.5 ounces
* Tomato juice----10 fly eggs per 3.5 ounces

The FDA can mount inspections and raids to enforce its action levels. If it finds that the federal tolerance system has been violated, it can seize the offending food and destroy it at the owner's expense.

The courts have upheld the presence of some contamination in food as lawful under the federal FDCA (Food, Drug. and Cosmetic Act). For example, in one case, the court found that 28 insect parts in 9 pounds of butter did not violate the act. The court stated, "Few foods contain no natural or unavoidable defects. Even with modern technology, all defects in foods cannot be eliminated." ---- United States v. Capital City Foods, Inc., 345 F.Supp.277,1972 U.S.Dist. Lexis (N.D. Dist.)

Bon appetit! : )