Microanalytical quality of macaroni and noodles

A survey was conducted to determine the sanitary quality of macaroni and noodle products. The official method of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists was used to recover light filth such as insect fragments, whole or equivalent insects and rodent hair fragments from 225-g samples of macaroni and noodles (764 units of macaroni and 725 units of egg noodles). Insect fragments, the most frequently encountered defect, were found in 66% of the macaroni product samples and 83% of the egg noodle samples. Insect fragment counts ranged from 0 to 317 with a mean of 4.3 for macaroni products and 0 to 343 with a mean of 6.8 for egg noodles. Ranges of other defect counts in macaroni products were 0 to 5 for rodent hair fragments and 0 to 9 for whole or equivalent insects. Ranges of other defects in egg noodles were 0 to 12 for rodent hair fragments and 0 to 17 for whole or equivalent insects.