Are there really dead wasps in figs? - Carolyn Beans

00:05:20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRfZf43dnj8

Ringkasan

TLDRIn 2023, a US grocer recalled broccoli cheddar soup due to excessive insect content, prompting a discussion on insect consumption in food. Figs, which have a unique relationship with wasps for pollination, serve as an example. Each fig species relies on specific wasps, leading to complex interactions. Humans have domesticated figs, allowing them to ripen without wasps, resulting in wasp-free fresh figs. However, dried figs may contain remnants of wasps. The FDA allows certain insect fragments in food, and Americans may unknowingly consume about a kilogram of insects annually, which can provide nutritional benefits.

Takeaways

  • 🦗 In 2023, a grocer recalled soup due to insect content.
  • 🌱 Figs rely on specific wasps for pollination.
  • 🍇 Fresh figs are typically wasp-free.
  • 🍂 Dried figs may contain remnants of wasps.
  • 📊 FDA permits insect fragments in food products.
  • 🍽️ Americans may eat around a kilogram of insects annually.
  • 🌍 Insects are part of traditional diets for over 2 billion people.
  • 🔬 Insects can provide added nutrition.
  • 🌳 Figs can ripen without pollination due to genetic mutation.
  • 🐝 Male wasps die inside figs after fertilizing females.

Garis waktu

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:20

    In 2023, a US grocer recalled over 10,000 cases of broccoli cheddar soup due to concerns about the presence of bugs. This raises the question of how many insects we actually consume and whether it's acceptable. Figs, for instance, have a unique relationship with fig wasps, which have been pollinating them for around 80 million years. Each fig tree species relies on specific wasp species for pollination, and the common fig has a complex breeding system involving both male and female parts. Female fig wasps enter figs to lay eggs, but if they enter a female fig, they die without offspring, although they do pollinate the fig. Human intervention has changed this dynamic, as domesticated figs can ripen without pollination, leading to a significant increase in fig production. While fresh figs are typically wasp-free, dried figs may contain remnants of wasps. The FDA allows certain levels of insect fragments in food, and Americans may consume about a kilogram of insects annually, which could even provide nutritional benefits.

Peta Pikiran

Video Tanya Jawab

  • Why was the broccoli cheddar soup recalled?

    It was recalled due to concerns about excessive insect content.

  • How do figs relate to wasps?

    Figs depend on wasps for pollination, with specific wasp species for each fig type.

  • Are fresh figs wasp-free?

    Yes, store-bought fresh figs are typically of varieties that ripen without pollination.

  • Do dried figs contain wasps?

    Dried figs may contain remnants of female wasps that attempted to lay eggs.

  • How many insects do Americans eat annually?

    Estimates suggest Americans consume around a kilogram of insects each year.

  • Is it safe to eat insects in food?

    Yes, the FDA permits certain amounts of insect fragments in food products.

  • What is the nutritional value of insects?

    Insects can provide added nutrition and are part of traditional diets for over 2 billion people.

  • How do figs reproduce without wasps?

    A genetic mutation allows figs to ripen without pollination, enabling human propagation.

  • What is the role of male wasps in fig reproduction?

    Male wasps fertilize females and create exit pathways before dying inside the fig.

  • What is the significance of the fig's structure?

    The fig's structure prevents female wasps from laying eggs, ensuring pollination instead.

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Gulir Otomatis:
  • 00:00:06
    In 2023, a US grocer recalled over 10,000 cases of broccoli cheddar soup
  • 00:00:12
    over concerns they contained too much of an unintended ingredient.
  • 00:00:16
    That ingredient? Bugs.
  • 00:00:19
    We know insects regularly come into contact with our food—
  • 00:00:22
    but how many are you actually eating? And is it okay?
  • 00:00:27
    Let’s start with an extreme example:
  • 00:00:30
    figs and their conspicuously close bond with certain bugs.
  • 00:00:35
    Around 80 million years ago, wasps started pollinating figs.
  • 00:00:39
    And today, each of the approximately 750 fig tree species
  • 00:00:43
    depends on at least one unique species of tiny wasps.
  • 00:00:47
    Pollinator-plant relationships can get hyper-specific.
  • 00:00:51
    And figs guard their flowers especially tight for fig wasps.
  • 00:00:55
    Technically, a fig isn't a fruit,
  • 00:00:57
    but a fleshy bundle derived from stem tissues
  • 00:01:00
    that holds hundreds of internal flowers— like a hidden garden.
  • 00:01:05
    Humans typically harvest one species: the common fig.
  • 00:01:09
    Its breeding system, called gynodioecy,
  • 00:01:11
    is seen in less than 1% of flowering plants.
  • 00:01:15
    It works with some common fig trees having seed-producing female parts,
  • 00:01:19
    while others, called caprifigs,
  • 00:01:21
    have both female seed-producing and male pollen-producing parts.
  • 00:01:26
    Wasps get involved when a female fig wasp full of eggs
  • 00:01:30
    follows odor cues to a common fig tree
  • 00:01:32
    and thrusts herself into the minuscule hole at a developing fig’s base.
  • 00:01:37
    From there, depending on whether it's a caprifig or a female fig,
  • 00:01:41
    things go one of two ways,
  • 00:01:43
    the outcome being either more wasps or more figs.
  • 00:01:48
    If it’s a caprifig, the wasp deposits her eggs into the flowers’ ovaries,
  • 00:01:52
    then dies.
  • 00:01:53
    Instead of developing seeds, those flower ovaries turn into galls
  • 00:01:58
    that nurture the wasp’s developing offspring.
  • 00:02:01
    Wingless and blind, the males hatch first, open the remaining galls,
  • 00:02:05
    and fertilize the developing females—
  • 00:02:08
    yes, oftentimes their sisters, unless another wasp laid eggs here.
  • 00:02:14
    Next, the males dig exit pathways they never use themselves
  • 00:02:18
    because they die before leaving the fig.
  • 00:02:21
    Finally, the already-fertilized females hatch,
  • 00:02:24
    exit through the male-made holes, getting coated with pollen on the way,
  • 00:02:28
    and fly off to other figs.
  • 00:02:31
    If a wasp winds up in a female fig, however,
  • 00:02:33
    she can’t lay her eggs because the flowers are structured differently.
  • 00:02:37
    So, she dies without offspring—
  • 00:02:40
    but she did pollinate the fig’s flowers, so the tree can reproduce.
  • 00:02:44
    Female wasps don’t know which kind of fig they’re entering—
  • 00:02:48
    and whether it’ll give her offspring or use her to make its own—
  • 00:02:52
    because fig trees smell the same, regardless of sex.
  • 00:02:56
    This ensures that a good portion of common figs can also reproduce
  • 00:03:00
    and not just further wasp-kind.
  • 00:03:03
    That was how things went— until humans intervened.
  • 00:03:07
    Archaeological records suggest that people in the Jordan Valley
  • 00:03:11
    grew figs some 11,400 years ago,
  • 00:03:14
    possibly making them the first domesticated crop.
  • 00:03:18
    When a genetic mutation emerged that allowed the tree’s fruit to ripen
  • 00:03:21
    without being pollinated, people began propagating it with cuttings.
  • 00:03:25
    And suddenly the common fig wasn’t beholden to wasps;
  • 00:03:29
    it had a new partner to multiply with.
  • 00:03:32
    The crop spread far and wide,
  • 00:03:34
    and today we harvest more than 1.3 million tons of figs annually.
  • 00:03:39
    So how many wasps are we eating?
  • 00:03:42
    Well, store-bought fresh figs
  • 00:03:43
    are typically of the common fig varieties that ripen without pollinators,
  • 00:03:48
    so they’re wasp-free.
  • 00:03:50
    Many that are sold dried, however, still require pollination.
  • 00:03:54
    But, of these, we usually don’t eat caprifig fruits,
  • 00:03:58
    where the mother wasp and her male offspring die.
  • 00:04:01
    Instead, we eat dried figs from female trees,
  • 00:04:04
    which may contain a female wasp that attempted—and failed—
  • 00:04:08
    to lay her eggs in it.
  • 00:04:10
    However, it’s also possible that the moisture and enzymes
  • 00:04:13
    figs naturally release break her body down.
  • 00:04:16
    Big picture, though, bugs are often harvested with our produce
  • 00:04:20
    or attracted to food processing facilities.
  • 00:04:22
    Eating them is kind of inevitable.
  • 00:04:25
    The US Food and Drug Administration actually permits certain amounts
  • 00:04:28
    of bug bits in different food products.
  • 00:04:31
    For example, no more than 30 insect fragments per 100 grams of peanut butter,
  • 00:04:36
    or over 2,500 aphids in 10 grams of hops.
  • 00:04:41
    Some estimates hold that Americans eat around a kilogram of insects annually—
  • 00:04:45
    without incident, and maybe even a little added nutrition.
  • 00:04:50
    After all, insects feature in over 2 billion people's traditional diets
  • 00:04:54
    and are relatively sustainable.
  • 00:04:56
    So, maybe chew on that.
Tags
  • insects
  • figs
  • pollination
  • wasps
  • food safety
  • FDA
  • nutrition
  • domestication
  • broccoli cheddar soup
  • recall