Is it safe to eat apples with apple maggot trails? - Ask Extension
Is it safe or healthy to eat raw apples with some apple maggot trails in them? Attached is a photo of some slices. The apples are from an old unspraye...
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Is it safe to eat apples with apple maggot trails? #277658
Asked September 12, 2015, 2:59 PM EDT
Is it safe or healthy to eat raw apples with some apple maggot trails in them? Attached is a photo of some slices. The apples are from an old unsprayed apple tree in the backyard of an unoccupied rental house in my neighborhood.
Ramsey County Minnesota
Expert Response
If you can get past the ick-factor of finding an occasional worm, they are perfectly safe. Some people make applesauce or cider out of worm-ridden apples. But there is no reason they can't be eaten raw. The worms will not survive the acid drenching they'd get in your stomach.
However, I'll add a couple of warnings. If the fruit is too far gone, or has dropped to the ground, I'd not eat it. The maggots might not make you sick, but bacteria in the rotting fruit, or something that entered the apple on the ground might. Furthermore, apple maggot larvae eventually turn the flesh mushy and unpalatable. And the fruit drops to the ground prematurely, before fully ripening.
However, I'll add a couple of warnings. If the fruit is too far gone, or has dropped to the ground, I'd not eat it. The maggots might not make you sick, but bacteria in the rotting fruit, or something that entered the apple on the ground might. Furthermore, apple maggot larvae eventually turn the flesh mushy and unpalatable. And the fruit drops to the ground prematurely, before fully ripening.
