Can You Eat Damaged Garden Vegetables?

Nearly one third of the food produced in the world is thrown away. Much of it is damaged fruits and vegetables. If you have your own garden, you may be tossing away less than perfect or even slightly damaged vegetables. In our culture that is skewed toward perfection, even the tiniest pinhole on some kale is often considered food waste and is tossed into the garbage bin. Is it safe to eat kale with holes in it? It often depends on what made the holes rather than the holes themselves. Curious if you can eat vegetables with holes? Read on to learn about eating damaged produce.

Many home gardeners are elated when their first crops are ready for harvest, some so much so that a few bug-eaten veggies are not a problem. Some immediately toss out damaged crops while others carefully cut around produce that’s been nibbled on by pests and eat the rest.

Whether or not a person should eat damaged produce is a mixture of personal opinion and science. In the end it really depends on what the damage is. For instance, a worm hole in an apple is absolutely not a big deal but a crop that has signs of mammal feeding or feces, or is just plain moldy, is a red flag.

Produce that has obviously been nibbled on by insects is worth a second inspection. If there are only a few holes and no evidence of the nibbler itself, in all likelihood it is safe to eat.

Produce that’s peppered with holes is less inviting. Depending upon how many holes there are, the fruit or veggie may have more holes than produce.

It may surprise you to know that the Food and Drug Administration has guidelines as to how many bugs are allowed in a type of food. They set the standard for maximum levels of natural or unavoidable defects in food destined for human consumption.

For