Hi mellowblue,
Good grief, your daughter really is gullible! Does she know how to look things up online or at the library?
#1. If you go to this page on Wikipedia,
view link , you can read a general description of how peppercorns are processed.
#2. The statement about "bottom feeder fish" depositing whole worms on your plate if you eat the fish is beyond ridiculous. Does anybody eat whole fish that hasn't been gutted first? That's the only way I can think of that anything the FISH ate would end up on YOUR plate. Of course, if the fish's flesh was infected with a worm-like parasite, you might see that.
#3. Kosher food isn't any cleaner than any other food, processed or not. "Kosher" only means that the food was prepared according to Jewish dietary laws derived from the Torah, which rabbinical scholars define as being 'clean' or 'unclean' according to those standards. Pigs are considered to be "unclean" animals so pork is not eaten. Other animals considered "unclean" include shellfish - shrimp, oysters, lobsters, etc. "Foods are kosher when they meet all criteria that Jewish law applies to food and drinks. Invalidating characteristics may range from the presence of a mixture of meat and milk, to the use of produce from Israel that has not been tithed properly, or even the use of cooking utensils which had previously been used for non-kosher food." This is also from the Wikipedia page on the word "kosher."
Now for your question - Yes, it's true that the FDA does permit a small percentage of "foreign material" to be present in processed foods, for the simple fact that no process or processing method is perfect. Additionally, the USDA employs very few inspectors to inspect all the processed food produced in or imported into this country. For example, in processed raisins, inspectors look for striated hairs (rodent); adult, pupal, or eggs of flies; other insect eggs; feather barbules and barbs; insects and insect fragments; sand and grit; and mold. The raisin samples cannot have more than 3 hairs, more than 15 flies or parts; more than 74 insect eggs; more than 15 feather barbules or 1 barb; more than 59 insect fragments; more than 40 mg of sand or grit per 100 grams of raisins; or more than 5% moldy raisins by count. *This information is taken directly from USDA Inspection Procedures for Foreign Material, File Code 172-A-1, dated August 1996. Phone number given is 202-720-4693, in Washington, D.C.
So yes, a small percentage of contamination is "accepted" by USDA food inspectors, because nothing is perfect. I simply try not to think about it (and let's not even consider what goes on in restaurants!). Besides, I grew up on vegetables raised in our family's garden and know all too well how to pick worms out of corn or apples, lol! Your daughter and her strange friend need to educate themselves.
