Random Funky Food Facts We Never Needed To Know (12 items)

(#7) Peanut butter
- Food
In its guidelines about food defects, the US Food & Drug Administration states that peanut butter can have 30 or more insect fragments per 100 grams. Additionally, one rodent hair is acceptable per 100 grams of peanut butter.

A 12-ounce jar is about 340 grams, meaning it can contain as many as three rodent hairs. Purchasing a 40-ounce jar would get you more than 1,100 grams of peanut butter, enough to mix in 11 acceptable rodent hairs.
(#12) Pringles Ff, Sour Cream And Onion
- Food
Pringles look like potato chips, they smell like potato chips, and even taste like potato chips - but technically, they're not actually chips.

Their recipe includes "dehydrated processed potato" alongside corn, rice, and wheat - with different flavors and products featuring additional additives. Because Pringles seem to lack real potato, the FDA determined in 1975:

Pringle's‐like chips made from dehydrated potatoes must be identified as “potato chips made from dried potatoes” in lettering on the label “not less than one‐half the size of the largest type in which the words ‘potato chips’ appear.”

Pringles don't claim to be potato chips, and argued before a court in 2008 that their "unnatural shape" and unique blend of ingredients weren't found in nature. This was an attempt to escape the value-added tax on food products sold in the UK. At first, the snacks were excluded from the tax, but in 2009, an appeals court decided Pringles were subject to VAT.
(#8) Pineapple
- Food
Pineapple contains a mixture of two enzymes called bromelain, a substance that breaks down proteins. Bromelain is also found in meat tenderizers due to its efficacy in digesting protein.

When you consume bromelain in pineapple, the enzyme eats away at the proteins in your mouth. Combine this with the acidity of the fruit itself, and you get that a tingle, a twinge, or even a burning on your tongue or other parts of your mouth.

Pineapples are the lone possessors of bromelain, with two different types: what's in the stems digests proteins better than that found in the fruit. Similarly, kiwifruit contains actinidin, papaya has papain, and figs possess ficin - all enzymes with comparable digestive properties.
(#1) Oysters
- Food
It's possible that when you eat a raw oyster, it's recently deceased, but it's more likely still alive. Eating a living oyster optimizes the freshness, flavor, and nutrient density of the meat and the juices contained within the oyster's shell. According to registered dietitian Alex Lewis:

Dead raw oysters run a greater risk of being infected with viruses and bacteria that can have a negative impact on your health - although the overall risk is relatively low.

Whether oysters feel pain is still a subject of debate, but there are additional things to consider when slurping. If you come upon a milky oyster, you're about to consume one that's spawning. Eating a spawning oyster isn't dangerous, but many people find the appearance and texture to be unpleasant.
(#10) Raspberry
- Food
Beavers produce castoreum, a substance sometimes used as a food additive; the rodents secrete it from their anal glands and use it to mark their territory. Castoreum contains hints of strawberry, raspberry, and vanilla. According to wildlife ecologist Joanne Crawford, it is actually quite pleasant:

I lift up the animal's tail and I'm like, "Get down there, and stick your nose near its bum." People think I'm nuts. I tell them, "Oh, but it's beavers; it smells really good."

Due to its appeal, castoreum may be used in perfumes and other fragrances, alongside food flavorings. It's considered safe by the US Food & Drug Administration, but the expense associated with it has caused its presence to decline. Reportedly, in 2011, five companies that produced vanilla flavors indicated they didn't use any castoreum.
(#5) Raisins
- Company
It's pretty common knowledge that a raisin is just a dried grape, but exactly how that grape is dried varies. In some instances, it's sun-drying, although the process can be lengthy. Artificial light and added heat often supplement the sun and expedite the drying.

Putting grapes out to dry attracts insects and leaves the fruit exposed to dirt, sand, and other particulates. To combat bugs, many companies use pesticides, but they don't always dissipate or get washed off during processing. According to a report from the US Department of Agriculture in 2020, 99% of raisins sampled and tested were contaminated with two or more pesticides.