Woman Goes to Cook With Flour, Left Horrified by What's Crawling Over It

As Thanksgiving preparations are in full swing in kitchens across the country, you might want to have a closer look at the flour in your pantry. One woman has warned others to "check your flour" before using it following a shocking discovery in the container.

The woman captured the moment in a video posted from her TikTok account, @jennaliveswell. The clip has had 9.8 million views since it was first posted on November 24. The footage shows her standing at a kitchen counter opening a container of flour. She is suddenly seen with her mouth wide open in shock, as she lifts the lid and looks into the container.

"No," she says before holding her hand to her mouth. The camera then zooms in on the inside of the container, where tiny anti-like bugs are seen crawling around on the surface of the flour. The footage later shows the side of the clear container, where the bugs are shown moving further down in the flour container.

In a caption shared with the post, the woman said: "I have so many questions," such as "where did you come from?" and "why did my container not prevent this?" and "did I buy already infested flour?"

TikTok users were equally intrigued by the bugs in the video, with some saying they are weevils. They are likely to be flour beetles, according to a January WebMD article medically reviewed by Dr. Zilpah Sheikh.

The article explains: "People may refer to the tiny insects sometimes found in bags of flour as 'weevils,' but they're more likely to be flour beetles." The article noted that "true weevils are rarely found in flour," adding that "flour beetles only eat finely milled grains such as flour and meal."

Flour and grain beetles are small brown insects that infest grain, flour and animal feeds. While they affect the quality of the stored food products, they are "harmless if accidentally ingested," notes the website of the Virginia Cooperative Extension, a partnership of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and local governments.

Throwing away any infested food items and storing the remaining food in tight-sealing containers is the key to controlling these pests, the university website notes.

"Discard heavily infested material and place remaining foods in new containers with tight sealing lids. Vacuum kitchen cabinets and shelving thoroughly, which removes any spilled flour dust and crumbs in the cracks and crevices that support pantry pests. Wiping the cabinets down may make a paste of the flour that is very difficult to remove fully," the university website warns.

'Really Gross' and 'So Disgusted'

In a caption shared with the viral TikTok post, the woman noted: "Last time I used normal people flour was this time last year. SO, were they [the bugs] just chilling in my pantry all year??????"

"What are they? Gross," the woman says in the clip, before later saying: "wow, it's really cool but really, really gross."

"Oh my god," she says before quietly putting the lid back on the container and closing it shut before the clip ends.

Viewers on TikTok were panicked by the discovery in the viral video.

Emily said: "I am so scared to go check my flour right now."

Sarah81756 asked: "How do they get into an airtight container?!"

Heyyyyy said: "I literally felt SO disgusted when this happened to me..."

Liv wrote: "Now I'm wondering how many times I've eaten them."

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.

A file photo of a person pouring flour onto a kitchen counter. A video of a woman who was shocked to find "infested flour" in her pantry has gone viral on TikTok. iStock / Getty Images Plus

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