Home-stored product entomology

Home-stored product entomology is the study of insects that infest foodstuffs stored in the home. It deals with the prevention, detection and eradication of pests.

This field is strongly related to forensic entomology, as consumers who find contaminated products may choose to take legal action against the producers. Suitably qualified entomologists are likely to be able to determine the identity of contaminant species, even when no insects are found and the only evidence of infestation is the resulting damage. They should also be able to determine whether the foodstuff was contaminated before or after purchase.

If these insects are found infesting stored products, it is not practical to automatically assume the store or producer is at fault. Although some infestations are not the consumer's fault, producers are held by the FDA action defect levels to ensure their product does not contain more than the allotted amount of insects, insect fragments, or larvae. If a stored product is found to be infested by insects, and it is suspected that someone other than the consumer is at fault, a forensic entomologist can be contacted to make a determination. Again, it should not be assumed that these are the only five insects found in a common household pantry, but due to the large number of infestations by these five major groups, it can be safely deduced that it is perhaps one of these five. Stored product entomology is an important forensic field that is important to not only the government and the FDA but also the general public, as it is involved in the consumption of food in everyday life.