The quality and type of food packaging affect the level of food protection against pests. This work first evaluated the effect of package perforations on the infestation of cereal-fruit bars by the eggs of the Indian meal moth (Plodia interpunctella). We measured the differential oviposition of moths on the unpackaged bars, empty packages, bars in packages and bars in perforated packages in choice and no-choice experiments. Almost 100% of the laid eggs were laid directly on the bars when they were placed in the enclosure without packaging. A low proportion of the eggs (0.4-3%) were laid on either the empty or non-perforated polypropylene foil packages. Plodia interpunctella efficiently located and infested the bars with eggs when 5 mm package perforations were present in no-choice test. In choice test P. interpunctella preferred to oviposit on open bars than on the packaged or perforated bars. After deposition on the bars the egg hatchability ranged between 40 and 74%. For the food industry, the most significant practical conclusions of this study are that non-perforated packages provide protection against oviposition of P. interpunctella, but small perforations enable the moth to infest the resource with eggs.

Crop Research Institute Drnovska 507 73 16106 Prague 6 Ruzyne Czech Republic

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Athanassiou CG, Riudavets J, Kavallieratos NG. Preventing stored-product insect infestations in packaged-food products. Stewart Postharvest Rev. 2011;3:1–5.

Bowditch TG. Penetration of polyvinyl chloride and polypropylene packaging films by Ephestia cautella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and Plodia interpunctella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) larvae, and Tribolium confusum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) adults. J Econ Entomol. 1997;90:1028–1031. doi: 10.1093/jee/90.4.1028. DOI

Djekic I, Jankovic D, Rajkovic A. Analysis of foreign bodies present in European food using data from rapid alert system for food and feed (RASFF) Food Control. 2017;79:143–149. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2017.03.047. DOI

Hamlin JC, Reed WD, Phillips ME (1931) Biology of the Indianmeal moth on dried fruits in California. USDA technical bulletin No. 242

Hubert J, Erban T, Nesvorna M, Stejskal V. Emerging risk of infestation and contamination of dried fruits by mites in the Czech Republic. Food Addit Contam Part A. 2011;28:1129–1135. doi: 10.1080/19440049.2011.584911. PubMed DOI

Hubert J, Stejskal V, Athanassiou CG, Throne JE. Health hazards associated with arthropod infestation of stored products. Annu Rev Entomol. 2018;63:553–573. doi: 10.1146/annurev-ento-020117-043218. PubMed DOI

Kavallieratos NG, Athanassiou CG, Arthur FH. Effectiveness of insecticide-incorporated bags to control stored-product beetles. J Stored Prod Res. 2017;70:18–24. doi: 10.1016/j.jspr.2016.11.001. DOI

Kucerova Z, Stejskal V. Comparative egg morphology of silvanid and laemophloeid beetles (Coleoptera) occurring in stored products. J Stored Prod Res. 2002;38:219–227. doi: 10.1016/S0022-474X(01)00016-9. DOI

Kucerova Z, Stejskal V. Differences in egg morphology of the stored-grain pests Rhyzopertha dominica and Prostephanus truncatus (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) J Stored Prod Res. 2008;44:103–105. doi: 10.1016/j.jspr.2007.06.005. DOI

Mohandass S, Arthur FH, Zhu KY, Throne JE. Biology and management of Plodia interpunctella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in stored products. J Stored Prod Res. 2007;43:302–311. doi: 10.1016/j.jspr.2006.08.002. DOI

Mowery SV, Mullen MA, Campbell JF, Broce AB. Mechanisms underlying sawtoothed grain beetle (Oryzaephilus surinamensis [L.])(Coleoptera: Silvanidae) infestation of consumer food packaging materials. J Econ Entomol. 2002;95:1333–1336. doi: 10.1603/0022-0493-95.6.1333. PubMed DOI

Mullen MA. Rapid determination of the effectiveness of insect resistant packaging. J Stored Prod Res. 1994;30:95–97. doi: 10.1016/0022-474X(94)90278-X. DOI

Nansen C, Phillips TW. Ovipositional responses of the Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner)(Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) to oils. Ann Entomol Soc Am. 2003;96:524–531. doi: 10.1603/0013-8746(2003)096[0524:OROTIM]2.0.CO;2. DOI

Olsson P-OC, Anderbrant O, Löfstedt C. Flight and oviposition behavior of Ephestia cautella and Plodia interpunctella in response to odors of different chocolate products. J Insect Behav. 2005;18:363–380. doi: 10.1007/s10905-005-3696-0. DOI

Phillips TW, Strand MR. Larval secretions and food odors affect orientation in female Plodia interpunctella. Entomol Exp Appl. 1994;71:185–192. doi: 10.1111/j.1570-7458.1994.tb01785.x. DOI

Riudavets J, Salas I, Pons MJ. Damage characteristics produced by insect pests in packaging film. J Stored Prod Res. 2007;43:564–570. doi: 10.1016/j.jspr.2007.03.006. DOI

Sambaraju KR, Phillips TW. Ovipositional preferences and larval performances of two populations of Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella. Entomol Exp Appl. 2008;128:283–293. doi: 10.1111/j.1570-7458.2008.00723.x. DOI

Sambaraju KR, Donelson SL, Bozic J, Phillips TW. Oviposition by female Plodia interpunctella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae): Description and time budget analysis of behaviors in laboratory studies. Insects. 2016;7:4. doi: 10.3390/insects7010004. PubMed DOI PMC

Scheff DS, Sehgal B, Subramanayam B. Evaluating penetration ability of Plodia interpunctella (Hübner)(Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) larvae into multilayer polypropylene packages. Insects. 2018;9:42. doi: 10.3390/insects9020042. PubMed DOI PMC

Silhacek D, Murphy C, Arbogast RT. Behavior and movements of Indian meal moths (Plodia interpunctella Hübner) during commodity infestation. J Stored Prod Res. 2003;39:171–184. doi: 10.1016/S0022-474X(01)00051-0. DOI

Stejskal V, Aulicky R, Kucerova Z. Pest control strategies and damage potential of seed-infesting pests in the Czech stores—a review. Plant Prot Sci. 2014;50:165–173. doi: 10.17221/10/2014-PPS. DOI

Stejskal V, Hubert J, Aulicky R, Kucerova Z. Overview of present and past and pest-associated risks in stored food and feed products: European perspective. J Stored Prod Res. 2015;64:122–132. doi: 10.1016/j.jspr.2014.12.006. DOI

Stejskal V, Bostlova M, Nesvorna M, Volek V, Dolezal V, Hubert J. Comparison of the resistance of mono-and multilayer packaging films to stored-product insects in a laboratory test. Food Control. 2017;73:566–573. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2016.09.001. DOI

Trematerra P. Aspects related to decision support tools and integrated pest management in food chains. Food Control. 2013;34:733–742. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2013.06.020. DOI

Trematerra P, Stejskal V, Hubert J. The monitoring of semolina contamination by insect fragments using the light filth method in an Italian mill. Food Control. 2011;22:1021–1026. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2010.11.026. DOI

Tsuji H. Ability of first instar larvae of the Indian-meal moth, Plodia interpunctella Hübner, to reach their food. Med Entomol Zool. 2000;51:283–287. doi: 10.7601/mez.51.283. DOI

Gel Carriers for Plant Extracts and Synthetic Pesticides in Rodent and Arthropod Pest Control: An Overview