Accidental acarophagy: mites found on fruits, vegetables and mushrooms

Abstract: Considering the great abundance of mites in almost all habitats and their minute dimensions, acarophagy must be common and even humans eat lots of mites. The presence of mites was investigated in 90 food samples, representing 24 sorts of fruits, vegetables and mushrooms. Acarological analyses of the products detected the presence of 53 mite species of the orders Oribatida, Actinedida, Tarsonemida, Acaridida and Gamasida. Mainly the saprophagous soil-inhabiting oribatid mites, but also actinedid and tarsonemid mites, were frequently found in the analysed material. The highest number of mites was collected from fruits with uneven surface, covered with numerous hairs, e.g. raspberries, strawberries and red currants. About 50 % of mites still remained on vegetables and fruits after cleaning them in running water