Everyone has slightly different tastes when it comes to food and eating. However, from time to time, we can all bear witness to culinary creations so vile, unfortunate, or misguided that one might struggle to find a single individual on this planet who would eat it.
So some netizens decided to document and share the worst, most cursed food items they have ever encountered. From the dish now being the lair of insects to cooking standards so low they are underground, be warned, these images are not exactly pleasant. If you do stick around, be sure to upvote your favorites and comment your thoughts below.
#1 I Was Eating This For A Good Minute Before Realising Those Weren’t Grains In My Granola
Image credits: Beatlemaniac9
#2 Woke Up Thirsty And Reached For My Drink
Pitch black as I took a sip it felt like some food had fallen in against my lips….stopped drinking and got my torch out – this is what I saw! (For the record yes that is a pint glass!)
Image credits: chrismikehunt
Despite all the wonders of modern science, logistical knowledge, and food regulations, something always manages to slip through the cracks. This is why it’s good that many of the unfortunate folks in this list documented their experience, so we all get a reminder of what the world would be like without some decent food regulations.
Of course, restaurants and food producers can’t exactly be trusted with keeping everything nice and clean, this is why most nations have agencies dedicated to regulating the things we eat. Even worse, companies will make completely untrue statements about their products, so it’s helpful to have a way to hold them accountable.
#3 I Found These In The Fish I Was Eating
Image credits: Tickle_Till_I_Puke
#4 I’m Pretty Sure I Just Accidentally Ate A Spiders Nest. I Want To Take A Blowtorch To My Mouth
Image credits: slowgold20
#5 I Was About To Eat This… And It’s Still Alive
Image credits: WEXYLWOXYL
Having bugs in your food is unfortunate and pretty disgusting, but the things we can’t see can often be just as bad. For example, radioactive sheep. If you haven’t ever encountered a radioactive sheep, congratulations, you probably have your own government’s food safety regulator to thank. For example, the Food Standards Agency of the UK only lifted some restrictions on sheep trade in 2012 that had been in place since the 1986 Chornobyl catastrophe.
#6 So I Was Eating A Poptart Today When
Image credits: HunnerWade
#7 Wtf Is This Thing I Found In My Can Of Sardines? Accidentally Ate Some Of It. Am I A Goner?
Image credits: reddit.com
#8 This Is A Cashew. I Almost Ate It
Image credits: jadiepants
The US, for example, maintains the National Chicken Council, the National Pork Board, and the National Turkey Federation, all of which picked different nouns to follow the foodstuff they regulate for some reason. Jokes aside, these non-profits work to make sure meat and other products from these specific animals are clean and not dangerous for consumption.
#9 Just Eating Food At My Dining Hall When I Found This Guy
Image credits: reddit.com
#10 I Didn’t Notice Until I Ate Them
Image credits: yoyoyoyo-yoda
#11 Mmmmn, Extra Protein
Image credits: -Damien-
If these names seem a bit silly to you, just remember that they are still improvements, for example, the aforementioned National Chicken Council (the NCC) was once the National Broiler Council until 1999. The bad boy of the bunch, the National Pork Board, has gotten into some hot water for funneling money into the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) to limit lobbying.
#12 I Drank The Water And Popped It Open
Image credits: EnigmaEcstacy
#13 Woke Up For Some Water. Thank God I Turned On The Light Before Taking A Sip
Image credits: NoYellowFlowers
#14 My Sister Bought Some Strawberries From A Very Large Grocery Chain In Bc Canada. Comes With A Live Prize Inside!
Image credits: muttonwar
However, smaller stores, bodegas, and eateries often bend rules in all sorts of ways or simply ignore proper cleanliness guidelines. Without regular inspections as well as whistleblowers from the public, it’s easy to see how any takeaway or ready-to-eat meal should be viewed with the utmost suspicion.
#15 Almost Ate This On My Bike Ride Today
Image credits: Lehman12
#16 Look Closer When Chopping Veggies. I Almost Ate This. I Don’t Want The Extra Protein, Thanks
Image credits: reddit.com
#17 I Did Say I Wanted More Protein
Image credits: anon
Of course, most people are still wholeheartedly opposed to the idea of consuming insects, particularly if they just wandered into the dish. However, there are parts of the world where everything from silkworms to crickets are normal things to eat. Freeze-drying technology has allowed some of these “delicacies” to be available worldwide, so you be the judge.
#18 After Taking A Few Bites Of My Chicken Sandwich, I Finally Looked At It
Image credits: theunoriginalDr
#19 This Watermelon I Bought Started Foaming
Image credits: JQMan4
#20 Found Some Extra Proteins In My Nesquik
Image credits: NotRed_0
Much of the opposition towards eating insects can come from examples like the images in this list. Maggots and other sorts of insects in our food are generally indicators of poor sanitary conditions and possibly spoiled food. It’s hard to imagine eating something that your brain thinks is directly related to rotten foodstuffs.
#21 I Was Eating A Hash Brown From McDonald’s On The Way Home When I Felt Something On The Bottom
Image credits: LinkBoyJT
#22 Brand New Bag Of Nuggets. Why Does It Look Like A Tiny Chicken Hatching Out?
Image credits: edgeofruin
#23 Inside My Krispy Krunchy Chicken Leg Is An Unusual Orange, Stringy Substance
Image credits: SomeY2KBullshit
In much of the West, there are still some significant regulatory limitations around eating insects. Even when they are classified as a novel food, i.e. an ingredient that does not have a long history of consumption, there are often regulations around how they can be prepared and stored. In most cases, like, for example, with the house crickets, the requirement is that it must be freeze-dried.
#24 Made French Toast And Found Plastic Inside The Bread I Was Eating
Image credits: Huuyu
#25 Was Eating Chicken From The Local Food Truck When Suddenly
Image credits: reddit.com
#26 Ate Almost All Of My Pancakes At Ihop When I Realized This
Image credits: AlmostAriel
We can’t just blame insects, in some cases, it’s humans behind a pan or deep-fat fryer that are the cause of all the misery. Despite multiple generations of knowledge, some establishments still don’t make sure to properly cook their meat. On the flip side, some parents are so deathly afraid of undercooked meat that their children only taste pork and beef that hasn’t been overcooked later in life.
#27 I Was Enjoying My Thai Food, When Suddenly… Crunch. I Can’t Find The Rest
Image credits: reddit.com
#28 Last Semester I Got Food Poisoning From Food That Came From My University’s Dining Hall, But I Had No Proof. This Semester Is A Different Story
Image credits: autere
#29 I Was Eating A Chocolate Santa And I Felt Something Stick To My Tongue. Cobweb!
Image credits: EvilEngineNumberNine
The moral of all of this is that it’s best to know where your food and beverages come from and to always look before biting. If this wasn’t enough cursed food for you, Bored Panda has got you covered, check out our other article on the Cursed Foodposting Facebook group. It features horrible recipes, cooking fails and more bugs in places where they shouldn’t be.
#30 This Was In My Stir Fry, Luckily I Hadn’t Started Eating Yet
Image credits: rhgla
#31 As Far As The Whole Retail/Food Service Debate, This Is My Only Argument: A Customer Leaving A Bloody Paper Towel In Our Cookie Display
Image credits: KabbyCakes99
#32 I See Your Stamped Burger And Raise You An Even Worse Stamped Sausage Mcmuffin. Yes Of Course I Ate It
Image credits: reddit.com
#33 Donuts At Our Locla 7/11 (Yes That Is Flies And Rat Shit)
Image credits: Aun0nym0us
#34 Was Eating Breakfast At A Restaurant When I Noticed
Image credits: squidbilly89
#35 So, I Was Eating Grapes In The Dark And Noticed A Lot Of The Grapes Had A Web Like Substance On Them
Image credits: sickleshwam
#36 I Opened A Blow Pop Today And This Came Out. I Still Ate It
Image credits: Beatlegirl2
#37 Was Eating Mussels When I Found This In One Of The Shells
Image credits: JellyFire