How should broccoli be checked for bugs?
• ANSWER: Broccoli, Fresh DESCRIPTION: Broccoli is a green vegetable resembling a miniature tree. Its thick central stem divides into many smaller branches, which are crowned with tightly clustered green florets. INFESTATION: Broccoli may be infested with a variety of insects, most prominently aphids and thrips. The aphids are green or white, but will often turn brown during the parboiling (partial cooking) that is done to prepare the vegetable for inspection (see Inspection, below). The thrips are usually black or gray. Also present at times is the broccoli worm, a thin white or light greenish worm of about a half inch’s length. This worm, when present, is difficult to discern because it looks like one of the thin stems. Our research has indicated that infestation levels of broccoli grown domestically (USA, Canada, but not Mexico) vary by season. During the winter months, (approximately November through March), infestation level is around 10%. Broccoli grown during this season should
