I swear, eating while distracted is every bit as hazardous as driving in your sleep.
You know those little preservative packets in packages of food?
They’re called desiccant packets.
But I’ve always called them Do Not Eat packets.
Have you ever wondered what happens if you consume a Do Not Eat packet?
It’s not really something I ever gave much thought to, personally.
Until recently.
The thing is, I may have accidentally eaten one.
You’re probably wondering how that’s even possible.
Either you ate it or you didn’t, right?
Oh, I’m still scratching my head on this one, too.
It all started innocently enough.
I was ravenous, so I bought a bag of freeze-dried Fuji apples to devour on my drive home from work.
Shoveling handfuls of apples into my mouth, I found myself backed up in traffic about 10 minutes into my drive.
Figuring I had time to pass while waiting at a red light, I turned over the bag to read the nutrition facts.
Yeah, I’m weird like that.
It was a single serving bag.
Which was great, because the thing was dangerously close to empty already.
At least the ingredients were simple enough:
Freeze dried apples, ascorbic acid, and citric acid.
Not bad at all.
And 220% of vitamin C per serving.
Whew!
More than enough to ward off any threat of scurvy.
More importantly, it was made in the USA.
Because if I wanted to eat a toxic Chinese import, I’d chow down a box of so-called “non-toxic” crayons.
Or one of those questionable McDonald’s Happy Meal toys with 500 microscopic parts.
On second thought, those toxic little toys could also lead to asphyxiation.
Disturbingly enough, they aren’t not the only things that could present a safety hazard.
Further down on the apple bag was a warning.
Just some nonsense about a desiccant packet.
Yada yada yada.
Hey, wait a minute…
Holy crap!
The Do Not Eat packet!
Where the hell was the Do Not Eat packet?!?
Still sitting in an endless line of traffic, I dared a frantic peek into the bag.
There was hardly anything left in it.
Mostly crumbs, really.
And no sign of the packet.
Maybe they had forgotten to put one in this package?
Or…
Could I seriously have just eaten the stupid thing?
I mean, really?
How would I have missed that?
Even among generous fistfuls of apples, surely I’d have noticed a difference in texture or flavor.
Especially once biting into the packet and unleashing sand-like particles.
Were my senses that off?
Were my standards that low?
And I may very well have reached a new low with this dilemma.
You might think I’d have been more concerned for my safety.
After all, I could have ingested a potentially hazardous substance, for all I knew.
Yet, I found the whole thing mildly amusing.
Did this kind of stuff actually happen to other people?
Or was it truly just me?
By this point, I’m pretty well convinced it’s just me.
When I arrived home 20 minutes later, I Googled “accidental ingestion of desiccant packet”.
Which immediately directed me to the poison control website.
The information was surprisingly reassuring.
Apparently, one can safely scarf down the equivalent of an entire shoebox-worth of those packets and likely only experience stomach discomfort.
I can (almost) understand accidentally wolfing down one of those suckers…
But who would unknowingly devour a whole box of that crap?
A dog, maybe?
One with lower standards than me, perhaps?
Continuing on with my online self-diagnostics, I grabbed a couple of mini blueberry muffins.
Still needing a little more reassurance, I decided to test out a theory.
Leaving the wrapper intact, I made a simulated attempt at eating a muffin.
Would I notice when I bit into a chunk of the thin paper?
Would I?
I was genuinely intrigued now.
I immediately noticed the texture difference between the yummy moist muffin and the grainy paper.
But then, I also wasn’t distracted the same way I had been while driving.
I still wasn’t convinced.
A tray of sugar packets caught my eye a few days later at a restaurant.
I swiped one and shoved it in my purse.
To test something out a little later, just for kicks.
Let’s just say I didn’t get too far with that one.
The paper had the consistency of notebook paper, and the sugar felt like grains of sand.
But there was no mistaking a foreign substance’s assault on my palate.
Even so, a Do Not Eat packet was still smaller and not as grainy as a packet of sugar.
Whether I did or did not eat a desiccant packet still remains a mystery.
But the fact of the matter is, I’m more or less okay after maybe or maybe not having eaten one.
I think.
~Happy Friday, friends! Have a great weekend!~
(The Baddest Apple originally appeared on Comically Quirky on 09/17/15.)
Whether the disiccant packet made its way into your system or not, I surely had a good laugh!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is pretty funny. And disturbing…
But the good news is, I’m still alive and well. 😛
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha! That is good enough! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good to know it takes an entire shoebox worth to become a problem. I always worried about the kids eating them in the packets of beef jerky. It wouldn’t occur to me that they’d be in a bag of freeze- dried fruits.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is nice to know we can eat desiccant packets by the handfuls without any unnecessary concern. 😆
LikeLike
Hah!
LikeLiked by 1 person
😁
LikeLike
thank GOD you’re still alive! :0)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha! Thanks! 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
Now that’s a crazy story! 🙂
On Fri, Sep 14, 2018 at 2:24 PM comically quirky wrote:
> Quirky Girl posted: “I swear, eating while distracted is every bit as > hazardous as driving in your sleep. You know those little preservative > packets in packages of food? They’re called desiccant packets. But I’ve > always called them Do Not Eat packets. Have you eve” >
LikeLike
Hi there.
Many products (certain breads, salad dressings, etc., etc.) have so many additives of one kind or another, our bodies are the subjects of numerous chemistry experiments.
Have a great weekend. See ya —
Neil S.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And what a scary thought that is. On the positive side, perhaps this now makes humans self-preserving…? 😛
Hope your weekend is off to a great start! 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
As soon as I saw the image I knew this was going to be “that” post! It was one of the first I ever read on your blog, and since I come across these silica packets by the boatload at work while stocking shelves, I tend to think of it a lot when those annoying things pop out of every single wrapped picture frame! Along with being great to eat, they’re also good at stopping a shopping cart or pallet jack on a dime when they inevitably end up all over the floor…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha! I think this one is especially memorable, if only for the fact that not many people seem to know anyone who has eaten a desiccant packet and lived to tell the tale. 😂🤣😂
LikeLike
You know, I have NEVER seen those packets within food here in the UK. We tend to get them inside new handbags. I am still baffled by them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yes, we have them inside handbags and shoeboxes as well. I, too, find their presence a bit baffling. Even more so after possibly eating one… 😬😜
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well – you live to tell the tale. They lie in their warnings 😀
LikeLike
I have never seen one if a food item – does that jsut happen in US, or do I not eat the right “wrong” kind of food that needs silica gel.
LikeLiked by 2 people
It sounds like that must be a US-only thing. And I’m starting to question why that is…Yikes! 😬
LikeLiked by 1 person
Seems really weird to me that they would stick something that you shouldn’t eat – in something that you DO eat. What about folks who can’t read – or are vision impaired?
LikeLiked by 1 person
It really doesn’t seem very logical, does it? 😣
LikeLiked by 1 person
‘Were my standards that low?’
So funny. 😆
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha! Thanks! And yes, I’m starting to wonder about my level of standards. They seem to continue to go from low to lower, if that’s possible. 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOL!
I’ve always wondered if I would notice if I accidentally ate one of those packets while mindlessly scarfing down jerky. I think it’s hilarious that you tested it with the sugar packet.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Evidently, a person may or may not even notice if they unintentionally ingested a non-food item, a point I may have unwittingly proved. 🤣🤣🤣
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha you are funny. Good to know no harm done whether you did or did not eat the silica gel.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! It works out quite well that I enjoy finding the humor in some of my more head-scratching, mortifying moments. 😝
LikeLike
Hilarious! !!!!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks! I swear, I don’t typically make a habit of eating inedible objects. 🤣
LikeLiked by 1 person
Damn Angelica, that’s a first. I never knew anyone that thought they ate that DO NOT EAT package. Regardless if you were driving, I think you’re taste buds would’ve detected a significant change in taste from the Fuji apple to that packet. Guess you were really hungry huh? That’s crazy…glad you lived to tell the tale. Now I’m going to be more self conscious of that packet whenever I open up something I bought from the store.
LikeLiked by 1 person
In my defense, I was pretty hungry. 😝
But at least after reading this, you’ll be extra vigilant about watching out for rogue Do Not Eat packets so you don’t ever end up in a similar situation. 😆
LikeLike
The good news is you lived to tell the story👍
LikeLiked by 1 person
Most definitely 😝
LikeLike
It was a desiccant package. Were you really, really, really thirsty afterwards? Yes – ate the sucka. No – it’s under your car seat. Sheesh, I should charge for this advice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Whew! No, I don’t recall feeling unusually thirsty after the fact. And now I’m tempted to start rummaging under the seat of the car, just to see if that’s where it ultimately ended up, rather than in my belly. 😜
LikeLike
Thanks for the PSA and the chuckle.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy to help! 😁
LikeLike
Youtune video of one shoebox full of silica gel required, thx 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
(spelling mistakes politely ignored by everybody ). 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha! Wouldn’t it be great if WordPress allowed us to edit our comments? (Hint, hint WordPress!) 😜
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m hard-pressed to even find an image of a shoebox full of those packets, let alone a whole YouTube video 😝
LikeLiked by 1 person