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On 28 April 2015, a Facebook user published the above-reproduced image and comment, claiming he and his wife found clearly live maggots inside a new jar of Bertolli spaghetti sauce they had bought at a Walmart in Grants Pass, Oregon. On 5 May 2015, the same individual published a second, similar claim. This time, the brand in question was Prego, and the content was a video demonstrating what appeared to be identical contamination found on the shelves of the same Walmart: On 29 April 2015, the claim was republished by Oregon news outlet KTVL, but it offered no information regarding whether they'd personally investigated the claim before sharing it, nor did it link to an article or video content with further information. As commenters observed, the depicted jar of Bertolli sauce had a visibly popped seal. However, it was impossible to tell whether or not the seal was broken before or after purchase. The seal was also broken on the Prego jar, but again, it was impossible to tell when. Scientifically, the notion that maggots could survive the canning process and go on to live in a sealed jar is (at the very least) suspect. Accepted safe temperatures in canning range between 240 and 250 degrees, a temperature well over the necessary level of heat to kill maggots and other forms of larvae. An entomologist commented on a similar claim of maggots in tomato cans or jars: It's extremely unlikely that maggots can survive the canning process, not to mention subsequent life in an acidic environment (such as tomato sauce, paste, or similar products). Occasionally, contamination occurs after jars are sealed, resulting in a popped lid. The photographs and videos in question appeared to depict unsealed jars of Bertolli and Prego sauce, and it was unclear at which point the purported contamination occurred.
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