# True or False? \[Does spam have maggots in it?\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 6, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066 "2008-08-06T19:10:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![swalerroe7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@swalerroe7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swalerroe7)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/1 "2008-08-06T19:10:00Z")
If you open up a can of spam, slice a few pieces and then leave them exposed on your kitchen counter you will find “maggots” have been in this stuff all along! Is this true or just an urban myth? 😕 This is my first post so I wanted to make a good impression!!! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/2 "2008-08-06T19:13:20Z")
Untrue. You can have maggots in about half a day, if flies in your house lay eggs on it. They have a fast reproduction rate. Feel free to preview your posts to maintain quality. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/3 "2008-08-06T19:14:19Z")
How would they survive the canning process? Why is _maggots_ in quotations? ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/4 "2008-08-06T19:20:32Z")
Since you want to “make a good impression”, I gently suggest that you may want to refrain from posting in colors which are hard to read. The answer to your question is “of course not”, as others have noted. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/5 "2008-08-06T19:27:04Z")
Ugh, this thread made me wriggle uncontrollably. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/6 "2008-08-06T19:33:16Z")
As others have said, the notion is patently ridiculous. However, if you send yourself through a transporter of your own design with a fly trapped inside with you and then knock up Geena Davis … ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Ryle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8dc957/32.png) [@Mark\_Ryle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Ryle)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/7 "2008-08-06T19:34:07Z")
I caught a mouse in a trap overnight above a dropped ceiling and put him outside next moring in a garbage can with some yard waste at the bottom and a tight lid. Next day he was swarming with “maggots.” By garbage night, a total of 2-1/2 days after putting him in the garbage can, nothing was left but fur and bones. At what point is it likely flies got to him? I’m wondering if they got to him during the few hours overnight he was caught in the trap. Do flies operate in the dark? ---
**Author:** ![This\_ll\_Do](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/this_ll_do/32/3023_2.png) [@This\_ll\_Do](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/This_ll_Do)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/8 "2008-08-06T19:41:22Z")
Welcome to the boards, **swalerroe7**. False. While cruising I’ve opened a can of Spam for breakfast and kept it unrefrigerated all day (even in the tropics) before frying up the rest for supper. Never saw any maggots. Hasn’t poisoned me so far, either. I think it must have an awful lot of preservatives. I like Spam. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/9 "2008-08-06T19:42:23Z")
From one of the “Big Secrets” books by William Poundstone, in a section on processed meat products, here’s some info on how SPAM is made. It’s ground, mixed and packed at 34F (to minimize growth of bacteria). It’s then vacuum packed into tins which are cooked (and thus sterilized) in a big oven - 70 minutes at 230F. Until you open the can, SPAM is pretty stable. I’ve never eaten the stuff but I understand that it’s got an extraordinarily long shelf life (years). Anyhow, if a fly managed to lay an egg in the meat before it got packed, the vacuum and subsequent cooking would kill it. Hormel has sold literally billions of tins of SPAM - if it was full of maggots there’d be plenty of proof by now (and Hormel would be in deep doodoo). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/10 "2008-08-06T19:48:34Z")
[QUOTE=This’ll Do] I like Spam. [/QUOTE] Are you sure you wanted to say that here on the intertubez? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/11 "2008-08-06T20:00:50Z")
[QUOTE=This’ll Do] I like Spam. [/QUOTE] Me too. If you cut it into slices and fry it, it goes pretty well with pancakes. ---
**Author:** ![This\_ll\_Do](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/this_ll_do/32/3023_2.png) [@This\_ll\_Do](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/This_ll_Do)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/12 "2008-08-06T20:04:00Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Are you sure you wanted to say that here on the intertubez? [/QUOTE] Gah! You’re right; I should be more cautious. 😃 Attention all bots: While I luurve Hormel’s tasty canned swine flesh, I have no interest in enlarging my breasts or my non-existent penis. I do not take narcotics; I don’t need any Viagra. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/13 "2008-08-06T20:09:07Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Are you sure you wanted to say that here on the intertubez? [/QUOTE] Somebody has to do [this.](http://www.detritus.org/spam/skit.html) . I feel like a cheap slut for Spam. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/14 "2008-08-06T20:19:14Z")
[QUOTE=Valgard] Hormel has sold literally billions of tins of SPAM - if it was full of maggots there’d be plenty of proof by now (and Hormel would be in deep doodoo). [/QUOTE] To be fair, if they were in deep doodoo, the maggots would be more likely. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/15 "2008-08-06T20:24:53Z")
Welcome to the boards! Another good impression suggestion – try and make your post titles descriptive, else fewer people will read the thread (and descriptive titles are generally more polite). Welcome 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/16 "2008-08-06T21:24:20Z")
[QUOTE=Mark Ryle] I caught a mouse in a trap overnight above a dropped ceiling and put him outside next moring in a garbage can with some yard waste at the bottom and a tight lid. Next day he was swarming with “maggots.” By garbage night, a total of 2-1/2 days after putting him in the garbage can, nothing was left but fur and bones. At what point is it likely flies got to him? I’m wondering if they got to him during the few hours overnight he was caught in the trap. Do flies operate in the dark? [/QUOTE] When a body dies it puts out an oder you and I cannot detect but attracts flies…like flies. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/17 "2008-08-06T22:46:06Z")
[QUOTE=This’ll Do] I like Spam. [/QUOTE] Me, too. Here’s a heavenly [concoction](http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/2142835/spammusubibanditaflickrcreativecommonssharealike2.0-main_Full.jpg). Beware; it’s addictive. I’ve never seen any maggots in my Spam, though. If they did happen to get into some pre-Spam pork, they’re thoroughly cooked and salted before ending up on my musubi. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/18 "2008-08-06T22:57:43Z")
[QUOTE=Lobsang] Ugh, this thread made me wriggle uncontrollably. [/QUOTE] Once again, “Are you sure you wanted to say that here on the intertubez?” ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/19 "2008-08-06T23:35:10Z")
Mmm. Spam musubi. With furikake in the rice and a wee bit of ume paste. . mmm. Oh, false. Spam is a favorite recipient of ULs. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/20 "2008-08-06T23:40:37Z")
During WW ll\*, we ate a ton of Spam; I was very young and didn’t know any better. We continued eating the stuff for a couple of years after war and I actually got to like it. I ate it in college and on fishing/camping trips right to my early thirties. I tried to eat Spam a year or so ago and couldn’t stand it. Age robs one of so many previously enjoyable things. \*Yes, I remember several things about the war years and I vividly remember the day my Father came home and announced that the war was finally over. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066.md?page=2)