# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![BF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5ac83/32.png) [@BF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BF)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/21 "2008-08-06T23:51:56Z")
[Homer Simpson]Mmmm… Spam[/HS]Ditto for this SPAMTM lovah… It rounds out a nice breakfast of pancakes, eggs and an english muffin; and usually is an integral part of a [plate lunch](http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-570424.html). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/22 "2008-08-07T00:34:38Z")
Not only that, it also has stray dogs in it. Want proof? Toss a bunch of it out on your lawn. By mid-morning, it’ll have dogs all over it. ---
**Author:** ![KRSOradio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/0ea827/32.png) [@KRSOradio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRSOradio)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/23 "2008-08-07T02:57:48Z")
Doesn’t the law permit some types of food to contain certain undesirable things like flies or hair? Perhaps I’m incorrect, but if not, then maybe the OP was getting at that. If Spam was allowed to contain flies maybe one would hatch or lay eggs. I love Spam because like all great food it’s mostly fat ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/24 "2008-08-07T03:05:25Z")
**Chronos** wins! So I suppose even stray cats have better and fussier taste. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/25 "2008-08-07T04:50:37Z")
[QUOTE=This’ll Do] 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. [/QUOTE] I must share with you my last-night-before-reprovisioning recipe for Spam creole. It’s faaaaabulous. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/26 "2008-08-07T06:14:19Z")
Isn’t this pretty much the _spontaneous generation_ theory of disease, which was replaced by the _germ theory_ after Pasteur’s experiments had refuted spontaneous generation? About 230 years ago. In fact, this seems very much like Pasteur’s experiments (except poorly done). Set out 2 samples of Spam, one open to the air and the other sealed in an airtight container. The sealed one should remain un-maggotted. Then unseal it, and it will soon show maggots, too. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/27 "2008-08-07T13:11:46Z")
If you’re desperate to eat maggots, try some [Casu Marzu.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggot_cheese) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/28 "2008-08-07T13:15:25Z")
I am hearing many of the responses to the OP in a high-pitched Monty Python voice. I’ll have the lobster thermidor with aubergines, shallots and a heapin’ helpin’ of Spam, please. Hold the maggots. ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/29 "2008-08-07T14:30:13Z")
[QUOTE=Inner Stickler] Me too. If you cut it into slices and fry it, it goes pretty well with pancakes. [/QUOTE] Yep. You can make a decent sandwich with fried Spam slices, too, but I max out at one sandwich. That pretty much meets my salt limit for the day. Oh, and **swalerroe7** , you might be interested in [what the Master says](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_229.html) about Spam. Personally, I think it’s hard to go wrong with Spam haiku. Maintaining the theme, here is my off-the-cuff submission: _Yummy fried in oil, but I hit my limit of sodium chloride._ RR ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/30 "2008-08-07T16:13:41Z")
OK, it might not be maggoty, but let’s assume it isn’t primo meat. So why is it so freakin’ expensive? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/31 "2008-08-07T18:07:04Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] OK, it might not be maggoty, but let’s assume it isn’t primo meat. So why is it so freakin’ expensive? [/QUOTE] 1 - people will pay it. 2 - for you folks in Oz, it’s an imported item. Rather than fight it, just invest in HRL (one does wonder about the choice of stock symbol for a company which manufactures food items.) ---
**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 7, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/32 "2008-08-07T22:19:06Z")
[QUOTE=Dr. Woo] I must share with you my last-night-before-reprovisioning recipe for Spam creole. It’s faaaaabulous. [/QUOTE] Bring it on; I’d love to try it! Isn’t it interesting how one can remember the delicious one-pot concoction whipped up in a gale on a passage ten years ago, but can’t recall what last night’s dinner was? ---
**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 7, 2008, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/33 "2008-08-07T23:04:00Z")
Since it’s been over 24 hours now, I’ll go ahead and admit that this thread made me stop and buy Spam for dinner last night. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2008, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/34 "2008-08-08T02:43:15Z")
A lot of food has some insect trace amounts in it. I suspect Spam does too. But I don’t think that’s what the OP is talking about. ---
**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 8, 2008, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/35 "2008-08-08T04:10:20Z")
Damn, this makes me want to go to that one diner in Laupahoehoe. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2008, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/36 "2008-08-08T04:18:15Z")
Isn’t the premise of the OP more-or-less [spontaneous generation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_generation), an idea that’s been conclusively debunked for hundreds of years? Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2008, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/37 "2008-08-08T05:03:17Z")
[QUOTE=Sailboat] Isn’t the premise of the OP more-or-less [spontaneous generation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_generation), an idea that’s been conclusively debunked for hundreds of years? Sailboat [/QUOTE] No, the premise of the OP is that there are maggots in Spam. Spontaneous Generation would imply that there are not maggots in Spam generally, but that maggots arise in Spam when Spam is left out. The OP says the maggots were there “all along.” -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/38 "2008-08-11T18:44:37Z")
[QUOTE=swalerroe7] 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? 😕 [/QUOTE] Spontaneous generation presupposed that the “germ” for living things pre-existed in the material. A specific example always cited by those arguing spontaneous generation was that maggots appeared in meat after you left it exposed on the counter _because the maggots (or the material from with they sprang) had been in the meat all along_. Spontaneous generation was finally debunked by showing that maggots came from material (eggs) _added to_ the meat after it was exposed. Maybe – maybe – the OP is in fact maintaining that intact maggots are sealed into the can of spam and survive, and maybe the OP is echoing the classic spontaneous generation argument. Frankly I don’t see enough “meat” in the OP to tell which argument is being made, and the fact that it’s essentially a restatement of the classic s. gen. argument makes me wonder. Sailboat ---
**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 11, 2008, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/39 "2008-08-11T18:50:21Z")
Am I the only one who sees this thread title and reads: “Do the chickens have large talons?” ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066/40 "2008-08-11T19:04:22Z")
Does Spam have maggots in it? That has got to be the most stupid question I have ever seen. Of course it does NOT. Any fool could tell you it would then taste better and be much more expensive 🙂 Blll [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-or-false-does-spam-have-maggots-in-it/459066.md?page=3)