Dictionary

grocer's itch en · NOUN

Meanings

1. (uncountable) An itching eruption, a variety of eczema, produced by sugar mites (Tyroglyphus sacchari or Glycyphagus domesticus) or fruit mites (Carpoglyphus lactis et al.).
   • “Flour” routinely contained crushed stone or gypsum as a cheap extender. Ground insects could be mixed into brown sugar, often without detection; their use was linked to an unpleasant condition known as “grocer’s itch.” [2018 November, Deborah Blum, “When Milk Was Full of Calf Brains”, in The Atlantic: