There were about 30 contestants at Friday night’s contest in Miami, all of who ate a collection of insects. The grand prize was a python.
Edward Archbold, 32, won the contest, but then became ill and collapsed in front of the Ben Siegel Reptile Store where the competition had been held, according to a Broward Sheriff’s Office statement.
He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead, but a cause of death has yet to be formally determined.
“We feel terribly awful,” said store owner Ben Siegel “He looked like he just wanted to show off and was very nice,”
Michael Adams, professor of entomology at the University of California at Riverside said he had never heard of anyone dying from eating cockroaches. “Unless the roaches were contaminated with some bacteria or other pathogens, I don’t think that cockroaches would be unsafe to eat,” he said.
“Some people do have allergies to roaches, but there are no toxins in roaches or related insects.”
Siegel said Archbold had planned to selling his prize, the python, to a friend who took him to the contest.
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