The winner of an insect eating competition in South Florida died shortly after guzzling dozens of the live bugs as well as worms, authorities said. Edward Archbold, 32, of West Palm Beach became ill shortly after the contest ended and collapsed in front of the store, according to a Broward Sheriff's Office statement released Monday.
He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Authorities were waiting for results of an post-mortem to determine a cause of death.
About 30 contestants ate the insects during Friday night's contest at Ben Siegel Reptile Store in Deerfield Beach near Miami, in which the grand prize was a python. None of the other contestants became ill, the sheriff's office said.
"Unless the roaches were contaminated with some bacteria or other pathogens, I don't think that cockroaches would be unsafe to eat," said Michael Adams, professor of entomology at the University of California at Riverside, who added that he has never heard of someone dying after consuming roaches.
"Some people do have allergies to roaches," he said, "but there are no toxins in roaches or related insects."
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