grocer's itch

noun

An itching eruption, a variety of eczema, produced by sugar mites (Tyroglyphus sacchari or Glycyphagus domesticus) or fruit mites (Carpoglyphus lactis et al.).

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Meanings

noungrocer's itch (uncountable)
  1. uncountablemedicineAn 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
Cite this entry
APA

grocer's itch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grocer's%20itch

MLA

“grocer's itch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grocer's%20itch. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “grocer's itch,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grocer's%20itch.

Source: grocer's itch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.