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PSA: Little bugs crawl out your strawberries when you rinse them in salt water
By James Kay
18 May 2023
2m
People are just discovering that little critters emerge if you rinse strawberries in salt water.
Yup, if you’re currently eating a strawberry (or you’re someone who is easily squeamish and doesn’t want them ruined for life), its probably best to look away now.
One thing that we all expect when eating fruit is that it is clean and doesn’t have any unwanted visitors inside, right?
If you love strawberries, look away… (Credit: Pexels)
Well, it would seem that some little bugs like to make their home in strawberries… and they don’t leave until we digest them.
Most fruit comes with a warning that you should wash thoroughly before eating – but even that doesn’t remove the bugs.
TikToker Krista Torres took to the video platform where she wanted to see the little bugs for herself.
She had her box of strawberries, and then it was time to dunk them into salt water.
@callmekristatorres WAIT FOR IT… Still trying to think happy thoughts today. #fyp #foryou #strawberrieswithbugs #bugsinstrawberries #rednoseday #got2bhome
After filling a bowl with salty water, she let the strawberries rest for about 30 seconds before removing them.
Her next words were “I’m going to barf,” as she got a close up on the little “worms” that were emerging from the fruit.
People flooded their comments with their thoughts, as one person wrote: “Oh my gosh I have to get drunk now to forget I saw this! I can feel the bugs crawling in my hair now.”
“Well there goes my favorite fruit,” a second person penned, with a third adding: “I’m never eating strawberries again.”
Are there really bugs in strawberries?
Your strawbs are probably full of bugs (Credit: Unsplash)
Yup, there really are.
If you dunk your strawberries into salt water you will see the critters for yourselves, though the salty taste to the fruit will probably be the worst part.
But what are these little bugs?
Well, they are the offspring of Spotted Wing Drosophila, which doesn’t make it sound any better.
According to Garden Focussed, the little flies lay their eggs in the interior of undamaged fruit, and then we get to eat them.
That’s right. Strawberries are just the tip of the iceberg… apparently they like lots of different fruits!
Here’s the little critter… (Credit: Flickr)
But before you chuck out the fruit in your fridge, you should know that these little bugs are completely fine to eat!
There’s every chance you’ve been eating them your entire life without knowing, so there’s no need to worry now.
To make you feel better, Don Lewis, PhD, a professor and extension entomologist at the Iowa State University told Everyday Health: “Canned tomatoes can average up to 10 fly eggs and be acceptable.
“A cup of frozen spinach can contain up to 50 bug pieces. Fruit fly larvae in strawberries is another in a long list of things that can happen because food is grown in the real world.”
Wait, did we say feel better?! We think we’re feeling a little sheepish now, too.
Not quite enough to stop eating strawberries, though, mind!
