Black Widow Spider Found In Whole Foods Grapes

A man says he found a black widow spider in a bag of grapes bought at the Whole Foods Market on Washington Street in Brighton.

Jorge Fuertes told WBZ he reached into the bag, pulled out some grapes and saw something black fall out and run away. He thought it was an ant. So, he looked in the bag and found a southern black widow spider.

"It was just sitting on a stem," said Fuertes. He spit out his mouthful of grapes and noticed the spider's telltale red hourglass on its belly.

"That's when I kind of went into the bag and that's when I seen the red and the designs on the back of the spider and I said 'Oh, let me just put this one away.'"

He put it in a yogurt cup and went back to the store to let them know what happened. A manager told Fuertes the entire shipment of Anthony's brand organic red seedless grapes would be removed from the shelves.

In a statement to WBZ, Whole Foods said spiders are part of the landscape at their California grower and "although we are very cautious when unpacking produce, sometimes insects are not detected."

Fuertes said Whole Foods offered him gift cards if he'd leave the spider with them. But, he wants to keep it, at least for now. "I could have taken a nice bite into him, ate all of that venom, but hey, didn't happen," he said.

A black widow bite is rarely deadly, but its neurotoxic venom is painful. It can bring on muscle cramps, vomiting, and dizziness, especially in young children and the elderly.

Of the spiders and insects found in produce, the black widow is one of the most common. People are finding them more often because growers are using less-toxic pesticides.

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