Does this mean it was pesticide-free produce?

Have you heard the latest "scare" involving California produce?

Associated Press is reporting that a woman said she found a black widow spider in some black seedless grapes.

The Connecticut woman found the spider today in some grapes she had bought two days ago, according to the story. She found them in some grapes she took to work.

So now the spider is in the custody of the Connecticut Poison Control Center and the store she bought the grapes from has pulled that particular brand of grapes from its produce aisle.

I'll be curious to see if this blows up into some big thing, because frankly I find it all pretty amusing. Since the woman wasn't hurt, I mean.

You hear so many people worried about food safety now in the wake of the whole California spinach E. coli situation and you hear all sorts of people worried about pesticide residue on farm products. Well, if the spider made the trip to Connecticut with the grapes, then there certainly doesn't sound like there was any pesticides on these grapes, certainly not enough to harm a spider.

But isn't it just possible the spider came from inside the woman's home, or workplace, if the grapes were bought from the store two days earlier?

And wouldn't the spider have been likely to be flushed down the drain if she had washed her grapes?

Yes, it's great that people trust the safety of the commodities they buy from American farmers, but still... Wash your produce before you pop it in your mouth. Or take your chances. Consumers have responsibility too for the safety of the food they buy, store and prepare.

I wonder how much nutritional value there is in a black widow. And do they taste better with ketchup?

Agriculture
Grapes
Food safety
California produce