Another poisonous beetle found in bagged greens
Digital Reporter
Saturday, May 30, 2015, 9:15 AM - After reports of toxic beetles found in bagged spinach came out of Toronto and Saskatoon earlier this week, yet another bug has been discovered by a woman in New Brunswick.
Farrah Hodgson said her husband began feeling sick after eating from a bag of organic baby spinach. Hodgson believes her husband's stomach pains were caused by the poisonous beetle she later discovered in the bag of greens she purchased from a Sobey's grocery store.
Several reports of similar findings across the country have prompted The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to issue a consumer advisory and investigation into the presence of iron cross blister beetles in imported leafy vegetables.
In Toronto, Erin Cameron was preparing lunch when her appetite was spoiled by the sight of a bright yellow and red beetle in her mixed greens.
"I took a scoop, just with my hands, of the lettuce, and put it into my bowl," she told CBC. "Right away I noticed there was a giant bug inside... and I kind of freaked out."
The greens were purchased by Cameron at a nearby Loblaws supermarket.
SEE ALSO: Wasp named after 'Harry Potter' soulsucker. Here's why
Cameron decided to do some research on the insect. She believed it to be an iron cross blister beetle.
It turns out this is only one of a few recent beetle episodes. Like Cameron, recently a Saskatchewan woman found the same type of bug in her spinach she purchased from Sobeys.
“When I parted the greens, I shrieked,” Darcy Parenteau told CBC. “I think the whole neighbourhood heard me.”
An entomologist in the U.S. confirms the insects were in fact blister beetles, CBC reports. If digested, the beetle would cause significant discomfort but it’s unlikely that it would be fatal.
Blister beetles are softbodied and range in size from 1 to 2.5 cm in length.
They get their name from a toxic chemical they produce called cantharidin. When crushed, the beetle can bleed the chemical from its joints, and skin contact with it can result in blisters.
"Consumers are advised to wash and visually inspect their leafy vegetables thoroughly," the CFIA advisory reads. "The beetle should be removed without touching or crushing it." Anyone who finds a beetle is asked to contact their local CFIA office.
Parenteau contacted Sobeys and Earthbound Farms, the packaging company.
Sobeys told CBC that the company takes issues like these very seriously and has flagged the situation with Earthbound.
Earthbound Farms offered $30 compensation and their apologies to Parenteau, but she refused to take the money and turned down a second offer of $250.
"I turned that down, due to the fact that I don't know how long it will be until I can eat packaged food like this again," Parenteau told CBC. "I don't trust it."
Earthbound Farms say they are unfamiliar with the insect never having found it on their farms and until the situation is further investigated, they have stopped using greens from that region.
Loblaws Canada told CBC in an email that the company had been in contact with Cameron. The Torontonian has also contacted the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Loblaw Companies Ltd. has expanded a recall on President's Choice hummus that was issued earlier this week. The products may contain the toxin produced by staphylococcus bacteria.
If the blister beetle turned your stomach, a mother in Nottingham, England, opened up a can of tuna only to find a tongue-eating parasite. More recently, a Welsh mother found deadly Brazilian spider eggs that were about to hatch on her bananas.
Related video: Our very own Rachel Schoutsen eats beetle larva
