A Swansea woman has spoken of her shock after finding an unexpected extra ingredient on a raspberry she bought from a local supermarket - a large, unappetising-looking green insect.
Kara Williams, who lives in the marina quarter, got more than she bargained for when she went to eat the raspberries she purchased from Asda Llansamlet last week. Kara, 36, purchased a punnet of Just Essentials by Asda Raspberries for £1.69. A day after buying them, she took them out of the fridge and was looking forward to tucking in.
Kara has medical issues which can cause "blurry vision,", so didn't initially notice the insect when she picked up the raspberry, until it was "right up in my face". Shocked, Kara screamed and threw the raspberry down. "I was spooked," she said. "I get scared easily by spiders - so this did give me one hell of a fright!" You can get more Swansea news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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Not only was Kara alarmed by the strange bug in her raspberries - but she said she feared it was poisonous, due to its strange green body which seemed to 'leak pus'. "A couple of the other raspberries had holes, they seemed to have been eaten [by insects]. The insect had a bag of pus, I thought it could potentially be poisonous," she added.
Kara informed Asda customer services of the issue but wanted to inform WalesOnline too as she hoped to remind shoppers to be vigilant for any creepie-crawlies in their fruit and vegetable purchases.
Dr Wendy Harris, associate professor of biosciences at Swansea University, explained that the bug was a southern green shield bug, which she said was actually now quite common in the UK and not harmful.
"The insect is a southern green shield bug ( Nezara viridula ) - a species that has not long been recorded in the UK and is regularly reported appearing on imported fruit and vegetables (it is from Africa originally)," said Dr Harris. "It is actually a juvenile bug so has a different pattern to the adult. Shield bugs are very common in the UK and totally harmless. Shield bugs can produce a bad smell if threatened and they are sometimes called stink bugs!"
"The bug is green to blend in with the plants it usually lives on. There is no reason for concern (and no pus evident)," she added. "Like most insects in the UK, it's harmless. Many insects do incredibly important jobs that are essential for humans and are best left alone to do them - without them we wouldn't be here!"
Asda is understood to be in the process of issuing Kara a refund for the raspberries and a voucher for £1.69.
A spokesperson said: "’We carry out multiple checks to ensure the quality of our fresh fruit and veg. Unfortunately there will be occasions where, due to the nature of the fruit being grown outdoors, insects may manage to go unnoticed. We are sorry that this has happened and we have offered Ms. Williams a full refund for this product and a gesture of goodwill."
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