Reconsidering having your strawberries all by yourself? You should.
This week, Twitter was abuzz with a stomach-turning video that provided a glimpse of the creepy-crawlies that hide in your fruit, leaving many horrified.
The microscopic footage revealed the gruesome truth about what could be lurking in your strawberries.
The surface of the fruit in the close-up shot showed countless tiny mites squirming around.
The individual who uploaded the footage commented, ‘Are you having a good day today? I’m sorry for ruining it by posting this video of a strawberry under a microscope.’
Are you having a good day today?
— QENNY Southsider (@AKBrews) March 28, 2023
I'm sorry for ruining it by posting this video of a strawberry under a microscope. pic.twitter.com/xQKSG04OYK
After watching the video, numerous commenters expressed that they would reconsider consuming unwashed strawberries. One user stated, ‘I sometimes convince myself I can eat a single piece of fruit before washing it and uhh yeah this just ruined that now I’m having flashbacks of every time I ate a strawberry before washing it and I wanna cry.’ Another user added, ‘This is why you wash your food!’
The source of the video is unclear, and it appears that it may be a compilation of two separate videos. A cautionary statement on a video uploaded by Barstool Sports warns viewers that the footage is altered and uses images from different microscopes.
While the video may be disturbing, it is widely known that consuming these bugs is not harmful. According to entomologist and professor at Cornell University, Greg Loeb, ‘If you’re eating fresh produce, you’re eating bugs.
‘But the real point is there are organisms on your fruit and even if it makes people uncomfortable, it’s definitely not going to hurt them. Eating those bugs won’t make you sick.’
Among the bugs seen in the video are strawberry mites – pests that are only found on strawberries. These bugs are as tiny as 0.25mm and often appear like water droplets under the microscope as they curl up in the leaves, according to Vissers.