Cape Cod Woman Believes She Found Black Widow Spider In Her Grapes
YARMOUTH (CBS) - A Cape Cod woman got a surprise when she was washing her grapes and found a spider.
Laurie Kaiser found the spider, which she believes is a black widow, in a bag of Sunview organic red seedless grapes from California.
The spider managed to survive five days in the refrigerator before Kaiser took the grapes out and began washing them.
Kaiser captured the spider in a plastic container and brought it back to the grocery store along with the grapes.
"We can confirm that a customer did return the grapes that may have contained a spider," Steve Sylven of Shaws said in a statement. "Per our protocols, we refunded her money and will be notifying our supplier of the situation. At Shaw's, the safety of our customers is of utmost importance to us. We use reputable suppliers and while rare, occasionally these situations occur, which is why we encourage our customers to always wash and inspect their produce."
Black widow spiders are identified by the red hour-glass shape on their backs. Their venom is said to be 15 times stronger than a rattlesnake's. The bites can be fatal for young children or the elderly.
