If you saw small white, worm-like or wiggling organisms coming out of berries after soaking them in salt water, don’t eat those berries.
They could be insect larvae or other contaminants. Salt water can cause some larvae hidden in fruit to emerge, but the appearance alone isn’t enough to identify exactly what they are.
What to do
- Discard the affected berries, especially if many contain larvae, are damaged, or look spoiled.
- If the berries came in a package, check the rest carefully and consider discarding the entire package if infestation is widespread.
- Wash your hands and clean the container/sink afterward.
- Don’t rely on salt water to make infested fruit safe. Rinsing removes surface contamination but doesn’t reliably remove larvae or damage inside the fruit.
- For future berries, rinse them thoroughly under cool running water just before eating and refrigerate them appropriately.
If you send me a photo of the white wiggling things and the berries, I can help you identify what you’re seeing.
