New Hampshire Woman Claims to Have Found Black Widow Spider in Package of Organic Grapes
She also said she discovered cobwebs while washing the grapes.
— -- A New Hampshire woman said she recently lived her "worst nightmare" after finding a spider, which she believed to be a black widow, inside a container of organic grapes.
Jennifer Rydeen, 42, said she made the "creepy-crawly" discovery Sunday after her husband bought a package of Anthony's Organic red seedless grapes from a Market Basket grocery store in Epping, New Hampshire, she told ABC News today.
"As I washing some of the grapes in bunches, I noticed there were some cobwebs," Rydeen said. "I started getting a little paranoid since I've heard stories about spiders in grapes, so I picked up the bin and there it was: a big, huge black widow spider at the bottom of the container."
Rydeen said she and her family believed the spider was a black widow because of the red markings on its belly, which her husband caught on video and photos.
"I buy organic a lot, so I've seen and expect little bugs here and there, but this gigantic, alive spider was much scarier," Rydeen said.
"I screamed at my husband to please kill it," she added with a laugh.
Rydeen's husband took the spider in the container out to their home's deck and killed it by stepping on it, she said.
"I was just thankful my 10-year-old daughter didn't reach into that container before I did and that no one was hurt," Rydeen said.
Symptoms associated with venomous spider bites, such as from a black widow spider, "can vary from minor to severe,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website.
Although extremely rare, death can occur in the most severe cases, the CDC said. Other possible symptoms can include itching, rash formation, bruising, muscle pain or cramping, difficulty breathing, increased sweating, headache, nausea and vomiting, fever, chills, anxiety or restlessness and high blood pressure.
Rydeen said she contacted the local Market Basket, so they were aware and could alert their produce team to do a check.
"They were very nice and offered us a full refund, but we didn't take it," Rydeen said. "We just wanted to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else and that no gets hurt."
An employee at the Market Basket in Epping, said its store employees were not authorized to provide comment and referred ABC News to the headquarters for the store's Massachusetts-based parent company, DeMoulas Market Basket.
DeMoulas Market Basket's director of produce, Michael Maguire, said the company was aware that a family found a spider in a package of organic red grapes the grocery store received from Anthony Vineyards, which is based in California.
"Finding spiders in produce is extremely rare, and this is the first time we've heard of it happening this whole grape season," Maguire told ABC News today. "The chances of it happening are greater when you're dealing with organic products since there are no pesticides."
Maguire added that Anthony Vineyards inspects its products prior to shipment and that Market Basket stores inspect all their produce, but "the chances of finding a spider in 2,000 cases of grapes is near impossible."
Anthony Vineyards, whose website says it is responsible for growing and shipping Anthony's Organic red seedless grapes, did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment.
