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Woolies buyer makes a terrifying discovery after opening her basket of black seedless grapes
- Redback spider found in basket of grapes
- Lani Neil bought the basket from Woolworths
- Former Woolies manager claimed he found a snake in bananas
A Woolworths shopper made an alarming discovery inside a bag of grapes when she found a highly venomous redback spider hidden among the fruit.
Lani Neil had just bought a basket of black seedless grapes from Woolworths in Redbank Plains, an hour south of Brisbane, on Saturday when she spotted the spider wandering around in the middle of the bag.
Ms Neil said the arachnid was in the middle of cobwebs when she made the discovery just as she was leaving the store.
He took to Facebook to air the situation, criticizing local Woolworths for not taking his calls.
“WARNING I just bought a basket of black seedless grapes at the Redbank Plains (Mountainview) store and found a live redback spider in them,” Ms. Neil wrote.
I tried calling the store multiple times and no one answered. (I don’t live close so I can’t just show up)’.
Ms Neil took the situation to Facebook and posted her concerns directly on the Woolworths page.
The redback spider was found hiding among the grapes by Mrs Neil at Woolworths’ Redbank Plains store (pictured)
A former production manager at an unspecified Woolworths store commented on the post, noting that unwanted guests like Ms Neil’s redback spider were not uncommon.
“Sometimes we would find spiders on the grapes. I once opened a box of bananas and found a live snake among them,” she said.
“In my day, we used to put signs on stocks, like grapes, telling people to use common sense and wash them before eating to avoid cases like this.”
Female redback spiders, which have a distinctive red stripe down their backs, are feared throughout Australia due to their potent venom.
A bite from a female can cause serious illness; however, there have been no deaths since the 1950s, when an antivenom was introduced.
Woolworths was quick to respond to her worrying post, reassuring Ms Neil that it was on the case.
After posting the shocking find online, other buyers described similar incidents.
“We take reports like this seriously and will look into it with our team,” the supermarket said.
Ms Neil responded to a series of trolls in the post after some thought she was calling for the supermarket to destroy its entire supply of grapes.
“I don’t think it’s too much to ask for someone to check the remaining baskets before people buy them,” he wrote.
Woolworths reiterated its commitment to safety when asked by the Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday how it planned to prevent similar incidents.
“We take food safety very seriously and work closely with our suppliers to ensure precautions are taken on the farm,” a Woolworths spokesperson said.
“We are in contact with this customer and have requested more information so that we can look into this with our growers.”
A redback spider does not generally pose a threat to bite humans unless they interfere with its web.
Ms Neil said the arachnid was in the middle of cobwebs when she made the discovery just as she was leaving the store.
Although it is rare to be bitten by a redback, interfering with its surroundings and its web can cause the spider to become defensive and bite intruders.
Reaching for a bag of grapes and touching the red-backed web could have resulted in a bite for Ms. Neil, which would then require a trip to the hospital for a dose of anti-venom.
Redback bites commonly include varying levels of pain around the wound, sweating, nausea, vomiting, and muscle aches.
The venom from a redback bite affects its victim’s nerves by depleting neurotransmitters and disabling neural pathways.
There have been no recorded deaths from a redback bite since 1956, the year the antivenom was created.