iron cross blister beetle

Maybe save this post until you're done eating your salad.

Potentially-Toxic Beetle Shows Up In A Salad From Aldi

Just when the Consumerist staff were about to think about maybe buying some packaged spring mix again, we’ve heard about another Salad Beetle. Normally, an insect in your organic salad is a startling but not dangerous problem to have: vegetable packagers would prefer that it didn’t happen, and so would consumers, but no one will get hurt. Iron Cross blister beetles are different, though: they give off a toxic substance when stressed, and eating the salad can make you sick. [More]

Maybe save this post until you're done eating your salad.

3 More Toxic Salad Beetles Show Up In Canada And Texas

It turns out that fleeing to Canada won’t keep you safe from the Salad Beetle Scourge. You may remember the Iron Cross Blister Beetles turning up in organic salads and packages of leafy greens across the United States. We learned today of three more discovered in different parts of North America, two of which were in Canada. [More]

Oh, Good: Four More Reports Of Iron Cross Blister Beetles In Salads

Oh, Good: Four More Reports Of Iron Cross Blister Beetles In Salads

Last week, we shared the mildly disturbing news that four different people in three states had found a particular species of potentially toxic beetle in their organic salads. Those were just the people who found their way to a bug-identification community on Reddit: how many more beetles were out there lurking in America’s salads? The answer, we learned this weekend, is at least four. [More]

Maybe save this post until you're done eating your salad.

This Toxin-Emitting Beetle Is Not A Crunchy Salad Topping

Small animals love vegetables, and so do people. Sometimes small animals end up harvested along with vegetables, slip through safeguards in the system, and end up in our bowls. Usually, these are harmless, but what if they aren’t? Four people in different places have found potentially toxic beetles in their salad greens, and we really, really hope that there aren’t more out there lurking in more salads. [More]