Checking Fresh Blueberries
Question
Do fresh blueberries need to be checked?
And if so, how should they be checked?
Answer
Shalom u’vracha.
Fresh blueberries require checking, as infestation with insects is common in them.
1. Soak the fruit in water with a little soap, and rinse them thoroughly.
2. Check the “crown” at the bottom of the fruit to see whether there is a scale insect or other insect there, and also whether scale insects are present on the skin of the fruit.
3. For blueberries grown commercially, cut open a sample of the fruit, preferably 10%, and check whether there are white larvae inside [a type of small white worm approximately 2 mm long]. If internal infestation is found, all the fruit must be opened.
4. Wild-grown blueberries must all be opened and checked.
Source
Bedikat HaMazon KeHalachah, vol. 2.
