So a few days ago I bought a package of blueberries from the grocery store. On this lovely evening I decided to take the blueberries out of the package to wash them and then consume some. I poured the berries out into a large bowl and I was about to start running water into bowl when I noticed something. A huge clump of blueberries was stuck together with this white substance that looked like mold. It was gross. There must have been eight or nine large blueberries in this moldy mass. I took a spoon and scooped up the clumped up mess and threw it away. I also took a few berries that were surrounding the clump and dumped them as well.
I then began to run water into bowl to wash the remaining blueberries. As I ran my hand around the berries to wash them in the water doubt entered my mind. What if there was invisible mold on the remaining blueberries? What if the water was just spreading any remaining mold onto the rest of the blueberries? Part of me just wanted to suck it up and throw caution to the wind. I’ve dropped food on my kitchen floor and still eaten it after dusting it off. Was this any different? Then, the flashbacks of my food poisoning experiences came crashing into my head. Then I remembered the two times I caught the norovirus just this year. I remembered the chills, the pain, and who could forget the constant and watery pooping. Oh dear, the pooping. Was I going to risk all of that just to not let a $4 package of blueberries go to waste?
I decided there were plenty more blueberries to eat this summer and it was better to be safe than sorry. These blueberries unfortunately will go into the compost pile. I’ll get another batch from the store tomorrow.