Wellington, July 8 (IANS): New Zealand supermarket chains were pulling Mexican grapes from shelves after the discovery of ten venomous spiders till Wednesday, said a media report.
The ministry for primary industries (MPI) confirmed that since Friday (July 3), it has received reports of spiders being found in grapes that were imported from Mexico at several locations around the country, the New Zealand Herald reported.
The biosecurity officials said five black widows, one brown widow, two yellow sac spiders and two "yet to be identified" spiders have been found in the grapes.
MPI manager of surveillance Brendan Gould said it was likely that some grapes from the affected shipments have already been sold.
The ministry is advising people who have bought imported grapes in the past few weeks to be on the lookout for symptoms of poisoning and more spiders.