The reassuring part is that accidentally consuming a small fruit-fly larva in otherwise fresh fruit is generally considered a low health risk. Discovering one may certainly be unpleasant, but the larger food-safety concern is whether the fruit is fresh, properly refrigerated, washed, and free from spoilage.

Salt-water soaking can encourage some larvae to emerge, which explains those startling social-media videos. However, a salt soak isn’t required as a standard food-safety step and isn’t guaranteed to remove everything. For routine cleaning, gently rinsing berries under cool running water before eating is generally appropriate.

Discard berries that are moldy, slimy, leaking, unusually mushy, smell sour or unpleasant, or show extensive deterioration or infestation. Those signs indicate that the fruit is no longer in good condition and may present concerns beyond the insects themselves. Keep berries refrigerated and avoid washing them long before you plan to eat them, because added moisture can accelerate spoilage.

Healthy-looking berries can contain larvae because the fly can pierce ripening fruit and deposit eggs beneath the surface. That doesn’t automatically mean the berries were grown or handled badly. Finding tiny larvae is understandably unappetizing, but it doesn’t mean you need to stop eating berries—inspect them, rinse them properly, refrigerate them, and discard fruit showing signs of spoilage.