We are obligated to examine anything that might be sinful so that we do not inadvertently err. One must be particularly vigilant with regard to insect infestation. For there are many types of fruits and vegetables that are affected by insects and, unfortunately, many people are not careful and it them without checking them first. Various types of berries are affected by insects that are hard to find even when looking for them, and therefore a God-fearing Jew should treat them as simply not-Kosher. The Rabbis have long decried this in various works—after all, any observant Jew would not eat meat that was not properly slaughtered (neveila) or that was found to be treif, and he would not even consider eating pig, even if someone offered him all the gold and silver in the world to do so; if someone would decide to torture him until he ate such non-kosher food, he would rather suffer terrible afflictions to the point of death rather than transgressing this. But if you investigate the matter you will see that consuming insects is much more sever than eating any of those famously non-kosher foods. For eating a neveila, treifa or pig carries the penalty of a single negative commandment, while eating a single worm carries four negative commandments and eating an ant carries five prohibitions! So someone who eats carelessly, without checking his food is likely to eat a hundred insects in a moment and transgress dozens of prohibitions just like that and for no pleasure at all, but just because of carelessness.
The masses must be warned about this, for Jews are essentially holy and they want to be removed from such sin and it is only because of a lack of knowledge that they err. May the Hashem, the Good, forgive them. The one who warns them about this will shine like the glow of Heaven, and for those who heed this “it will be pleasant and a good blessing shall come upon them” (Mishlei 24:25).
