Woman on Vacation Picks Fresh Oranges for Juice—Horror at What's in Glass

Newsweek

23-06-2025

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A video showing a mother and daughter making orange juice from street-side fruit in Portugal has gone viral on TikTok, due to the unexpected discovery of what appeared to be maggots writhing in their freshly squeezed drink.
Posted by TikTok user @rubywillow._, the video was filmed last week in Portugal's Algarve region and has garnered more than 9.3 million views since it was shared on June 18. It begins with a caption overlaid on the video saying: "You thought it was a good idea to make fresh orange juice in Portugal … it was not."
The footage shows a woman collecting fallen oranges from beneath a tree along a public street, with an empty plastic bag in hand.
The video then cuts to scenes of the fruit being juiced, and a close-up of the freshly squeezed liquid reveals small white organisms moving visibly in the glass.
Screenshots from a TikTok video of a woman making juice from oranges taken from a tree on a street in Portugal.
Screenshots from a TikTok video of a woman making juice from oranges taken from a tree on a street in Portugal.
@rubywillow._ on TikTok
"We believe it was maggots of some kind in the drink," the poster, who did not share her name, age or location, told Newsweek, adding that "it was my first time making orange juice."
While her mother consumed half-a-glass and she herself took a single sip, she said, "neither of us were unwell afterward."
Suzanne Hyslop, a qualified nutritionist at the Ocean Recovery Centre in the U.K., told Newsweek that the movement in the juice "could very well be fruit fly or other small insects that had burrowed in." She added that "this can happen when oranges are overripe or damaged or have been left on the tree too long."
The incident, while amusing to some, comes amid broader challenges facing citrus production in Portugal and elsewhere in southern Europe. A June 2023 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that citrus production in the European Union is primarily based in Mediterranean countries. Spain and Italy are the top producers, followed by Greece, Portugal, and Cyprus.
The report stated: "A reduction in EU citrus production is expected mainly in Spain with an almost 18 percent decrease, the lowest citrus production levels since the last decade." It also noted that reductions are projected in Italy and Portugal, particularly in orange yields. Spain's crop alone accounts for roughly 65 percent of the EU's citrus production.
Hyslop said: "Picking fruit straight from a tree sounds wonderfully natural, but there are some important things to keep in mind."
She cautioned against picking fruit from trees in public areas, adding: "Even in a country known for its fresh produce, safety requires proper handling, hygiene and also quality control," Hyslop said.
The nutritionist added that, without knowing how a tree is maintained or what it has been exposed to, there is "no guarantee it's safe to consume." She highlighted possible contaminants such as vehicle emissions, pesticides, animal droppings and other urban pollutants.
Despite the mishap, the video has entertained and alarmed viewers in equal measure.
User isntthisweird said: "I have never seen maggots in any type of citrus, that's crazy."
User house of james noted: "Oh no. I was expecting you to try it and it being sour, but oh my! Disturbing!!"
User natasharoots said: "Hmmm extra protein orange juice."
User Jennie from the block wrote: "the amount of people that didn't notice the very visible worms swimming in the juice."
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