Australia strawberry industry in crisis with needle issue

Since then, needles or pins have been reported in strawberries in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.

Officers say they have found more than 25 instances of fruit with needles concealed inside, across all six states of Australia.

NSW produces around one per cent of Australia’s strawberries.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said more 100 cases have been reported, mostly in Queensland, but added many are “hoaxes or copy cats”.

Horticulture body Growcom has implored consumers to keep buying strawberries.

However, NSW Police have now said that the contamination might have affected four more brands: Love Berry, Donnybrook Berries, Delightful Strawberries and Oasis.

She said her mother works through the night managing the shed with 250 employees packing strawberries.

The government has urged consumers to continue purchasing strawberries, but to cut them up before consumption.

Anyone who finds any contaminated fuit should call Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000 or report it online.

But Dutton said he believed numerous 100 separate reports were hoaxes or copycats, and he was angry about the diversion of police resources to the matter.

Public fears about sewing needles concealed inside strawberries on supermarket shelves have spread across Australia and New Zealand as growers turn to metal detectors and the Australian government launches an investigation to restore public confidence in the popular fruit.

Fortunately, there have been no reports of serious injuries from the needles, although one child from Newcastle found one in a banana while at school.

He said they were investigating leads. “This a vicious crime, it’s created to injure, and possibly worse, members of the population at large”, he said in remarks quoted by ABC.

Some trade partners in Russian Federation and the United Kingdom have already blocked Australian imports, while New Zealand supermarket chains have announced they would pull Australian-grown berries from their shelves.

Officials said the contaminated fruit appeared to have originated at a Queensland-based supplier.

Australian police believe a disgruntled farm worker is to blame for the cases in Queensland, but said copycats may be responsible in other states.

Annastacia Palaszczuk, premier of Queensland state, also offered a reward of roughly $72,000 for information leading to the arrest of anyone responsible.

A 62-year-old woman has already been caught putting a needle into a banana in Mackay, central Queensland, in what is believed to have been a copycat act.

“I can’t tell you how disgusted I am, also in the fact that they are fabricating evidence”, he said.

“We still haven’t any confirmed motivation or reasons why a person would want to do this”, said Doherty.