Strawberry contamination: Needles found in Australian-grown strawberries sold in New Zealand

The strawberry contamination scandal in Australia has apparently reached New Zealand. Authorities are investigating an incident in which a customer from a supermarket chain complained of finding needles inserted in a punnet of strawberries.

The needles were found in a punnet of strawberries from the brand Choice, sourced from Western Australia. The strawberries were bought in a Countdown supermarket in Auckland last week.

As a precautionary measure, the supermarket giant has pulled all Choice brand strawberries off its shelves all Countdown, SuperValue and FreshChoice supermarkets nationwide.

“Customers can return any Choice brand of strawberries they may have at home to Countdown for peace of mind and a full refund,” Countdown said in a statement. “As an extra precaution and following similar advice from public health authorities in Australia, customers should cut up any Australian strawberries before eating them.”

Countdown added that it has been cooperating with both New Zealand and Australian authorities on the matter. There have been no reports of illness or injury in NZ as a result of the contamination. The Choice brand of strawberries was not among those recalled in Australia.

Since the first case of strawberry needles contamination issue earlier this month, there have been more than 100 reports of fruit sabotage reported. The contamination also extended to other fruits, including bananas, apples and mangoes, though authorities suspected most of the reports were only copycat incidents.

Last week, New South Wales officials arrested a “young person” for inserting needles inside strawberries as a prank. The boy would be dealt with under the youth cautioning system.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also said he would introduce tough penalties for those who would contaminate food to hurt people. He would be calling for a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.