Woman arrested for berry needles
A DISGRUNTLED farm worker allegedly put needles in strawberries, sparking a crisis that shook the nation and risked crippling growers.
The 50-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly contaminating strawberries with needles that put consumers at serious risk.
It is understood she worked at the Berry Licious/Berry Obsession farm in south-east Queensland as a supervisor of fruit pickers.
She is believed to have had grievances about how she thought she was being treated.
Police will allege she talked to others about exacting revenge for the perceived gripes.
The woman was arrested after DNA was found in a contaminated punnet of strawberries in a Victorian supermarket, it will be alleged.
Escorted by officers in a police car the Caboolture woman was met by a throng of media at the Brisbane Watchhouse about 5pm yesterday.
She was expected to be charged late last night before appearing in a Brisbane court this morning. It is understood her charges will relate to a small number of punnets.
The contamination crisis blew up in September when a man allegedly bit into a needle in a strawberry in Brisbane. Authorities revealed three punnets of Queensland-grown strawberries containing needles had surfaced here and in Victoria.
The sabotage was traced to the Berry Licious/Berry Obsession farm that supplied Woolworths and other stores.
The Queensland Strawberry Growers Association welcomed news of the arrest.
“Given the crippling impact on the Queensland strawberry industry, this person should be brought to account to the full extent of the law,” the association’s Jennifer Rowling said.