Needle scare spreads across Australia

MELBOURNE — 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.

The government of Queensland state, where the contamination scare started last week, offered a 100,000 Australian dollar ($72,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for inserting needles into strawberries after six brands — Donnybrook Berries, Love Berry, Delightful Strawberries, Oasis, Berry Obsession and Berry Licious — were recalled.

The scare had spread across the nation by Monday, with needles reported found in strawberries in all six Australian states. Police now say there have been 20 reported cases of needles or pins being found in strawberries in New South Wales alone. No injuries have been reported.

Police recommend that Australians “cut up strawberries before use, and exercise caution”.

It “is a serious offense which carries 10 years jail”, warned New South Wales Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty, who described the fruit contamination as an act of “treachery”.

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

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt ordered the national food safety watchdog to investigate Queensland’s handling of the needle scare.

He directed Food Standards Australia New Zealand to investigate whether there are supply chain weaknesses that need to be fixed.

“The job is very, very clear. Protect the public and keep them safe,” Hunt told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Both of New Zealand’s major food distributors, Foodstuffs and Countdown, announced on Monday that they are taking Australian strawberries off their shelves because of the scare.

Queensland Strawberry Growers Association VicePresident Adrian Schultz said what had started as a single act of “commercial terrorism” had brought a multimilliondollar industry to its knees.

“I’m angry for all the associated people, it’s the farmers, the people who supply them, the packaging people, the truckies with families to support, who suddenly lose their jobs. … It’s far-reaching,” Schultz said.

Major Australian supermarket chains Coles and Aldi have pulled all strawberries from their shelves across Australia except in Western Australia state as a precaution.

But Western Australia police announced on Monday that the first suspected needle contamination case has been reported in locally grown fruit.

Strawberry Growers Association of Western Australia President Neil Handasyde said growers had received requests from major retailers and insurance companies to scan fruit for needles. He said he paid A$20,000 for a metal detector for his berry farm.

The scare has put the focus on food safety and prompted questions about whether the industry’s supply chains are watched rigorously enough.

“This latest attack could be viewed as a form of food terrorism” said Andy Lowe, a professor at the University of Adelaide.

It “highlights how vulnerable our food supply chains are to deliberate contamination and tampering”, he said.