Strawberry growers move to secure crop
Strawberry growers are scrambling to safeguard their crop after a needle was found in a packet of Australian strawberries in New Zealand.
Auckland grower Phil Greig said there was a lot happening out of public view. ‘‘We are looking at all sorts of ways of getting around it.’’
However, any changes to make packaging more tamper-resistant, such as heat sealing the lid or putting packaging over it, would be expensive, and unlikely to be available until after the current harvest was over, he said.
‘‘There’s no really easy fix, but again, I’d reiterate it’s an Australian problem, not a New Zealand problem.’’
The sabotaged Australian berries were bought from an Auckland Countdown supermarket over the weekend and the New Zealand Police and the Ministry for Primary Industries are investigating.
Countdown has removed the brand from its stores.
The New Zealand strawberry harvest is under way and Strawberry Growers New Zealand chairman Anthony Rakich emphasised that no locally grown fruit was involved.
Rakich said he had heard some of the bigger growers were looking at metal detectors in packhouses.
He said he would be surprised if anyone in the packhouses here would stoop to sabotage, as the strawberrypicking community was close-knit.
‘‘A lot of the growers in New Zealand are smaller growers, familyowned, and the family work with the workers. So certainly, in my place here, I just can’t see it happening.
‘‘I’ve had workers here for 15 to 20 years and the same families keep coming back. The kids work for you in the school holidays, and there’s a lot of strawberry growers [that] are like that. I think Australia has the bigger corporate-type thing.’’
A number of strawberry growers contacted by Stuff said they hoped the issue would die quickly.
Behind the scenes, it is understood growers and supermarkets are talking about packaging and possible security measures within the supply chain.
Most people who want to pick their own strawberries will not be able to do so until after Christmas, as commercial operations do not allow the public in while they are commercially harvesting.
In Australia, police are investigating whether copycats are now in involved in the needle finds, which began with strawberries but have now spread to other fruit.
After the discovery in Auckland over the weekend, Countdown immediately pulled all Australian strawberries off its shelves and advised people who had any at home to chop them up before eating. The supermarket chain stopped ordering imported strawberries a week ago.
Countdown spokeswoman Kate Porter said the berries involved were the Choice brand from Western Australia, which had not been involved in the Australian investigation.
Foodstuffs, owner of the Pak’n Save, Four Square and New World supermarkets, said it had no Australian strawberries in its stores.
Foodstuffs spokeswoman Sue Hamilton said the company was discussing a number of options with suppliers, including stickers on packaging.