Needle found in fruit

A second South Canterbury supermarket has been forced to pull strawberries from its shelves after the discovery of a needle in a punnet. Foodstuffs has pulled strawberries from Pak ‘n Save Timaru and is working with the Ministry for Primary Industries and police after a complaint on Monday. Foodstuffs NZ spokeswoman Antoinette Laird confirmed an investigation was under way after Stuff was contacted by a Timaru woman, who discovered the needle. ‘‘We are aware of an issue with a customer finding a foreign object in a punnet of strawberries purchased at one of our stores in Timaru,’’ Laird said. ‘‘Remaining product has since been removed from sale.’’ It follows a needle being found inside a strawberry bought at FreshChoice supermarket in Geraldine on November 24. A New Zealand Food Safety spokesperson said they were aware of the incident.