Supermarket stops selling needles after fruit sabotage
THE Australian supermarket Woolworths has removed sewing needles from its stores to prevent them being inserted into strawberries and other fruit following an outbreak of food sabotage across the country.
As the government introduced tougher jail sentences for saboteurs, Woolworths said: “We have taken the precautionary step of temporarily removing sewing needles from sale.”
More than 100 cases of needles found in fruit have occurred in the past week, mainly in strawberries but also in bananas, apples and mangoes. The crisis has led to plummeting strawberry prices and forced growers to dump millions of berries.
Some farmers and wholesalers have been looking to install metal detectors to prevent further sabotage.
Authorities believe the initial cases targeted strawberries and may have been part of a vendetta, but there have since been dozens of copycat cases. Fruit sellers, health agencies and police have encouraged consumers to cut fruit before eating it.
“[We] remind the public to be vigilant and exercise caution when buying strawberries and other fruit in New South Wales,” said Det Supt Daniel Doherty, of New South Wales police.
Scott Morrison, the prime minister, has introduced new laws to increase jail sentences for food contamination from 10 to 15 years, saying the crisis was causing fear across the country.
“Mums and dads and kids have real concerns and fears,” he told Channel Nine. “It’s not a joke.
“It’s not funny. You’re putting the livelihoods of hard-working Australians at risk. And you’re scaring children.”
The scare has prompted people to share online recipes for products that use smashed strawberries, such as tarts, cakes and cocktails. Others have suggested using egg slicers to cut strawberries to ensure they are safe.
Australia’s other big supermarket chain, Coles, said it would continue to sell sewing needles.
“We have worked with suppliers to implement additional control measures to ensure strawberries are inspected before they are sent to supermarkets,” a spokesman said.
The states of Queensland and New South Wales have offered rewards for any information about fruit tampering.