The Australian strawberry scare has spread to New Zealand with a supermarket chain announcing Sunday that needles were found in a box of the fruit sourced from the neighbouring country. The Countdown supermarket chain said it had taken a brand of Australian strawberries off the shelves after a sabotaged punnet was sold in an Auckland store.
The strawberries, from Western Australia, were sold in Countdown stores nationwide last week and only one incident of tampering was reported. The statement said there have been no reports of any illness or injury in New Zealand.
In Australia, more than 100 alleged incidents of pins and needles found in fruit have been reported since the scare began in Queensland state earlier this month. Most are thought to be pranks or jokes on social media, but at least two minors have been questioned by police for carrying out hoaxes. The Australian government last week raised the maximum prison sentence for fruit tampering from 10 to 15 years.
And dailyexcelsior.com explains that while the on-going strawberry scandal has scared consumers, it’s scaring farmers more. Close to 100 cases of metal found in fruit have been reported to police and the story has made front-page news across the globe.
The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed a number of these cases have been false, but this hasn’t quelled the devastating reality that thousands of tons of strawberries are thrown out and left to rot.
Many members of the public, however, are showing their support for Australia’s growers. Thousands have flocked to south-east Queensland strawberry farms, on what's being dubbed "Strawberry Sunday". Hundreds lined up at the Chambers Flat Strawberry Farm this morning to make sure their money goes straight to the source.
Some purchased punnets, others by the box. Many families headed out to the field to pick the fruit for themselves. Customers came from far and wide.
