New line of berries in needle scare

A $100,000 reward has been offered for information on the Queensland strawberry saboteur.

Alicia Swain from Tamarama, Sydney. ‘It’s worrying’. Picture: Jane Dempster.

A $100,000 reward has been offered for information on the Queensland strawberry saboteur amid fears six brands across four states have been targeted with needle insertion.

Fruit sold under Berry Obsession, Berry Licious and Donnybrook brands have been affected, while NSW police warn fruit sold under the Love Berry, Delightful Strawberries and Oasis brands were inserted with needles by a possible copycat.

NSW Police said in a statement late Friday: “As the products have yet to be forensically examined, it is unknown if the contamination is related to the original Queensland incident or a copycat.”

Products sold under those labels have been pulled from shelves but it is unclear just how big the health issue has become with punnets being sold across Australia.

A health warning to throw out or cut up strawberries remains in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia as authorities hunt those responsible.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has issued the reward over concerns for growers as well as consumers, AAP reported.

“How could any right-minded person want to put a baby or a child or anybody’s health at risk by doing such a dreadful act?,” the Premier told reporters on Saturday.

“This is putting families’ lives at risk and it’s also putting the strawberry industry at risk,” Ms Palaszczuk said. “We need to catch those responsible.”

A third brand of strawberries, Donnybrook, from the same growing region north of Brisbane has been added to the urgent national recall as the needle contamination scandal deepens.

Queensland Chief Health ­Officer Jeannette Young yesterday confirmed three additional incidents of contaminated strawberries had come to light involving the previously unaffected Donnybrook brand.

There have now been seven confirmed incidents across three states involving sewing needles found embedded in strawberries grown in Queensland.

A Brisbane man is understood to be the only person to have consumed a contaminated strawberry and is being monitored for any internal injuries. Hoani Hearne, 21, believed he swallowed metal fragments on Sunday, however X-rays proved inconclusive.

Police have been gathering names of more than 100 current and former farm workers in an ­effort to identify any suspects and will now look for links between the three brands.

The move to halt the sale of Donnybrook strawberries came two days after the Berry ­Obsession and Berry Licious brands were also recalled, involving punnets that had been on sale since early last week.

“We are currently working with retailers nationwide to ensure that all Donnybrook stock is removed from sale,” Dr Young said, adding that the brand was sold through various retailers, including Coles and Woolworths. “Donnybrook distributes strawberries throughout Australia, so that process will take a while. If you have Donnybrook strawberries at home, or are unsure of the brand, you should return them to the store or throw them away.”

The three latest incidents involving the Donnybrook brand were detected at Everton Park in Brisbane, Redbank Plains in Ipswich and Tweed Heads in NSW. Four other incidents involving Berry Obsession and Berry Licious sold through Woolworths had ­already been reported in Queensland and Victoria, and those brands were also sold in NSW.

There has also been a suspected copycat incident involving a small steel rod found in a strawberry punnet purchased from Coles at Gatton, west of Brisbane, and pins reportedly found embedded in strawberries purchased from Coles at Wingham in NSW.

Dr Young said there had been “a lot of reports” of other potential contamination cases that had yet to be confirmed. Those reports were increasing, she said, and ­included some people presenting to hospital. NSW police advised the Delightful Strawberries, Oasis and Love Berry brands had also claimed to have been affected, although they were not subject to a recall.

Police had been investigating the supply chain associated with Berry Obsession and Berry Licious, which came from two farms run by the same company at Wamuran, and are now expected to examine any links with the three nearby farms behind the unrelated Donnybrook brand.

Queensland police Acting Chief Superintendent Terry Lawrence yesterday urged anybody who discovered contaminated strawberries to keep the evidence and report it to police. He issued a plea for anyone with information about the crimes — which carry a maximum jail term of 10 years — to contact police.

Father of two Sam Rahmanian told The Weekend Australian he would continue to buy his children their favourite fruit. “I think we’ve bought 10 buckets in the past week,” he said. “The kids love them but we’ve made sure we have chopped them up.”

Alicia Swain, from Tamarama in Sydney’s east, said: “Maybe they need to update their packaging to avoid tampering.

“It’s worrying.”