Police probe Facebook claim of Hobart strawberry needle find

LATEST 4pm: Strawberries still on sale as police probe a Facebook claim of a Hobart needle find. WATCH THE PRESS CONFERENCE

LATEST 4pm: WOOLWORTHS is still stocking strawberries at its Rosny Park store despite a police probe into how a needle ended up in one of the punnets.

Woolworths said they had pulled Berry Licious, Berry Obsession, Donnybrook, Oasis and Love Berry branded strawberries from shelves for precautionary measures as the sabotage mystery grips Tasmania.

Detective Acting Inspector David Richardson said a Hobart woman found the needle in a Pinata branded strawberry she purchased about 3.45pm on Sunday.

She has been interviewed by police twice since their investigation started about 9.30pm the same night.

Woolworths hasn’t yet confirmed whether Pinata strawberries had also been withdrawn from its Rosny Park store.

The company said they had signage up in store with the latest public health advice from Queensland Health.

“At Woolworths we take food safety incredibly seriously,” a spokesman said.

“We will stay in close contact with, and continue to be steered by, the authorities on the protection of our customers.”

It comes as nervous growers are weighing up their farming futures as the strawberry contamination crisis forces New Zealand’s major supermarkets to stop selling the fruit from Australia.

Both Foodstuffs and Countdown (owned by Woolworths) — which between them control nearly the entire New Zealand grocery market — on Monday announced they had stopped sending out Australian strawberries to their stores.

In separate statements, both said while none of their products had been affected by a major recall in Australia, they wanted to reassure customers.

Countdown said it had stopped ordering any further imports of Australian strawberries, while Foodstuffs had halted distribution.

UPDATED 3.45pm: DETECTIVE Acting Inspector David Richardson has told a media conference that police responded to the local strawberry sabotage Facebook post about 9.30pm on Sunday.

He said the picture shared on social media was not how the needle was found in the strawberry when it was bought at 3.45pm but had been inserted back into the fruit for the photo.

Insp Richardson said the woman had made a statutory declaration on the matter and there was “no information to suggest it was a hoax at this time”.

“Her daughter found it, it would be alleged, when she was going to eat it,” he said.

“Affected persons are encouraged not to handle the product or packaging unnecessarily because this will help us in our investigation.”

Insp Richardson said this was the only reported strawberry contamination in Tasmania so far, but said any customers or retailers who found contaminated products should contact police immediately.

Acting Director of Public Health Scott McKeown said regardless of the brand, if you eat fresh strawberries “it’s really important to cut them into pieces before you consume them”.

“That way you can ensure it’s safe for you to eat them,” Dr McKeown said.

Dr McKeown said eating a needle could hurt someone anywhere from their throat, mouth, gullet or intestines.

EARLIER: A MEETING is being held at the state’s health department to determine how to tackle the strawberry sabotage mystery in southern Tasmania.

Police seized strawberries from a supermarket in Hobart’s Eastern Shore late on Sunday after social media claims that a needle has been found inside a punnet.

It comes as federal Nationals MP Andrew Broad blasted the culprits inserting needles into strawberries as “low-life scum”.

STRAWBERRY SABOTAGE SCARE GOES GLOBAL

The former farmer said anyone who’s been sabotaging strawberries should face jail time.

“The low-life scum who think it’s somehow funny to chuck needles in strawberries I think should be chucked in jail as soon as they’re identified,” he said.

Tasmania Police Acting Inspector Stephen Watson said police were alerted to the Facebook post yesterday.

Officers then collected strawberries believed to be contaminated at Rosny Park Woolworths.

He said the produce was being examined but it was yet to be determined if the contamination was related to the ongoing problems in Queensland or a copycat incident.

An update from police and health authorities on the needle mystery is expected this afternoon.

NEEDLE FOUND IN STRAWBERRIES IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA

A Hobart woman posted to Facebook on Sunday that her daughter had discovered a needle in a strawberry bought at Rosny Park Woolworths.

An image posted on Facebook from a shopper claiming to have found a needle in strawberries bought from a Hobart supermarket.

The post, which included a picture, said: “Warning to everyone today I bought 2 punnets of strawberries from wollworths (sic) rosny park and my 10yr old daughter bit into one and there was a needle inside.

“I took them back and they are being taken over to the police station after I had asked to speak to the manager … So a big warning to check all strawberries these was the pinata brand.”

The woman told the Mercury the needle became stuck between her daughter’s teeth when she took a bite.

STRAWBERRY GROWERS NEED ASSISTANCE TO SURVIVE

A Woolworths spokesman said they were aware of the report and had passed the details to the authorities leading the investigation.

”We urge customers to follow the advice of the health authorities and chop all strawberries before eating them,” they said.

Public Health Services said it was also aware of the report and would be looking into it this morning.

Police are urging members of the public to be “attentive” when consuming food products such as fresh strawberries, and to contact police if they believed they had purchased a potentially contaminated product.

Insp Watson said information was being collated in each state before it was passed to the Queensland authorities to assist with their investigation.

The nationwide strawberry sabotage mystery widened yesterday after a needle was also found by an Adelaide Hills resident in South Australia.

The Queensland State Government has already announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the strawberry contamination.

Most of the estimated 80 strawberry farms in Queensland are in the Sunshine Coast, Bundaberg and Moreton Bay regions.

Sabotaged punnets have been reported as far north as Townsville but health authorities have been reluctant to detail numbers and locations of spiked strawberries, fearing this may encourage copycats.

Anyone with information on people responsible for contaminating fruit should contact Tasmania Police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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