Looks like consumers need to be even more careful about what they eat. Last week, Australians were warned to cut fresh strawberries before eating them after several people found sewing needles hidden inside the fruit.
As a result, six brands strawberries have been pulled from store shelves across the country. There have also been isolated cases of needles being found in a banana and an apple. This has led to Australia launching a country-wide investigation amid growing public alarm.
The Australian government will also introduce stricter criminal penalties for those who have been found tampering with food. Currently, the penalty for deliberately contaminating a food source is 10 years in jail, but Australia’s prime minister has said the government plans to increase the maximum jail term to 15 years.
But strawberries aren’t the only thing being pulled from shelves. Australian supermarket giant Woolworths has temporarily halted the sale of sewing needles. Woolworths said the safety of its customers was top priority and that pulling sewing needles from its shelves across the country was simply a safety measure.
So far, a young boy has been arrested after police said he admitted to hiding sewing needles in strawberries. New South Wales police said it had arrested the young boy over behavior, which “could be a prank.”
By: Maytinee Kramer
