Australians told to chop strawberries as police investigate needles found in fruit

UPDATE 

A PRIMARY school pupil has discovered a needle inside a banana which was packed in their lunch box.
The child, who is a pupil at St Paul’s Primary School in Newcastle, fortunately discovered the fruit was contaminated before biting into it.
The child alerted teachers and police were called.
Detectives were sent to the school to investigate the incident and have removed the banana for further tests.
“This morning, there was an incident with a pupil finding a needle inside a banana,” a spokesman from the Diocese of Maitland Newcastle told news.com.au.
“The school alerted local police straight away. The police came to the school and spoke to the student. They took the banana and needle away with them and they are on their way to speak to the student’s parents.”
He added the school principal has sent a message to parents to tell them of the incident and to let them know they should chop up fruit before putting it in lunch boxes.
“It is a major concern because the safety of the kids is always our number one priority and that’s why the principal is urging parents to be super careful,” he diocese spokesman added.
“The student is OK and police have been called.”


A spokesman for NSW Police said the force would not comment on individual matters.
It comes as Scott Morrison lashed out at the “grubs” responsible for the country’s strawberry contamination crisis, announcing four new penalties and a steep increase in jail time.
Fruit growers across Australia are reeling from 20 reports of needles found in punnets of berries, with isolated cases of banana and apple sabotage.
“You are a coward and a grub,” Mr Morrison said, addressing the person or persons responsible.
“It’s not a joke. It’s not funny. You are putting the livelihoods of hardworking Australians at risk and you are scaring children.
“If you do that sort of thing in this country, we will come after you and we will throw the book at you.”
Mass harvests of fruit have been dumped as prices plunge, consumer demand evaporates and products are ripped from shelves.
A police operation involving 100 officers across multiple states is now under way to hunt down those responsible.
More at 
https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/today-show-host-karl-stefanovic-tackles-strawberry-crisis/news-story/8c456b9b07b1a6c9969fe151b05a1c7b

AN ADELAIDE father has been charged over alleged false claims that his daughter ate a contaminated strawberry, as the crisis fruit sabotage crisis sweeps the nation.
The 34-year-old man from the city suburb of Paradise reported the incident — in which he claimed his daughter bit into a strawberry containing a needle — to authorities on September 17.
South Australia Police said in a statement today that the man allegedly purchased the punnet from a metropolitan supermarket.
“Following investigation by Eastern District CIB detectives, the man was arrested today and charged with making a false report to police and falsely claiming goods had been contaminated,” the statement read.
A SA Police spokeswoman told news.com.au the details surrounding the claims were “complicated” and that no further information could be provided at this time.
He was bailed to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday.
Food tamperers could spend 10 to 15 years behind bars under laws passed by parliament on Thursday. It comes amid a national crisis that has seen saboteurs insert metal objects in fruits across five Australian states.

Earlier today, Northern Territory Police confirmed that a contaminated strawberry with a needle inside has been found in Darwin. It was the first case of its kind in the Territory.
The contaminated punnet was bought from a Nightcliff supermarket around three days ago, according to police.
NT Police Deputy Commissioner Grant Nicholls said there was “every chance” it was a copycat incident.
“Putting this is perspective, this is a single event, this is one strawberry in a single punnet in Nightcliff at the moment,” he said.
A nationwide scare involving the piercing of various fruits with sewing needles has prompted a series of supermarket recalls, and some stores in New Zealand have temporarily banned the sale of Australian strawberries.
Police have received reports of more than 100 alleged cases of pins and needles being found in strawberries, bananas and mangoes, since the first incident was recorded in Queensland on September 9.


More at
https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/food-warnings/strawberry-sabotage-crisis-spreads-to-the-northern-territory/news-story/60c4e8816f12a64d4950ebb8e89e0c26

Lord Foul wrote:

WhoseYourWolfie wrote:

It's not just supermarkets, but the total market;  (exports have already been stopped to NZ, Britain, Russia..).

And not just berries, but all fruit and vegetables are vulnerable..

Both growers and small packing plants will have to upgrade packaging lines, to include metal detectors/magnets  --  costing the producers $$millions$$ in outlays, on top of the current losses.

The crazy canute(s) responsible for this outright crime are not only threatening innocent lives, but inflicting $hundreds of millions$ in damages on our national horticultural industry, and placing tens-of-thousands of jobs at risk..

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-19/strawberry-needle-scare-new-penalties/10281838

and then the sicko's will use shards of glass/plastic which wont register