Strawberry needle contamination: Police investigate new case of spiked fruit in New Zealand

Fruit removed from shelves as a precaution

A new investigation has started after another needle was found inside a punnet of strawberries in New Zealand.

The person who bought the contaminated fruit – from a supermarket in the South Island town of Geraldine – was not harmed.

A spokesperson for the New Zealand’s primary industries ministry said the incident had been referred to the police.

“[The ministry] will provide support and information to police where needed and work to mitigate any public health risk,” they said.

The latest case comes two weeks after the woman suspected to be behind the initial needle scare in Australia was arrested.

Panic spread throughout Australia over September and October when scores of people starting discovering their strawberries had been spiked with sewing needles.

Cases were ultimately recorded in all six states, and also in neighbouring New Zealand.

Some were thought to be copycats, but the scare had died down since My Ut Trinh, a Vietnamese-born woman from Brisbane who worked at a strawberry farm, was arrested.

My Ut Trinh, the strawberry farm worked arrested by Australian police over the needle scare (EPA)

Prosecutors have alleged Ms Trinh was driven by “spite or revenge” and that her DNA was found on one of the needles, tying her to the crime.

Australia’s strawberry industry was hit badly as tons of the fruit were recalled from supermarkets and destroyed as a precaution.

The New Zealand government spokesperson said that the latest needle find was not thought to be part of a larger pattern, however.

“At this stage, [the ministry] does not have any reason to believe this is more widespread than the single discovery.

“However, as a precautionary measure the store has removed strawberries from shelves.”

New Zealand’s own strawberry industry, which is worth about £19m, has warned that any fresh outbreak of the needle scare could devastate livelihoods.

“We’ve got a number of growers with their livelihoods on the line,” Strawberries NZ executive manager Michael Ahern told a local radio station in September after the initial needle finds.

“Employees and their service companies, there’s a lot at stake. [But growers will] do everything they can to provide the New Zealand consumer with a trusted and reliable product.”