Needle found in a strawberry slip in a supermarket in South Island

A needle was found in a bag of strawberries bought in a supermarket on the South Island.

Police said the fruits had been bought at a supermarket in Geraldine, south of Canterbury, over the weekend.

The needle and the strawberry were part of a tray bought at the supermarket.

A customer bought the strawberry tray on Saturday morning and reported to the police that the strawberries were falsified in the evening.

A police spokesman said that they were investigating.

This is the second incident of this type in New Zealand in recent months.

In September, needles were found in strawberries in New Zealand, according to the Ministry of Primary Industries.

According to a calendar published by the MPI, three needles were found in three strawberries in the same beard.

The needles were found in a bag at the Countdown St Lukes supermarket, Auckland.

Woolworths New Zealand also informed MPI that the needles had been found in one of their strawberries.

Chronology of sabotage with strawberry

Sunday, September 23, at 3:35 pm – Woolworths NZ informed the MPI of the results of the discovery of three needles in three strawberries of one punnet. Confirmation that the police have been informed. MPI asks for details.

Sunday, September 23, 4:00 pm – Woolworths NZ removes all Choice Strawberries from any Countdown store that stores them.

Sunday, September 23, 4:20 pm – MPI requests additional information from Woolworths.

Sunday, September 23, 16:36 – Woolworths NZ sends a summary of the situation to MPI and photos. Written confirmation that the police have been informed.

Saturday, November 25 – A needle was found in a strawberry bought at a supermarket in Geraldine, a town south of Canterbury.

The incidents follow more than 100 reports of fruit trafficked in Australia.

In September, Greg Newbold, a professor of sociology at the University of Canterbury, said that it was likely a "copy situation".

"It has become a bit of a fad.Someone has seen that he could advertise, become famous for an afternoon.As long as hysteria is generated, she will continue to feed the problem."

The conduct of those behind was similar to that of the arsonists.

"It creates panic and provokes a reaction, in the same way that arsonists set fire, then watch fire brigades come in to extinguish them.

"It can make them feel important in their mostly insignificant lives."

The best way to deal with these situations was to minimize them, said Newbold.

"Millions and millions of dollars of strawberries are thrown away.

"The most rational way to do that is to put it back on the shelves, put up a warning sign saying, be careful, maybe give it a 10% discount or something like that. can then make their own choice.

"All you have to do is put a knife inside or bite gently, you will not hurt yourself.

"That would end the whole situation and not feed the ego of the people who do it – it's a huge storm in a cup of tea."