Tauranga man finds 'rusty' thumbtack inside blueberry dessert

Mr Osborne found a thumbtack inside one of the blueberries. Photo / Supplied

A batch of blueberries has been removed from supermarket shelves after a Tauranga man believes he found a "rusty" thumbtack inside the small fruit.

The man, who would only be named as Mr Osborne, was celebrating his wife's birthday at his mother-in-law's home last night and took the last mouthful of his dessert when he bit into a thumbtack.

"Luckily I bit into it sideways and spat out the tack," he said.

He believes the thumbtack was inside one of the blueberries that his mother-in-law used in her cake recipe.

"It seems pretty well thought out because when I pushed it into the side of the blueberry you couldn't see it," he said. "It was rusty and slightly bent."

The man had learned blueberries were a good snack for dogs and he and his wife had just got a new puppy.

"Lucky I did not give it to my dog," he said.

After the incident, Osborne put the blueberry and thumbtack inside a ziplock bag and notified supermarket staff, who he said had handled the complaint well.

Osborne said his mother-in-law had bought the punnet of blueberries from Pak'nSave in Pāpāmoa on January 21.

He had posted his find on Facebook to warn people about checking their fruit thoroughly before eating it.

A Foodstuffs spokesperson said the company had been notified about the incident and an investigation was under way.

"The batch has been pulled from store shelves and we are going through our stringent investigative process," she said.

"The outcome of the investigation will be referred to the authorities for their review and support."

The company did not wish to comment further.

Tauranga man Michael Rayner pictured with the strawberry he bought from a local supermarket only to find it contained a pin. Photo / Alan Gibson

A New Zealand food safety spokesperson said a report had been made of a tack found in blueberries purchased from Pak'nSave in Pāpāmoa.

The incident was also reported to police at 8.50am today.A Tauranga Police spokeswoman has confirmed the report and police were making inquiries.

"New Zealand Food Safety is working with the police and will take any action needed to mitigate public health risk," a spokesperson said.

"At this stage, we have no reason to believe this case is anything but an isolated incident."

There was no evidence of any risks in the supply chain or the food safety system, however, New Zealand Food Safety supported the Pāpāmoa store's decision to remove the product from its shelves as a precaution.

The find was the latest in a series of sharp objects finds in produce around New Zealand.

A Tauranga family found a pin inside a strawberry in December - the strawberries were bought from Pak'nSave Tauranga.

A Countdown Bureta Park customer found a needle in a red capsicum in November.

Foreign objects in fruit and vege in 2018:
December: Pin found in strawberry bought at Pak'nSave Cameron Rd
November: Needle found in a capsicum bought at Countdown Bureta
November: Needle found inside a punnet of strawberries purchased at a supermarket in the South Island in November
September: Three needles found in three strawberries in one imported punnet of Australian Choice brand strawberries at Countdown St Lukes in Auckland

New Zealand Food Safety advice:
If you see something out of the ordinary, please take it to your retailer or give us a call on 0800 00 83 33.