Countdown has warned customers after needles were found in fruit bought at its St Lukes store. Photo / Getty
Countdown has warned customers after needles were found in fruit bought at its St Lukes store. Photo / Getty
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has described the discovery of needles in Australian strawberries stocked in Countdown as alarming.
She said the matter was currently being investigated by police and the Ministry of Primary Industries, following the first case of a needle being found in a strawberry in New Zealand.
"It looks like they are able to quite narrowly define the origin of the issue," Ardern said.
The story has also attracted international media attention, with numerous publications abroad picking up the news.
British public service broadcaster BBC yesterday reported that needles were found in New Zealand strawberries.
While sewing needles were found in a punnet of strawberries in New Zealand, they were not New Zealand strawberries. The contaminated strawberries were from the brand Australian Choice, sourced from Western Australia.
The BBC's headline was: "Australia fruit scare: Needles found in New Zealand strawberries", however, it got the facts right in the written story.
"The strawberries in Auckland, originally from Western Australia state, were sold in New Zealand Countdown stores nationwide last week," a BBC journalist wrote in the article.
The BBC headline suggested that New Zealand strawberries were affected by the issue. Image/Screengrab
It outlined that there had been more than 100 reports of needles found in supermarket fruit in Australia, despite many thought to be copycat cases or social media stunts.
American TV network CNN sent out a news alert on the story.
It captioned its mobile headline: "Strawberry needle scare spreads" followed by "A New Zealand supermarket chain is removing some Australian strawberries after needles were found in a container bought in Auckland" as its synopsis.
The story outlines that needles and pins were found in all six Australian states, in at least six brands of strawberries, and that needles had caused panic in Australia and neighbouring countries.
Daily Mail reported the strawberry nightmare had become an "international crisis" after needles were found in a punnet of Australian Choice brand strawberries bought at a Countdown store in St Lukes.
Woolworths NZ has warned consumers to return Choice strawberries after the contaminated punnet of strawberries were bought in Auckland yesterday.
The person who reported the incident was not harmed by the needles.
Police and the Ministry for Primary Industries are investigating the incident.
