The Australian government has ordered a probe into incidents of sewing needles being found hidden inside strawberries. Major supermarkets have taken strawberries off their shelves as growers use metal detectors.
Image: picture-alliance/blickwinkel/A. Laule
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Food tampering scandals that shocked the world
Reports of needles therein have Australians steering clear of strawberries, but it's not the first time dangerous goods have landed in supermarkets. DW looks at some of the biggest food tampering cases around the world.
Image: picture-alliance/blickwinkel/A. Laule
September 2018: Needles in Australia's strawberries
Australia's government launched an official probe after sewing needles were found stuck inside strawberries across the country. Reports of the tampered berries popped up in six out of the country's seven states, with officials worried about copycat cases. At least one person was taken to the hospital after eating a strawberry with a needle inside.
Image: picture-alliance/blickwinkel/A. Laule
January 2018: Pins found in German bread
Consumers in Australia weren't the only ones to take cautious bites out of their food this year. In January, metal pins were found stuck in food from a grocery store in the southwestern German town of Offenburg. The pins were found in in several bakery items, including toast bread, as well as a salami snack.
Image: picture-alliance
2017: Poisoned baby food and extortion in Germany
Parents across Germany were sent into a panic last September after authorities found baby food jars in Friedrichshafen laced with ethylene glycol — the sweet-tasting compound used in antifreeze. It can cause kidney failure and even death. A 55-year-old man threatened to poison more food in German supermarkets if he didn't receive €10 million ($12 million). He was later arrested and confessed.
Image: picture alliance/Keystone/J. Zick
2016: Deadly sweets in Pakistan
More than 30 people died in the Punjab province of Pakistan after eating laddu, a baked sweet, that had been purposely poisoned. The brother of the sweet shop owner later admitted to police that he'd mixed a potent pesticide into the sweets after a family argument. More than 70 people were affected by the poisoned treats.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/STR
2003: The 'Aquabomber' strikes in Italy
Supermarkets in Italy were on high alert for several months in 2003 over contaminated water bottles. Bleach and acetone was injected into the tops of water bottles using a syringe. Police at the time believed that the unknown suspect or suspects belonged to radical anti-capitalist or environmentalist groups. Over a dozen people became sick after drinking the tainted water.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/L. Zennaro
1982: The Tylenol murders
It was the case that started it all — seven people in the US city of Chicago died after taking Tylenol-branded pain relief pills that had been laced with potassium cyanide. No one was ever charged for the deaths and the case remains unsolved. The deaths prompted pharmaceutical companies to develop packaging that is tamper-resistant.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/B. C. Bower
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Needles hidden inside strawberries have been found in two more Australian states, police said on Monday, adding that no injuries have been reported.
Police said a man in the state of Western Australia and a girl in South Australia reported finding needles in their strawberries in the past two days, broadening the health scare to all six Australian states.
Authorities have warned people to slice the fruit before eating, with seven brands of strawberries in the country now believed to be contaminated.
Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt ordered the national food safety watchdog to investigate the scare.
"The job is very, very clear. Protect the public and keep them safe," Hunt told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Major Australian supermarket chains Coles and Aldi have pulled all strawberries from their shelves.Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/D. Peled
Supermarkets recall strawberries
Major Australian supermarket chains Coles and Aldi have pulled all strawberries from their shelves across Australia except in Western Australia state, where the first suspected needle contamination case was reported in locally-grown fruit.
A man in the town of York reported to police that he found a needle in a sink after washing strawberries.
Public fears also spread to neighboring New Zealand, where major food distributors Foodstuffs and Countdown have taken Australian strawberries off their shelves.
The country's Ministry of Primary Industries confirmed none of the contaminated strawberry brands had made it onto shop shelves.
'Commercial terrorism'
The government of Queensland state, where the contamination scare was first reported last week, offered a 100,000 Australian dollar ($72,000, €62,000) reward for any information on those responsible.
The state's police chief said it was unclear who was responsible for the contamination. Police are trying to ascertain if it was the result of a single person acting alone or several people acting independently.
Queensland Strawberry Growers Association vice president Adrian Schultz said the act of "commercial terrorism" has severely hurt the multimillion-dollar industry.
"I'm angry for all the associated people, it's the farmers, the people who supply them, the packaging people, the truckies with families to support, who suddenly lose their jobs ... it's far-reaching," Schultz said.
Several strawberry growers have been forced to dump fruit in the peak of the season.
Strawberry Growers Association of Western Australia president Neil Handasyde said growers had received requests from major retailers and insurance companies to scan fruit for needles.
"Industry are looking at lots of different ways of tackling this issue. There's been metal detectors purchased and tamper-proof packaging looked at," Handasyde told ABC, adding that he paid AU$20,000 for a metal detector for his berry farm.
