A major Australian supermarket chain announced Thursday it is temporarily pulling sewing needles from its shelves as authorities continue to investigate cases of needles being put in fruit.
A Woolworth's spokesperson said: "We’ve taken the precautionary step of temporarily removing sewing needles from sale in our stores."
This step comes while the Australian parliament seeks to adopt a new legislation to harden sanctions against those who manipulate food. According to the ABC News, the penalties for "food terrorists", as described by Australian media outlets, will range from 7 to 25 years in prison.
Governments of several Australian states have also announced prizes worth $100,000 (U.S. $73,000) for people who provide information leading to arresting those who put needles in the fruit.
The scandal has begun last week when needles were found across the country in strawberries sold by Woolworth Stores and obtained from a farm in Queensland.
According to the German News Agency, more than 100 incidents of finding needles in strawberries, bananas and apples have been recorded all over Australia, amid concern that preliminary reports have encouraged some to imitate this.
Australian ministers encouraged consumers to continue buying strawberries to support the sector, but they also called on citizens to cut the fruit before eating it.
"The only thing citizens can do better than the government is buying strawberries," Agriculture Minister David Littleproud told ABC Radio.
