Strawberries have been pulled from the shelves at a Timaru supermarket after a needle was found inside a punnet.
The needle was found inside a New Zealand grown strawberry purchased from Timaru's Pak'nSave, The Ministry for Primary Industries New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) spokesperson says.
There is no evidence of any risk to the food supply chain or the food safety system, the spokesperson says.
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"Rather, this is a potentially criminal activity and it is being treated as such."
Foodstuffs, Police and the NZFS are working together to investigate the incident.
All the strawberries at the Timaru supermarket have been pulled from the shelves while an investigation is underway.
A Foodstuffs spokesperson confirmed to Newshub they were aware of a 'foreign object' being found inside a strawberry.
Customers are urged to contact Foodstuffs if they have any concerns about their products.
In November strawberries were pulled from the shelves of a Geraldine supermarket after a needle was found in a punnet, the first time a needle had been found in fruit in the South Island.
It follows the nationwide food scare across Australia when over 100 needles were found in Australian strawberries.
Newshub.
