Australia is currently grappling with an epidemic of seriously messed up proportions. People have been inserting sewing needles into strawberries at grocery stores. According to a recent Reuters article, Australian police are currently investigating over 100 reports of needles found in strawberries. What is wrong with people?
As of September 20th, six Australians have been physically hurt, including one 21-year-old who was hospitalized after ingesting a sewing needle while consuming strawberries. Furthermore, local farmers have felt the devastating effects of the scare and have been forced to dump crops as strawberry sales plummet across the country.
Australian parliament voted on the 20th to increase prison time to 15 years for those found guilty of placing needles in strawberries. And those who are convicted of faking food tampering will likely have to serve 10 years.
As Global News reported on September 19th, only one arrest has been made. New South Wales police took in one “young person” after he admitted to inserting needles into strawberries, calling it a “copycat prank.”
Despite the arrest, on the 20th, Woolworths supermarkets across the country pulled sewing needles from their shelves in an effort to keep the public safe. It is believed that other copycats are out there and police in New South Wales have also been called in to investigate needles found in a banana and an apple, according to Global News.
An Adelaide woman has told @9NewsAdel she found a needle in a strawberry, she was cutting up for her baby son, this morning. It would be the second SA incident in 24 hours. Details at 6 pic.twitter.com/teEDbZYcDu
— Edward Godfrey (@EdwardGodfrey9) September 17, 2018
While police continue to get to the bottom of the epidemic, Australian officials are encouraging the public to continue to buy strawberries to help out the local farmers. However, they urge consumers to cut up strawberries and other fruits before eating to ensure their safety.
A social media campaign called #SmashAStawb has also swept the nation in an effort to support farmers. And a fundraiser is being held in Brisbane’s King George Square on September 26th to bring awareness to the crisis and encourage the public to keep buying strawberries.
Don’t forget to pop by King George Square anytime from dawn to dusk tomorrow to support our #strawberry farmers. @Schrinner joined @zonca earlier today to help @TheCommonGoodAU get ready for tomorrow’s strawberry sundae marathon 🍓#smashastrawb @abcbrisbane pic.twitter.com/ex1g7Swfpb
— Team Schrinner (@team_schrinner) September 25, 2018
Done! After running out of flour (I think I had more on me than in the bowl!), it’s now time for the oven! #smashastrawb #abcdayofsundaes @MelindaButtle @Loretta_Ryan @abcbrisbane pic.twitter.com/CL1sJde7qQ
— Craig Zonca (@zonca) September 25, 2018
It’s sad to think that someone would want to incite chaos by doing something as juvenile and frightening as inserting needles into fruits. But thankfully, the Australian public is proving they can rise above the fear and are refusing to let the perpetrators win.
Even though we’re not local to the epidemic, we’ll definitely be taking extra precautions with our own fruits just in case anyone in the states has caught onto this terrible idea.
