After strawberries, Australia Police find needles in apples and bananas

Australia has been engulfed in a nationwide scare since last week as several instances of sewing needles found hidden in strawberry punnets were reported in the country.

The police on Tuesday said that sewing needles were also found hidden in an apple and a banana. They have however stated that both the cases were "isolated".

Greg Hunt, Health Minister of Australia has ordered the nation's food watchdog to assist and investigate into resolving the matter.

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Australian police are investigating reports of dozens of cases of needles embedded in strawberries and other fruits

They have also issued warnings that those found responsible could be jailed for 10 years.

Theissue is fast turning into one of Australia's biggest ever food scares that has halted exports to New Zealand and forced at least one strawberry farm to start dumping its fruit at the peak of the season. Another farm is installing metal detectors, media reported.

While six brands have been directly affected and withdrawn from sale, consumers have begun to shun the fruit altogether.

The first instance of the needle in a strawberry was found in the northern state of Queensland.

Afterthis several otherinstances were reported from almost all the states of Australia.

Police in New South Wales (NSW) state said on Tuesday needles had been found in more than 20 strawberry punnets, and there were reports that a banana and apple also had needles in them.

Police in other states are also investigating reports of similar sabotage, though they have not given details on the number of complaints.

"Any incidents of self-contamination or copycat incidents impact on the industry and are very unhelpful for authorities," NSW Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty told reporters in Sydney.

"They will be treated as contamination, which is a serious offence and carries 10 years in jail."

One person has told media he suffered minor injuries to his mouth after biting on a strawberry with a needle embedded in it.

Such incidents were also reported in Australia a few years back. The previous contamination cases had led to arrests, but not convictions.

In 2000, a man was accused of lacing paracetamol tablets with strychnine, prompting the tablets to be recalled nationwide. The suspect died in jail before being tried.

In 2006, a case against a woman accused of contaminating salads at Sizzler restaurants with rat poison was deemed mentally unfit for trial.

Queensland state, the country's largest strawberry producing region, is particularly vulnerable to a sustained downturn in the market.

Its premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said on Tuesday the government would set aside A$1 million to help farmers survive the season. The state government is offering a A$100,000 ($71,950) reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the sabotage.

(With inputs from Reuters)