Police Investigating Food Contamination Case After 11-Year-Old Boy Finds Pins Hidden Inside Strawberries

Australian Police have launched an investigation into a case of suspected food tampering after an 11-year-old boy discovered sharp pins embedded within store-bought strawberries.

According to a report by News.com, the incident happened at Adelaide Hills on Thursday, September 24, when the child found the sharp implements inside a punnet of 'Berry Indulgence' brand strawberries.

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Pictures of the pins imbedded berries have been uploaded on various social media platforms by the boy's mother, Anne Lentakis. Lentakis shared footage of herself slicing open some of the strawberries to reveal the dangerous contents on the local community Facebook group 'Adelaide Hills Alert.'

Lentakis captioned the post:

"Multiple pins found in Strawberries purchased in Stirling this afternoon. Reported to the store and all related items have been removed from shelves. Admin please remove this post if not appropriate. [sic]"

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Following her post, Lentakis confirmed in the comments section that she had reported the incident to the South Australia Police, but did not reveal where she had purchased the punnet from, as she did not want to harm the store's reputation.

As per reports, the contaminated fruit has been traced to a Queensland strawberry farm, and police are urging the general public to be cautious when purchasing and consuming fruit in the near future.

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A spokesperson for the South Australia police service later told News.com:

"Investigators are working with the store and the reporting person to establish how the contamination occurred. Police advise the public that it is a serious offence to contaminate food products and to do so can have obvious dangers for others."

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As per News.com, back in September of 2019, a woman from Melbourne was rushed to the hospital in the middle of her birthday event after biting into a strawberry and fining a needle hidden inside it. Though it is currently unknown if the two incidents are related.