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Supermarket sewing needle ban after fruit contamination

Woolworths has halted all sales of sewing needles across Australia as police investigate more than 100 reported cases of tampered fruit, many of which are thought to be fake or copycat cases.

The supermarket giant is taking a “precautionary step” by “temporarily removing sewing needles from sale”, a Woolworths spokeswoman said, adding “the safety of our customers is our top priority”.

It comes after a 12-year-old girl was arrested by police after admitting to have deliberately placed a needle inside a strawberry to show off to her friends.

The child who attends a school in the Blue Mountains in NSW, was questioned by police at her home “in the last few days” after she was reported to a teacher by another student, New South Wales Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Stuart Smith told reporters in a press conference in Sydney on Thursday.

Mr Smith said the girl, who later confessed, would be dealt with under the youth cautioning system.

He characterised her actions as merely a “prank”, but warned that others who are caught tampering with fruit would be more harshly punished.

“What we’ve seen in the state [NSW] we believe is the work of copycats and pranksters, we’ve got to deal with it though, the way we deal with any crime,” Mr Smith said.

Needles have been found in more than 20 punnets of strawberries across NSW and potentially 100 pieces of fruit across the nation in the week since the sabotage was first detected in Queensland.

NSW Police on Wednesday announced a $100,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction for contaminated fruit.

Reports have also emerged on Wednesday evening of another contaminated banana in Newcastle.

A police source said they were mindful of confirming specific cases for fear of inspiring more copycats.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is moving to rush harsher penalties through Parliament that could see “food terrorists” face 15 years in prison as the strawberry industry is brought to its knees.

-with AAP

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