Food scientists have criticised health advice given by the Queensland government after sewing needles were discovered in punnets of strawberries this week.

Punnets of Berry Obsession and Berry Licious strawberries have been compromised, with sewing needles found in some of the fruit.

It’s believed a disgruntled former employee is to blame but there are no suspects yet.

Another alarming discovery has been made in the past 24 hours, as a needle was found inside a strawberry in Victoria.

Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young has suggested consumers should cut their strawberries in half to check the fruit before eating it.

Chair of Food Science and Technology at University of Queensland, Professor Melissa Fitzgerald, is criticising the state government’s response to the issue.

“They have undertaken a trade level of recall, and a trade level of recall means that we recall the food product from the distribution lines,” she tells Chris Smith.

“But what we’ve seen is it’s consumers who’ve reported the strawberry contamination of the needles and so we’ve seen that the strawberries have reached the retail chain.

“Usually, the definition of that is a consumer recall.”

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