Foodstuffs operates Four Square, New World and Pak’nSave in New Zealand.
The move comes after a massive recall in Australia, where strawberries were pulled from the shelves of a number of supermarkets after needles found in five states. West Australia has not been affected.
The latest shock discovery was at a Woolworths supermarket in Tasmania.
On Sunday, a customer returned a punnet of strawberries to the supermarket purchased earlier in the day, alleging the fruit had been contaminated by a needle, police said.
Earlier that day, a customer in South Australia also made the discovery while eating fruit from a punnet of Mal’s Black Label strawberries, police said.
The punnet was bought from Klose’s Foodland Supermarket in Littlehampton on Saturday with the independent grocery retailer pulling the strawberries from all its shelves.
Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt has ordered the national food safety watchdog to assess the states’ handling of strawberry contamination.
Australian police are investigating claims that needle sabotage has now spread to six brands of strawberries across five states.
Berry Obsession, Berry Licious and Donnybrook Berries branded fruit have recalled their strawberries nationwide.
Australian Police are also investigating contamination of fruit sold by Delightful Strawberries, Love Berries and Oasis in stores in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, and the ACT.
Coles and Aldi have pulled all strawberries from their shelves after needles were found inside berries sold as far apart as Sydney and Townsville.
A Foodstuffs spokeswoman said that no products in its stores had been affected by the problems in Australia. However, the company has taken the step as a precautionary measure to keep its customers safe.
“Our customers’ safety is our number one priority,” the spokeswoman said.
New Zealand imports strawberries from Australia during the off-season in this market.
New Zealand’s strawberry season will start shortly, Foodstuffs said.
- Additional reporting from News.com.au
