Hastings locals are being encouraged to support local strawberry growers after a national recall of six brands affected by needle tampering.
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Berry Licious, Berry Obsession, Donnybrook, Oasis, Love Berry and Delightful Strawberries were taken off the shelves after new cases of needled strawberries extending the crisis from Queensland and New South Wales (including the Mid North Coast) further afield to Western Australia and South Australia.
Anthony Sarks, owner of Ricardoes Tomatoes and Strawberries in Port Macquarie, said it was an “absolute tragedy” that strawberry farmers are being brought to their knees through the sabotage of their industry.
“What I have been saying to people is that now is not the time to abandon strawberry growers,” Mr Sarks said.
“It is a chance in a million that something like this would happen and really, you have more of a chance at getting hit by a car than getting a contaminated strawberry.
“That said, cutting them in half to eat them will ensure safety.”
My concern is that people will stop buying local produce – and in this case strawberries – and farms will go out of business.
- Anthony Sarks, Ricardoes Tomatoes and Strawberries
Ricardoes Tomatoes and Strawberries was established in 2002 on a farm at Blackmans Point and Mr Sarks said locally, it has been a great season.
“We grow all year round as we are undercover, but even still, we are having a bumper crop this season due to lots of sun over winter. Now is the best time to buy strawberries,” he said.
“The smart people are buying them up in trays, cutting them up and freezing them for smoothies and the like.”
Read more: Needles in strawberries in all six states
He said hopefully the metal-in-fruit situation is a short term problem but it could have long-lasting effects if the public doesn’t rise above the sabotage.
“My concern is that people will stop buying local produce – and in this case strawberries – and farms will go out of business.
“The real concern is that if produce farms close we will have to start importing products and that would be a bad thing for everyone. Australia has the best produce in the world. Why would we import it?
“We are seeing it happen to the dairy industry already with costs going up but prices staying the same and generally farms can’t cope.
“I would hate for something like this to do the same thing to our farmer friends across the country.”
As a result of the situation, the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources announced it will be implementing interim control measures for fresh strawberries.
From today, September 19, a nil tolerance of metal contaminants in fresh strawberries will be enforced by the department to mitigate the risk of these entering the export supply chain.
In order for strawberry export permits to be approved, exporters will be required to provide assurance to the department that their consignment is free from metal contaminants.
Visual inspection alone is not acceptable and control measures that will be used may include an assurance that the fruit will go through an effective metal screening process (metal detectors/X-ray) prior to export, or on-farm metal screening with measures to ensure product security has been maintained post-screening.
Our region has very significant horticultural production and these saboteurs have the capacity to cause significant economic damage, and cause job losses
- Luke Hartsuyker, MP
Member for Cowper Luke Hartsuyker said that it was an awful thing to occur in a country where agriculture is so important.
“Our region has very significant horticultural production and these saboteurs have the capacity to cause significant economic damage, and cause job losses,” Mr Hartsuyker said.
“That’s in addition, of course, to the totally unacceptable public health risk.”
NSW Police are also asking anyone with information about the deliberate contamination of Australian fruit to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
