Needles in strawberries, Bahrain bans strawberry imports from Australia in a measure aimed at public safety

Strawberry imports from Australia have been temporarily banned due to concerns over shipments containing the fruit contaminated with needles.

There were many reports in the past few weeks over strawberry shipments “intentionally contaminated” with sewing needles at the country of origin.

The ban in Bahrain was confirmed by the Agriculture and Marine Resources Affairs which stated that such a step had to be taken to ensure public safety. The ban would remain in place until safety is guaranteed.

The authority has contacted the importing companies about the measures being taken, it is learnt. Supermarkets in the Kingdom have also stopped selling Australian strawberries. “We have stopped the sale because of some safety concerns that we were informed about.

Our suppliers have stopped supplying the items; we do not know when it will return to the shelves,” a merchandiser employed at a leading supermarket chain told Tribune.

The ongoing food safety scandal that hit Australia termed as ‘the 2018 Australian strawberry contamination’ has led to more than 100 cases of needles being found with packed strawberries.