A needle has reportedly been found in an apple in Sydney's north-west.
NSW Police are investigating after the strawberry sabotage appears to have spread to other fruit, Seven reports.
Annastacia Palaszczuk said the money would be used to promote Queensland strawberries, to investigate how to improve traceability and integrity in the supply chain and to help growers for the remainder of this season.
"This past week, Queensland has been the victim of an ugly, calculated and despicable crime," Ms Palaszczuk said.
"The sabotage of our strawberry industry is not just an attack on hard-working growers and workers, but it reaches into almost every home and school lunch box."
There are approximately 150 strawberry growers in Queensland, with most production around Dayboro, Beerwah, Wamuran, Elimbah, Caboolture, Stanthorpe and Bundaberg.#BREAKING— Robert Ovadia 👀 (@RobertOvadia) September 18, 2018
EXCLUSIVE @7NewsSydney @7NewsBrisbane@NSWPolice is investigating the discovery of a needle inserted into an apple in Sydney’s north-west.
More to come. pic.twitter.com/fHDtrzX3Lu
Produce has been pulled from Kiwi shelves by both Woolworths NZ and Foodstuffs while the Australian Government conducts a federal investigation into the incident.
The value of Queensland strawberries for 2017—18 is forecast to be A$160 million. Growers produce 6-15,000 tonnes of fruit per season, up to 60 million punnets of strawberries.
"Strawberry farmers say their banks have already been on the phone to them," the Premier said.
"I urge those banks to act responsibly and with compassion."
Ms Palaszczuk reminded Queenslanders to cut up any strawberries before consumption.
"This funding boost for growers follows my government's approval of a $100,000 reward from the Queensland Police Service for information leading to an arrest.
"I call on anyone with information on the culprits to come forward — think what damage could have been done if a toddler had been handed a piece of contaminated fruit."
The strawberry contamination scare has now spread the length of the country, with authorities in Western Australia confirming the state's first case.
A member of the public went to York Police Station, west of Perth, to report the discovery on Monday afternoon.
The man told police he spotted a needle in his kitchen sink after preparing strawberries for his family.
"He did not recall the needle being in the sink prior to preparing the strawberries," a WA Police spokesman said.
The strawberries in question were "produced and packaged in Western Australia", the spokesman said, although the brand has not yet been released.
Growers are working hard to get the fruit back on supermarket shelves with some suppliers taking the drastic measure of installing metal detectors on their conveyor belts.
In WA, a supplier that puts around one-third of the state's strawberries onto the shelves of Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and IGA has forked out tens of thousands of dollars on a metal detector.
Canning Vale market agent Allstates Farms paid $30,000 for the device which local farmers hope will help the crippled industry.
"Strawberries are scanned and it will stop if there is any metal present," quality control manager Manjeet Singh told PerthNow .
"It means people can buy these strawberries with confidence.
"All existing stock and new stock coming in will all be going through the scanner, punnet by punnet, tray by tray, then each tray will be sealed with a security sticker.
The news came just minutes before authorities in South Australia confirmed a second case there, with a needle found in a punnet of Mal's Black Label strawberries purchased from Adelaide Fresh Fruiterers in Morphett Vale.
A consumer discovered a metal object embedded in one of the strawberries when cutting into it, police said.
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| A thin piece of metal seen among a punnet of strawberries found in Queensland |
Yesterday, a seven-year-old girl from the Adelaide Hills was lucky to escape serious injury when she bit into a strawberry containing a hidden sewing needle.
"She bit into one of the strawberries and discovered a needle, which she told her mum about," Detective Inspector Billy Thompson told reporters today.
"The father took the strawberries to the store in Littlehampton, reported it to the manager, who in turn advised that the matter should be reported to police."
That batch of the fruit originated in WA, forcing the state's Health Minister Roger Cook to insist this morning that people should be "very confident" about local strawberries.
"There has been no incident of tampering of strawberry products in WA," he told reporters today, just hours before the needle discovery in Perth.
The strawberry industry has been in chaos since the first discovery of a needle in a punnet of strawberries bought in Burpengary in Queensland more than a week ago.
In that case, a man who bit into a strawberry with a needle inside it and ended up in hospital.
Since then, needles or pins have been reported in strawberries in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT.
Affected brands include Berry Obsession, Berry Licious, Love Berry, Donnybrook Berries, Delightful Strawberries and Oasis.
A nationwide manhunt is under way for the culprit or culprits responsible for the numerous cases of deliberate contamination.
Consumers are urged to cut up any strawberries before eating them.
Where have the contaminated berries been found?
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| Empty shelves, normally stocked with strawberry punnets, are seen at a Coles Supermarket in Brisbane, Friday, September 14, 2018. |
- September 9 - Brisbane man rushed to hospital after eating punnet of strawberries containing needle
- September 10 - Woman from Gladstone, Queensland finds needle in strawberry
- September 13 - Thin metal object found in Gatton, Queensland
- September 14 - Chantal Faugeras find needle in punnet in Wingham
- September 15 - Coles shopper finds contaminated punnet in Engadine, Sydney
- September 16 - Contamination spreads to South Australia after a pin is found in Mal's Black Label brand
- September 17 - Tasmania Police investigate contamination claims in Hobart
Man reports finding needle in his sink while preparing strawberries to police near Perth.
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