Strawberries can still be purchased in Orange despite shopping centres across Australia pulling punnets off shelves last week after needles were found in the fruit.
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Non-affected brands are still being sold at stores such as Harris Farm Markets and fruit growers and sellers are urging shoppers not to let the sabotage deter them.
Huntley Berry Farm marketing manager Gianni Belmonte said he did not want to draw more attention to the issue to avoid inciting copycats and he wants people to continue supporting farmers who rely on the sales to support their livelihoods.
“Continue to support local farmers and our local industry, don’t let the scare put you off and maybe just to be sure cut the fruit before you put it in your mouth,” Mr Belmonte said.
“I think everything will go back to normal, it’s not the first time this has happened, it happened in the early 1990s to watermelon.
“I hope this doesn’t deter people from buying Australian fruit and veg. As a community we need to be a lot stronger than that, one person is not going to spoil everything for everyone else.”
Mr Belmonte said the strawberry season in Orange will be in late October to early November, however heavy frosts and the drought has affected this year’s crop at the berry farm and will result in a lower yield.
“Things are still very dry … the ground here is still quite dry even though we are irrigating,” Mr Belmonte said.
“Even though we are in drought, frost is a killer, anything with a short root system [is affected].
“All of the berries are affected by the frost, it burns off the bud, they do grow back but they grow a lot smaller.
“It killed off some plants as well. We’ve lost about 20 per cent of the crop due to the frost.”
The Agrestic Grocer owner Beay Baddock will sell berries grown in the region when they come in season and said the issue will not affect berry farmers in the Central West in the short term.
A spokesman from Harris Farm Markets said the supermarket sources its strawberries from Australian growers.
“Harris Farm does not buy strawberries from farms that have been involved in unsafe fruit. As per the NSW Food Authority, we recommend all fruit be cut and washed prior to consumption as a precautionary measure.”
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