Copycats who have devastated Queensland's strawberry industry by hiding needles inside fruit are worse than those behind the initial crime, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says.
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More than 100 police including 60 detectives are now investigating the sabotage and the state government has offered a $100,000 reward leading to the arrest of those involved.
"What isn't helpful is the number of copycat and fake reports making an already difficult situation worse," Ms Palaszczuk told Parliament on Wednesday.
"This is something with which the growers have expressed their anger and frustration and I couldn't agree more."
"The people copying this crime are in many ways worse than those who started it."
What started out as a health issue impacting two Sunshine Coast suppliers has spread to an entire industry with farmers now forced to stand down staff and dump their produce by the truckload.
West Australian police confirmed on Tuesday they were investigating a fifth claim and the WA government is also offering a $100,000 reward.
NSW police were investigating at least 20 cases of needles being found in fruit including claims of needles being found in an apple and a banana.
Perpetrators, including copycats and consumers falsely claiming a discovery, could face up to 10 years in jail for food contamination.
In Victoria the opposition has called for bipartisan support to create a new offence for deliberately contaminating food with a mandatory three year prison sentence.
No-one has been charged in relation to the tampering.
In Queensland, struggling growers have been boosted by the announcement of a $1 million fund to help them through the crisis.
The funding has been matched by the federal government.
Horticulture body Growcom has implored consumers to keep buying strawberries.
"Hang in there with us and our saying will be 'cut it up, don't cut us out'," Growcom chief executive David Thomson said.
Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce said the culprits must be "pursued and hunted down".
"It is not only a threat to the strawberry industry, it is a threat across the food production industry. We have got to treat it as such," he told the Nine Network.
The scare is expected to result in a review of fruit handling, storage and packaging following the police investigations, Mr Thomson said.
From 9am on Wednesday all fresh strawberries being exported from Australia must be metal-contaminant free.
The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources announced the interim control measure on Tuesday evening in response to the growing situation.
"These measures apply to fresh strawberry exports to all markets, and will remain in place until the risk of metal contaminants has been appropriately managed."
Australian Associated Press
