SYDNEY
• An Australian court has ordered a 50-year-old farm supervisor charged in a strawberry needle contamination case, which sparked a major food scare, to stay in custody until she next appears in court. In September, the repeated discovery of needles stuck inside grocery store strawberries prompted widespread alarm, caused farmers to dump massive quantities and triggered a nationwide investigation. My Ut Trinh, 50, who worked at one of the strawberry farms where the tampered produce was grown, was arrested and charged with seven counts of contaminating goods by Queensland state police on Sunday. She faced court on Monday and bail was denied after prosecutors said she could suffer retribution for her alleged actions, The Australian reported. A Vietnamese refugee who arrived by boat two decades ago and became an Australian citizen, Trinh was working as a supervisor of fruit pickers at the Berrylicious strawberry farm near Caboolture, north of Brisbane, when she allegedly inserted needles into the fruit between September 2 and 5, the court was told. Detective Superintendent Jon Wacker, Drug and Serious Crime Group, is speaking to media this morning following the arrest of a 50-year-old woman in relation to the contamination of strawberries in September of this year – https://t.co/cx1ftWV5tS — Queensland Police (@QldPolice) November 11, 2018

State Crime Command Superintendent Jon Wacker told reporters before the court hearing that 230 incidents were reported nationwide, impacting 68 strawberry brands. Read: Australia's needles in strawberries crisis has reportedly spread to two more countries

Wacker said Trinh, an Australian citizen, "was a supervisor at a farm", with Queensland's Courier Mail identifying her employer as the Berrylicious and Berry Obsession farm - one of the growers at the heart of the scare. Jon Wacker, State Crime Command superintendent, told reporters before the court hearing that 230 incidents were reported across Australia, affecting 68 strawberry brands. The scare was concentrated in Queensland state, where 77 incidents were reported, 15 of which were believed to be hoaxes or false complaints. The Queensland Strawberry Growers Association welcomed the arrest, but noted the high number of unresolved cases, adding that the seven counts in Trinh's chargesheet suggested that most of the 230 reports were either copycat actions or hoaxes. "It was a crisis driven by social media and the only real victims were the strawberry growers, and to some extent other Australian fruit growers and exporters," the Queensland Strawberry Growers Association said in a statement.
A 50-year-old former strawberry farm supervisor is arrested in Queensland in connection with 230 reports of sewing needles found hidden in strawberries. The "strawberry scare" spread throughout the country and to New Zealand, and devastated Australia’s multimillion-dollar strawberry industry.