Mother’s horror after son finds a hidden wire inside a Woolworths cucumber

First it was strawberries, then bananas and apples, and now a wire has been found inside a cucumber sold at a Woolworths store.

A Melbourne mother is horrified after her 12-year-old son found a piece of wire hidden inside a cucumber. The news comes just weeks after needles were found in strawberries around the country.

Maria, who didn’t provide her last name, told 3AW’s Tom Elliot on Monday that her son had the wire wedged between his teeth after biting into a baby cucumber on Sunday night. She said she bought the fruit at Woolworths Devon Plaza in Doncaster East.

“My son was just so upset,” she said. “He was so worried and panicking. I don’t know what the world is coming to, you’re too scared to buy food.”

A Woolworths spokesman told news.com.au the company was “aware of the customer report and understands police are looking into it”. “We’ll work closely with our supplier to assist the police as needed,” the spokesman said.

It's happened again.

Distressed mother speaks after "panicking" son found contaminated cucumber » https://t.co/kPJV4vDcNc pic.twitter.com/kPzQjCPQ9R

— 3AW Melbourne (@3AW693) October 15, 2018

Read more: Urgent recall after needle found inside Woolworths strawberries

The latest news comes after a needle was found in a apple last month. A NSW Police spokesperson told Starts at 60 they were aware of the incident.

“Police received reports a needle was found in an apple after it was purchased from a supermarket at The Ponds in the last few days,” a spokesperson said. “Officers from Quakers Hill Police Area Command with the assistance of detectives from the Robbery & Serious Crime Squad are investigating the incident.”

Meanwhile, strawberry farmers across Australia have been forced to dump their strawberries as the crisis spreads across the country. Western Australia Health confirmed Mal’s Black Label strawberries in the state had been affected, marking the last of the six states to be impacted by the contamination.

Read more: Farmers forced to dump strawberries as crisis spreads across whole country

The crisis began when Queensland Health issued an urgent recall of strawberries after a needle was found inside a punnet sold over the past week. The warning was issued after Joshua Gane posted a photo on Facebook of a needle inside a strawberry his friend had purchased from Woolworths.

Meanwhile, a $1 million fund to assist strawberry farmers has been announced by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to assist farmers impacted by the strawberry contamination. The funds will help assist farmers, promote Queensland strawberries and investigate gaps in the supply chain. It follows Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt’s order of a federal investigation into the matter.

Are you concerned that needles keep popping up in fruit? Have you found anything in your fruit?