Growers angry: Needles concealed in Australian strawberries called 'commercial terrorism'

New Zealand supermarkets are awaiting home-grown strawberries to fill the gap. Photo / file

Australians are still being urged to cut up or discard strawberries after sewing needles were found in the fruit.

New Zealand have pulled the Australian strawberries off the shelves, as Australian police investigate.

Queensland Strawberry Growers Association vice-president Adrian Schultz told the Australian Associated Press it was "commercial terrorism" and that farmers are worried about what appears to be a sabotage sting that could cost millions.

"I'm angry for all the associated people, it's the farmers, the people who supply them, the packaging people, the truckies with families to support, who suddenly lose their jobs ... it's far-reaching," he told the Australian Associated Press.

At least six brands of strawberries appear to have been targeted including: Berry Obsession, Berry Licious, Love Berry, Donnybrook Berries, Delightful Strawberries and Oasis.

AAP reports that two affected punnets of Mal's Black Label strawberries have been found in towns outside Adelaide.

Mal's Black Label is a small strawberry grower just north of Perth.

Marketing manager Danny Holdsworth told news.com.au the report of the needles being found in the fruit were "devastating" for the company.

"I would say it's a copycat thing," he told news.com.au. "It's not hard to go into a store and put a needle in a punnet of strawberries."

Australian strawberries have been pulled from Kiwi shelves as both Woolworths NZ and Foodstuffs have halted the distribution of the products.

Woolworths NZ operates Woolworths, Countdown, SuperValue and Fresh Choice. While Foodstuffs is the parent company behind Four Square, New World and Pak'nSave.

A Foodstuffs spokeswoman has previously told the Herald no products in its stores had been affected by the problem but dubbed it a precautionary measure to keep customers safe.

"Our customers' safety is our number one priority," she said.

Woolworths NZ also stopped ordering Australian strawberries as a precaution.

Countdown's head of produce, Steve Sexton, previously told the Herald none of the strawberries stocked by the supermarket had been sourced from the affected areas in Australia, but as "an extra precaution" Countdown was not importing any further strawberries from Australia.

"New Zealand-grown strawberries will be on our shelves from next week as it's the start of the new season."

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has ordered Food Standards Australia New Zealand to look into whether there are supply chain weaknesses.