澳大利亞“草莓藏針”引發恐慌 官方建議切碎再吃

近日，“草莓藏針”事件引起的恐慌在澳大利亞各州持續蔓延，甚至蘋果和香蕉等其他水果也出現了類似事件。這對草莓種植銷售業造成嚴重打擊。官方已懸賞10萬澳元尋找線索，並建議人們購買草莓後切碎再吃。

Australian police say sewing needles have been found hidden in an apple and a banana, amid a nationwide scare that has tormented the strawberry industry.

近日，澳大利亞“草莓藏針”事件引發全國恐慌，對該國草莓種植銷售行業造成嚴重打擊。澳大利亞警方表示，蘋果和香蕉中也發現了藏針。

Since last week, Australians in every state have reported finding needles concealed in strawberry punnets.

自上週起，澳大利亞各州均報告發現草莓藏針現象。

Health Minister Greg Hunt has called it a "vicious crime" and ordered the nation's food watchdog to assist in resolving the scare.

澳大利亞衛生部長格雷格·亨特稱之爲“非常惡毒的犯罪行爲”，已經命令澳大利亞食品監管機構協助調查此事。

澳警方懷疑此次水果連環污染事件可能是“惡意模仿”所致。

悉尼的卡米拉之前在該市西北部的沃爾沃斯超市購買了一份6個裝蘋果，本打算切塊後給女兒吃。就在她削皮切塊時，水果刀碰到硬物，取出後竟發現是一枚鋼針。

Police said the apple and banana cases, both in Sydney, were "isolated".

警方稱，蘋果和香蕉藏針均發生在悉尼，是“孤立事件”。

昆士蘭州格拉斯頓的一家超市內的草莓商品內，被人惡意放入一根鋼針。 But they added to more than 20 scares involving strawberries in New South Wales (NSW) alone, Supt Daniel Doherty said.

但丹尼爾·多爾蒂警司說，僅在新南威爾士州，就已經發生了20多起水果藏針事件。

The first cases emerged in Queensland. In that state, authorities say they are investigating whether the sabotage is due to one person, or several people operating independently.

第一起草莓藏針事件發生在昆士蘭州。該州官員表示正在調查該行爲是一人所爲，還是多人各自作案。

In the most serious case, a man was taken to hospital last week after eating a strawberry that contained a needle.

最嚴重的一起事件中，一位男子在食用了藏針的草莓後被送往醫院。

9月9日，網友約書亞·甘恩在臉書發消息稱，當天他的朋友誤吞了莓果迷（Berry Obsession）牌草莓中藏着的半根針，事後腹部劇痛送醫。經檢查，他們還在同一盒草莓中發現另一顆草莓也被插針。

圖片來源：網友約書亞·甘恩（JOSHUA GANE） Police have stepped up warnings about copycat incidents, saying perpetrators - and those who make false reports - face up to 10 years in jail.

警方已經加強了對類似事件的預警，稱犯罪者以及報假案者將面臨最高10年監禁。

昆士蘭州衛生局推特聲明 The scare has spread to Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia.

維多利亞州、澳大利亞首都地區、南澳大利亞州、塔斯馬尼亞州和西澳大利亞州也先後發現類似事件。

Several strawberry brands have been withdrawn, while New Zealand's biggest grocers have stopped selling Australian strawberries as a precaution.

多個草莓品牌已經召回產品。爲預防危險事件發生，新西蘭幾家最大的食品商已停止銷售澳大利亞草莓。

Health officials have advised Australians to cut up strawberries before eating them.

衛生部門官員建議人們在食用草莓前先切碎。

"This is a very vicious crime and it's a general attack on the public," Mr Hunt said at the weekend.

衛生部長亨特在上週末說：“這是一種非常惡毒的犯罪行爲，是對公衆的普遍攻擊。”

草莓藏針事件愈演愈烈，甚至發展到了在蘋果中藏釘子。

It is not just needles which have been found embedded in Australian fruit - a nail has now been discovered implanted inside an apple.

澳大利亞的水果中藏的不僅有針，顧客甚至還在一個蘋果中發現了釘子。

A South Australian mother was horrified when she uncovered the rusty nail as she prepared lunch for her son.

南澳州一位母親在爲兒子準備午餐時，在蘋果中發現了一枚生鏽的釘子，驚得目瞪口呆。

A Woolworths spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: 'We're aware of the customer report. The details have been referred to the authorities leading the response to this matter and we'll consult with them on next steps'.

沃爾沃斯的一位發言人告訴每日郵報澳洲版說：“我們已經瞭解了顧客報告的事件。細節已經彙報給負責這次水果事件的有關部門。我們將與其商討接下來要採取的措施。”

The South Australian produce market has announced it will install X-ray machines to scan fruit for metal objects before they are distributed to market.

這家南澳產品市場宣佈將安裝X光機，在水果上市銷售前進行金屬探測掃描。

此前，業內人士曾懷疑“藏針者”是個別心懷不滿的前果品行業僱員，警方不太認同這種看法，因爲“草莓藏針”的情況發生在幾個不同品牌的產品中，報私仇的可能性較小。目前，警方不排除“團伙作案”的可能，同時懷疑有居心不良者在“草莓藏針”事件爆發後進行了惡意模仿。

澳大利亞多個賣場清空草莓貨架。 Queensland police say complicated supply chains in the strawberry industry have made for a slow investigation.

昆州警方表示，草莓業供應鏈複雜，因此調查進展緩慢。

Two states have offered A$100,000 rewards for information.

已有兩個州表示懸賞10萬澳元（約合49.5萬元人民幣）徵集線索。

In Western Australia, Premier Mark McGowan said the people who tampered with fruit were "evil" and risked others' lives.

西澳洲州長馬克·邁克高恩說，在水果中藏針的人是“惡魔”，危及他人的生命。

The prevailing explanation is a disgruntled employee in a packing centre, which is where police believe the needles were introduced.

目前普遍流傳的說法是，此事爲包裝中心一位心生不滿的工人所爲，警方認爲針就是在包裝中心被插進去的。

Many of the following cases could be the work of copycats.

而隨後的事件可能都屬於模仿。

圖片來源：網友約書亞·甘恩（JOSHUA GANE） 接二連三的“水果藏針”事件被業內人士比作“商業恐怖主義”，造成民衆恐慌，更導致果品行業損失慘重。一時間，澳大利亞人談“果”色變。就連新西蘭的一些超市都因此停購澳大利亞草莓。

Strawberry prices have already dropped around the country, with prices in Western Australia now below the cost of production, local media reported.

目前，全澳草莓價格都已下跌，據當地媒體報道，西澳洲草莓價格已經跌穿成本價。

The scare - which comes during the peak of production - has affected thousands of workers in an industry worth about A$130m a year, the federal government said.

聯邦政府表示，在草莓生產高峯期出現這種恐慌，已經影響到了數千名工人，澳洲草莓業每年產值高達1.3億澳元。

Queensland has announced a A$1m assistance package for farmers in the state.

昆州已宣佈爲該州的草莓種植者提供100萬澳元的補助。

One manager of berry farms, Gavin Scurr, asked the public to continue buying strawberries.

漿果農場的一名管理者加文·斯克呼籲公衆繼續購買草莓。

南澳大利亞州的一名果品商表示，由於“危險水果”重創消費者信心，目前市面上“還賣得動”的草莓產品僅爲總量的10%左右。

"There's a handful of cases in 100 million punnets but it's really brought our industry to its knees," Mr Scurr, from Piñata Farms, told radio station 3AW.

皮納塔種植農場的斯克先生告訴3AW電臺說：“在1億個草莓果籃中出現了幾個藏針，但這足以把整個行業打垮。”

Strawberry producers had begun ordering metal detectors as a safety precaution, said Strawberry Growers Association of Western Australia president Neil Handasyde.

西澳洲草莓種植者協會主席尼爾·漢德賽德說，草莓種植者紛紛訂購金屬探測器，進行安全防範。