Crime, EU – Baltic States, Foodstuff, Legislation, Lithuania, Retail
International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics
Thursday, 25.04.2024, 03:32
Lithuanian food watchdog receives four complaints over needles in food
Three
complaints were related to needles found in bananas, and one was received after
a needle was discovered in meat.
The service
warns consumers to be vigilant and cut fruit, especially, bananas, into pieces
before consuming.
"Such
malicious cases have been recorded at several supermarkets, with bananas being
the primary target. They are supplied by different companies and several
importers, so we suspect that the needles were planted at the supermarkets or
warehouses," SFVS director Darius
Remeika said.
The
watchdog is now cooperating with retailers and calls for stepping up control,
especially in fruit and vegetables sale areas, watching what is happening
inside supermarkets, and also involving law enforcement and security into the
investigations.
"Shoppers
are being asked to be more vigilant and report any persons behaving strangely
to supermarket staff," Remeika said.
A needle
inside a banana was first found at a Lidl
shop in Siauliai, northern Lithuania, and needles inside bananas were later
discovered at an Iki supermarket in
Kaunas and a Maxima shop in
Marijampole. The retailers started analyzing CCTV footage and are urged to step
up control in their product storage, sale and other stages.