Canberra, Sep 23 (IANS): After last year's devastating "needle contamination scare", a new case emerged on Monday where a woman in Melbourne was hospitalised after consuming a strawberry with a needle in it.

The victim's father said that his 30-year-old step-daughter had to be taken to the hospital after eating the strawberry, Xinhua news agency reported.

"(She) bit right into it and a big needle sticking out of it, pretty much the whole length of the strawberry. She was very shocked and very taken aback by it.

"We've taken her to the emergency room where they've done X-rays and confirmed that it's not metal but there is something else lodged in her throat and moving downwards."

With over 200 incidents at the end of 2018, the Australian strawberry sector was hit hard by the scandal.

Estimated to have cost the industry around $12 million after a massive nationwide product recall, this harvesting season strawberry growers were hoping for a return to normality given that the alleged perpetrator, a 50-year-old disgruntled fruit packaging worker, was apprehended and charged with the crime.