Potato farmers on Prince Edward Island are offering a
reward of up to $50,000 for information on how seven needles ended up in
potatoes that were distributed in the Atlantic region.
The P.E.I. Potato Board says the money is being provided
by various potato growers in the province, who wanted to offer assistance in
solving the highly unusual case.
Linkletter Farms has recalled any potatoes that it thinks
might have been tampered with. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is
supervising the recall.
A needle was also found in a shipment of Linkletter’s
potatoes to Cavendish Farm’s chip-making plant on the island. There has been no
recall linked to that case because consumers are not at risk.
The board says the reward amount would be determined by an
independent panel if the information leads to a conviction in the case.
Ryan Barrett, a spokesman for the board, says it's the
first case that he's aware of involving needles in P.E.I. potatoes.
Police have looked into seven incidents of potato
tampering throughout the Atlantic provinces, all of which can be traced back to
Linkletter Farms in Summerside, P.E.I.
Linkletter Farms has recalled the potatoes affected by the
tampering.
