Giant Tiger pulls all potatoes after needle found

Giant Tiger has pulled all potatoes from its Dutch Village Road location in Halifax while Halifax Regional Police (HRP) investigate a report of a needle found in a potato purchased at that store.

Police said they got a call Sunday night about a needle in a potato. The potato had been washed, peeled and cooked before the needle was found. No one was injured.

Police said the bag of potatoes came from P.E.I. and was purchased on Nov. 6 at the previously named Giant Tiger store.

Alison Scarlett, a spokesperson for Giant Tiger, said the company removed all of the potatoes from the shelves at the store on Monday after hearing about the report. She said anyone anywhere in Atlantic Canada can return a bag of potatoes to their local store for a full refund.

“The health and safety of our customers is our No. 1 priority,” said Scarlett.

She said Giant Tiger has reached out to HRP for details about the case.

Const. Dianne Woodworth with the HRP said the investigation is still in the early stages. She urged people to be cautious, but noted that police have not received any other reports of tampered potatoes.

“Just be extra careful,” Woodworth said. “Cut up the potatoes, take an extra close look.”

There have been a number of reports of metal objects in potatoes from P.E.I. in the last couple of years. Most of these cases were traced back to a single farm.

In response to this, the federal government and the government of P.E.I. announced last year they would contribute a total of $2 million to P.E.I’s potato industry to help prevent potato tampering.