Halifax police say they can’t confirm whether needle was ever in P.E.I. potato

HALIFAX – Halifax police say they cannot confirm whether a needle found in a dish of cooked P.E.I. potatoes was ever “embedded” in any food item.

Police said Monday they had received a complaint that a sharp object was found in potatoes bought at a Giant Tiger store after they had been peeled and cooked at a local home.

But in a release Tuesday, police said detectives and forensic officers could not determine where the needle originated, adding they couldn’t confirm that the needle “was ever embedded in any food item.”

Police said nothing had been noticed when the potatoes were being peeled and cooked, but “a needle was observed near leftover cooked potatoes on the plate which also contained other food.”

They said police will continue to monitor for reports of other similar incidents.

There have been several cases of metal objects being found in potatoes in Atlantic Canada, with most coming from a farm in P.E.I.

In 2015, the federal government pledged $1.5 million to buy metal detection equipment to help find foreign objects in Island potatoes.