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RCMP investigation into tampered P.E.I. potatoes rooted in confusion

RCMP investigation into tampered P.E.I. potatoes rooted in confusion

As the cryptic case of tampered Prince Edward Island potatoes continues to grow, questions are swirling about whether the RCMP could have done more to alert the public to the threat.

For more than a week, Atlantic Canada has been aware of an ongoing investigation into tampered potatoes, six of which have now been discovered by the public with sewing needles embedded inside.

But according to the latest update from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, officers have been aware of the threat for longer than that, and are only now releasing information about the start of their investigation.

According to the update, an investigation was first launched on Oct. 2, when officers received complaints about food tampering at a french fry plant in New Annan, PEI.

The following day, the RCMP was called to the Cavendish Farms plant after sewing needs were found in french fries on the production line. It is not clear how many needles were found.

It is also not clear why we are only now learning about the tampered potatoes on the french fry run.

The threat of needles being found inside potatoes was first announced to the public on Oct. 6, after a customer reported finding medal inside a store-bought spud. Another tampered potato was later reported some 2,000 kilometres away, again found with a needle stuck inside.

As many as six potatoes sold across the Maritimes have since been found to have been tampered with. Tampered potatoes have been found in the Newfoundland towns of Labrador City, Noggins Cove and Musgrave Harbour, as well as Fredericton, N.B., and Neil’s Harbour, N.S.

All of the potatoes came from the same Prince Edward Island potato farm.

"It appears the metal sewing needles were intentionally placed in the potatoes prior to the potatoes being sent to the production facility," reads the latest RCMP investigation update. "The affected potatoes appear to have originated from a Linkletter Farms Inc. in PEI."

The RCMP say they believed the french fry facility’s “safety standards protected the public, and these french fries were caught before public safety was an issue.”

As for why the waited until now – more than a week after they first announced their investigation – to reveal the depth of the concern is another matter.

Yahoo Canada News has reached out to RCMP in P.E.I. for clarification. RCMP Sgt. Leanne Butler previously told CTV Atlantic that they did not immediately release all the details of the case but that, “All of what we are aware of has been released at this point.”

A Cavendish Farms representative told the Canadian Press that all fries and potatoes associated with the compromised production run have been destroyed and Linketter Farms, where the potatoes are suspected of have been grown, long ago reached out to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to request a recall notice be published.

In this light, credit should be given to the industry’s safety standards, from the issued recall notice to the french fry plant’s safety protocols and even the RCMP for quarantining some 300,000 pounds of potatoes for inspection.

But one wonders why the public wasn’t warned of the possibility of tampered french fries sooner. It isn’t difficult to link the tampered fries to the tampered potatoes bought at stores across Atlantic Canada. That connection speaks to a larger danger than a few soiled spuds, and that’s something the public should have known more than a week ago.