An Illawarra woman who became the latest victim of the sewing needle saga after finding one in her sweet potato this week says she's relieved no one was hurt by the "dumb" act.
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Sonya Lloyd bought the vegetable at the Woolworths store on New Lake Entrance Road this week.
Ms Lloyd took it home and was chopping it up to roast when she made the unexpected - and unwanted - discovery.
She took a photo of the foreign object and posted to Woolworths' Facebook page with the caption: "Literally just became a victim of this stupid sewing needle sager [sic]."
"How can any person be dumb enough to stick these into veggies. Thank god sweet potato needs to be chopped up," she wrote.
Ms Lloyd took the sweet potato back and reported the incident to Woolworths. The supermarket giant is conducting an investigation.
"I reported it just to let them know," she told the Mercury.
"We weren't hurt, didn't eat it and it was still raw. I instantly just thought of a new mum steaming food for her baby who could of missed it or an elderly person.
"I'm glad we were roasting them ... and not steaming, as we may of missed it also."
A Woolworths spokeswoman said the company took food safety and quality "very seriously".
"We've seen the customer's report and we're looking into the matter in line with established procedures," the spokeswoman said.
"We're unaware of any other customer reports of a similar nature at this time."
The latest discovery comes after metal needles were found in strawberries across the country last year.
Among them was a Coles customer who found pins in three pieces of fruit from a supermarket in Engadine.
In September, Woolworths recalled strawberries across Australia after reports a customer was rushed to hospital after allegedly swallowed a sewing needle.
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Andrew Pearson
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
