A mother-of-two has admitted making up a story about finding a needle in strawberries bought from a New Zealand supermarket.

Jaydean Temperley, 26, was charged last month with making a false complaint to police and by deception causing a $3565 of loss for Pak 'n Save supermarket, Timaru.

She appeared at Timaru District Court this morning.

Temperley claimed she found a needle in a strawberry that came in a punnet bought from the port city's Pak 'n Save on December 10.

As a result of the complaint, the supermarket then pulled all strawberries from its shelves.

This morning, she admitted both charges.

The court heard how the supermarket destroyed 2040 punnets of strawberries following the initial complaint and police investigation.

Judge Joanna Maze remanded Temperley on bail for sentencing in April.

It came after a string of disturbing incidents involving needles in fruit, including a needle found inside a strawberry in a punnet purchased at FreshChoice supermarket in Geraldine – also in South Canterbury - on November 24 last year.

On December 6 last year, a pin was discovered in a strawberry purchased at Pak'nSave Cameron Rd in Tauranga and on November 25, another found in a capsicum bought at Countdown Bureta Park in Tauranga.

Three needles were found in three strawberries in one imported punnet of Australian Choice brand strawberries at Countdown St Lukes in Auckland back in September.

It all comes after more than 100 reports of fruit being tampered with across Australia, sparking a recall of strawberries across three states.

Foodstuffs NZ have said that "malicious events like these have serious consequences for our customers, suppliers and stores".