Last week The Star detailed local growers' and retailers' concerns the strawberries were being misrepresented when sold in lower South Island towns.
Since then, The Star and its sister paper Lakes District & Central Otago News has confirmed the odd-shaped strawberries being sold in 1kg punnets in Dunedin under the direction of Brett Patton, were supplied by Garelja Bros Strawberry Gardens, of West Auckland.
Documents supplied by the Dunedin City Council showed Brett Patton and Alex Perreault were granted temporary food stall licences to sell fresh strawberries in George St last week.
Mr Garelja, who owns the 30ha Hobsonville strawberry farm, confirmed Mr Patton regularly orders pallets of seconds strawberries for delivery to South Island locations.
"He asks for pallets to be sent and we send them,'' Mr Garelja said. "It's not even half a percent of our business . . . It's a few crates a day.''
His company had supplied strawberries to Mr Patton for up to four years. He was not aware the strawberries were being sold as having come from Waimate.
"I cannot believe anyone down there believes they are Waimate strawberries because they come on so late. Of course I'm concerned,'' he said.
The News reporters who bought 1kg punnets of strawberries sold from green crates by backpackers in Alexandra this week were told the berries were from Waimate and Cromwell.
Attempts by The Star to phone and text Mr Patton were unsuccessful.
