This is one occasion where Tony Abbott may have needed a stick of chewing gum because whatever comes out of his mouth now could really stink.

The Prime Minister munched into a raw and unpeeled brown onion while touring a produce farm in Tasmania yesterday, leaving onlookers shocked and somewhat bemused at his choice of spontaneous snack.

Farm owner David Addison said there had been some general discussion about onions when Mr Abbott took an impromptu taste-test.

"I may have said 'it's a shame they weren't peeled' and he just started eating it," Mr Addison told the Hobart Mercury.

Mr Abbott appeared to be a seasoned onion chomper for he did not shed a tear.

"It was just spontaneous and there weren't even any tears," Mr Addison said.

Mr Abbott later revealed it was better than any other onions he had eaten in a long time.

While the PM took delight in feasting on the veggie, others took delight in poking fun on social media.

Twitter was soon awash with gaffes about Mr Abbott's onion-fest, with one user branding him 'a man of many layers'.

As always there is a Costanza parallel for Tony Abbott. "You know George, that's an onion." https://t.co/t6IIgYbi72 pic.twitter.com/ylSVgJgVrd — Neil McMahon (@NeilMcMahon) March 13, 2015

Real life and The Onion have finally merged. And I couldn’t be happier. — Buckle Up (@buckleup) March 13, 2015

I've always said that Tony Abbott is a man of many layers. #onion #auspol — Gigs (@AndrewGigacz) March 13, 2015

After the success of Abbott's tour at the onion farm, he has now been invited to the local sewerage farm. — bernymcatlady (@bernymcatlady) March 13, 2015

Anyway, it’s sorta fitting, because Abbott is much like an onion; he makes us all cry, and he’d be a lot more useful cut into small pieces — Dan Hall (@danieljohnhall) March 13, 2015

OK he ate a raw onion. OK. I think I actually respect Abbott more now. A raw onion. That he ate. Raw. — Bernard Keane (@BernardKeane) March 13, 2015

News break – March 14