Subj : New import rules for frozen berries after hepatitis outbreak
To   : All
From : News
Date : Tue Apr 23 2024 12:36 pm

New import rules have been set by New Zealand Food Safety for frozen berries
to improve processes at the border.

In 2022-2023, an outbreak of hepatitis A was associated with the consumption
of frozen berries, which affected 39 people.

In February 2023, Pams recalled 478 bags of frozen berries because of a
possible outbreak - part of the same batch which was already recalled in 2022.

It was later found the berries had come from Serbia where the virus could
have been transferred from infected people handling the fruit.

Genomic sequencing also matched the berries to a virus outbreak in Sweden.

Speaking today, New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent
Arbuckle said Aotearoa was among "a number of countries" impacted by the
presence of the virus in frozen berries.

"We've worked hard to the identify and implement ways to improve food safety
rules to better manage the risk to consumers. As part of this we worked
closely with major frozen berry importers, who have expressed strong support
for the changes.

"New Zealand Food safety's work to strengthen these requirements was
acknowledged in a recent Office of the Auditor-General report into monitoring
importers of high-risk foods as `robust and in line with international best
practice'."

In a first for New Zealand, the change introduced independent certification
to confirm an importer's food safety systems met New Zealand's food safety
standards.

"This gives us more confidence that risks associated with frozen berries are
being managed off-shore before they come to New Zealand," said Arbuckle.

The changes would come into effect on August 1 and importers had 18 months,
or until January 31, 2026, to transition to the new import requirements. "We
anticipate that importers will opt take up the system fairly quickly,"
Arbuckle said.

"Now that the outbreak is over, and affected products have been removed from
the shelves, the risk to consumers has reduced. Hepatitis A virus in imported
frozen berries, however, remains a potential risk.

"If consumers have concerns or are part of a vulnerable population group,
then they can heat-treat frozen berries to over 85C for at least 1 minute,"
said Arbuckle.

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