Rotorua Now – New import requirements for frozen berries

New Zealand Food Safety has today issued new import rules for frozen berries to help keep New Zealanders safe and improve processes at the border.

In 2022-2023, there was an outbreak of hepatitis A virus associated with frozen berries, affecting 39 people.

“New Zealand was among a number of countries to recall frozen berries at different times due to concerns over the presence of hepatitis A,” said Vincent Arbuckle, New Zealand’s Deputy Director General of Food Safety.

“We have been working hard to identify and implement ways to improve food safety rules to better manage risks to consumers. As part of this, we have been working closely with major importers of frozen berries, who have expressed their strong support for the changes.

“New Zealand Food Safety’s work to strengthen these requirements was recognized in a recent Office of the Auditor General report on monitoring importers of high-risk foods as ‘robust and consistent with international best practice’.”

In a first for New Zealand, the change introduces the use of independent certification to confirm that a foreign manufacturer’s food safety systems meet New Zealand food safety standards.

“This gives us greater confidence that the risks associated with frozen berries are managed offshore before they come to New Zealand,” Vincent said.

The changes come into effect on August 1 and importers have 18 months (until January 31, 2026) to switch to the new import requirements.

Vincent says they expect importers to opt for the system fairly quickly.

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

“If consumers are concerned or belong to a vulnerable population, they can heat frozen berries above 85oC for at least 1 minute.”

More about the rule changes can be found on the New Zealand food safety website here: Requirements for registered food importers and imported food for sale (mpi.govt.nz)

Changes introduced include:

• Strengthening the imported food category of frozen berries from food of increased regulatory interest to food of high regulatory interest.
• A clear description of the products that do or do not fall under the application of the approval requirements.
• Removing ineffective requirements for microbiological testing of frozen berries at the border, with stricter requirements for manufacturers prior to shipment.
• Addition of specific provisions for the use of third-party certificates and associated manufacturer’s declarations for the customs clearance of imported shipments of frozen berries.
• Specify the guarantees that official certificates should provide and the need for these to be agreed between the competent authority of an exporting country and MPI.