New Zealand Food Techn., 172 x 246 mm, Bubbles, CC-en46-AZ326 06-17 The factory of the future starts now We do more. drinktec 2017 Munich, 11 – 15 September Hall B6 China. MPI’s internal procedures require nursery stock to be quarantined and inspected. MPI either failed to realise that the Shaanxi shipment was not pure pollen, or did not inspect it at all. The shipment was approved and immediately transported to Te Puke. It was later processed into pollen by a commercial operator, and between 3-4kg of plant material was somehow disposed of. Once PSA was in the country, there was no way it could be contained. The claimants have DNA scientific evidence that the strain of PSA which led to the outbreak in New Zealand matches almost identically Psa from Shaanxi Province. importation of pollen. Instead, it decided to consider the specific risks that kiwifruit pollen posed if a request for an import permit was received in the future. When an application was made to import pollen in 2007, instead of undertaking a Risk Assessment in accordance with its own procedures, we believe MPI took shortcuts – it made a decision to allow imports of pollen based on a brief informal review and discussions, and without consulting industry. By taking shortcuts, we believe MPI failed to identify and consider the fact that commercial pollen is always contaminated with plant material, and failed to identify the risk of Psa being introduced with infected pollen. The Kiwifruit Claimants say MPI was wrong to allow imports of pollen – the risk of transmission of Psa was too high. Then in 2008, despite MPI officials receiving notification about the outbreak of a virulent strain of PSA in Italy, we believe MPI never reviewed its assessment, and still failed to take any steps to ban the importation of kiwifruit pollen – it issued a permit to import pollen in 2009 from China. That shipment was in fact 4.5kg of pollen, anthers and other plant material from Shaanxi Province in The Kiwifruit Claimants say MPI was wrong to allow imports of pollen – the risk of transmission of Psa was too high. the outbreak in 2010, through which the Government made more than $25 million available to compensate growers. This was matched by a payment by industry, and the fund is administered by industry-led organisation Kiwifruit Vine Health.
FT-Jul17-eMag-1
To see the actual publication please follow the link above