FINE OVER WINE
Two New Plymouth-based winemakers have been
fined more than $15,000 after being convicted of
unlawfully making and selling wine that has defrauded
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New Zealand customs. Sentry Hill Winery
and Sur Le Mur wines have been ordered by the
New Plymouth District Court to pay the fines from
2016, when Sentry Hill Winery was placed into
liquidation at the request of Customs. Customs
manager central and southern ports Joe Cannon
says this is a good lesson to other New Zealand
winemakers about the importance of obtaining a
Customs-controlled area licence to manufacture
and sell goods, and pay excise duty. “People may
think that because they are a small business then
they can break the rules, however, Customs takes
these matters very seriously, and as seen in this
case, we will prosecute when the law is broken.”
Sole director and shareholder Stephen Parkes’
powers as a director ceased upon liquidation, but
his wife Wendy then incorporated Sur Le Mur Ltd
and applied for a Customs-controlled area licence
to manufacture alcoholic products at the Sentry
Hill Winery, Cannon says. Customs declined her
application on the basis that the area was already
licensed to Sentry Hill Winery, which was in liquidation.
Cannon says subsequent inquiries found
Sur Le Mur had purchased Sentry Hill wine and
sold bulk lots to retail outlets in New Plymouth,
despite having no licence to manufacture or sell.
www.customs.govt.nz.
Agcarm is advising the food and beverage
industry to ignore the “frenzy” over glyphosate
and consider expert opinion. Glyphosate
(in the form of Roundup) has been used
in New Zealand by farmers, land managers
and home gardeners for more than 40
years, and offers effective and safe weed
control, has low volatility, degrades quickly
in soil and has been subject to more than
800 studies – all of which have confirmed
its safety. “At the heart of the hype is a misleading
classification of glyphosate by the
International Agency for Research on Cancer
(IARC)’s in 2015,” Agcarm says. “This
has led to a number of everyday products,
including coffee, bacon and talcum powder,
being categorised as ‘possibly carcinogenic’.
But the IARC report is not a risk assessment
- it is the type and extent of human
exposure that determines the actual risk.
Conclusions about a matter as important as
our health must be non-biased, thorough
and based on quality science that adheres
to internationally recognised standards.”
The New Zealand Environmental Protection
Authority confirms that glyphosate is safe
when used according to label instructions.
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