Controversial change to allow irradiation treatment of imported produce

More imported fresh fruits and vegetables treated with irradiation could soon be on sale on New Zealand shelves if a rule change goes through.

Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) is expected to finalise the change this month, despite the fact that 95 per cent of submissions received about it were opposed.

And it acknowledged the treatment could reduce the nutritional value of produce, although it says this is minimal.

But FSANZ decided irradiation was a safe and effective biosecurity tool, and will help open up export markets, bringing Australia and New Zealand into line with other countries.

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Long-time irradiation campaigner, Bob Tait, of Friends of the Earth, sees the change as another example of how New Zealand has lost its food sovereignty – the country’s historic stance against the treatment has been gradually whittled away.

“That has allowed the situation now where within this month there’s likely to be formal approval from an Australian-dominated body to allow the importation of fruit and vegetables from Australia to be irradiated.”

New Zealand has one seat on the ministerial forum that oversees FSANZ, with Food Safety Minister Ayesha Verrall sitting alongside Australian state and federal ministers.

The forum is expected to notify FSANZ of its view on the change by July 12 – if the ministers have no objection, the rule will come into force soon afterwards.

The irradiation application was made by the Queensland Government, which sought the change to allow for any fresh fruit or vegetables to be treated with irradiation to kill pests.

The process involves exposing products to ionising radiation, either gamma rays, a high-energy electron beam, or x-rays.

Currently, the treatment can only be used for 26 specified produce items, including imported tomatoes.

Queensland mangoes were approved for irradiation in 2004 and the list was added to between 2011 and 2016 to include other produce, such as tomatoes and capsicums.

The latest rule change would allow for any fruit or vegetable to be treated if necessary, including vegetables such as asparagus.

The application estimated about 8 per cent of fruits and 0.3 per cent of vegetables imported to New Zealand would be irradiated, if the rule changed.

Verrall says the measure is needed as another protection measure against pests.

“For example, exotic fruit flies pose a major threat to New Zealand’s horticulture industry and Kiwi home gardens.”

She was satisfied there were no public health or safety concerns about the treatment, and the recommendation had been reviewed by Food Safety NZ, a unit of the Ministry for Primary Industries.

“New Zealand Food Safety... agreed there are no public health or safety concerns associated with irradiation as a phytosanitary measure for all fresh fruit and vegetables.”

In its submission to FSANZ, Food Safety NZ did raise the issue of furans – a cancer-causing compound produced as part of the treatment – although it believed the risks were low compared with exposure from other sources.

But because of the carcinogenic risk, “levels in food should be kept as low as reasonably achievable”.

FSANZ heard evidence the micronutrient content of some fruit and vegetables was reduced by the irradiation process – in most cases by a small amount, but higher in others. Overall, though, FSANZ did not consider the impact was enough to have anything more than minimal implications for the country’s overall nutrient intake.

Of the 456 objections to the change, some raised the issue of nutritional impact.

“As more and more people are changing their diets to include greater proportions of plant foods it is morally and ethically irresponsible to be introducing legislation which reduces the health benefits of these foods,” said one objector, whose name was redacted.

GE Free NZ said the authority was putting profits before people.

“FSANZ’s assessment on the need for irradiation should be made on the quality and safety of food, not on trade and market disruption.”

But the NZ Food and Grocery Council supported the change, saying there should be a broad allowance of irradiation, rather than producers having to wait for applications on a case-by-case basis.

Some New Zealand producers say they would welcome the change.

Matthew Malcolm, managing director of Southland producer, So Sweet, says his company used to export parsnips to Australia, but increased quarantine regulations made it impossible.

“Without New Zealand supply, Australia retailers are unable to meet demand which sends seasonal prices soaring,” he says.

If irradiation was an option, he’d be able to send parsnips to Australia again.

Irradiated food needs to be labelled, which has been a source of contention.

Friends of the Earth researchers have uncovered examples of imported tomatoes and mangoes being sold either without labels, or with inadequate labels.

Tait says the labelling regime is a “farce”, robbing consumers of proper choice.

He had examples where “the lettering is half the width of a wire on a paper clip, or putting the warning on a brand sticker – that’s not where consumers expect to see that information”.

No enforcement action had been taken when infringements were highlighted.

It further undermined New Zealanders' choice when it came to an important part of their diet, and highlighted how the country had lost sovereignty over food regulations.

Green Party food safety spokesman Ricardo Menéndez March says there was a “power imbalance”.

“Therefore any decisions on modernising our food security regime would not be made with New Zealand having an equitable voice, let alone acknowledging Te Tiriti of Waitangi and the kaitiaki rights of Māori.”

There are benefits in working with other countries, but New Zealand should not give away its sovereignty, Menéndez March says.

“A starting point would be for New Zealand to have equal voting rights in decisions made under FSANZ, and for the Government to embark on its own consultation process on how we can ensure food policy honours Māori Mana Motuhake.”

Verrall said a review of the system was underway, and that “we’ve signalled that the importance of indigenous people’s rights and traditional knowledge of food needs to be further strengthened in both FSANZ’s operating model and the enabling legislation”.