Food authority inquiry deems frozen berries deemed low risk after Nanna’s berries linked to 34 cases of Hepatitis A. Picture: Brendan Francis Source: News Corp Australia

Thirty four Australians became ill with hepatitis A earlier this year in an outbreak linked to Nanna’s frozen berries imported from China.

The Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) established a review into the low risk rating it applies to the food that determines the testing regime at the border.

That review reported late Friday and determined that berries were a low risk food and found there was no need to change the risk or testing status of the berries.

“The risk statement concluded that, hepatitis A virus in RTE berries produced and handled under Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Hygienic Practices (GHP) is not a medium to high risk to public health,” FSANZ said in a statement.

It’s too difficult to test food for Hepatits A seyas food authority. Picture News Corp. Source: News Corp Australia

Occasional testing

The Department of Agriculture carries out food testing at the border but the number of times it tests a food is guided by the risk rating FSANZ attaches to the food.

Low risk foods are subject to only very occasional testing.

After the Hepatitis scare in February FSANZ increased its risk rating for the affected recalled frozen berries to medium, other imported berries were not affected.

The Department of Agriculture began testing 100 per cent of frozen berries sourced from the factories that supplied the recalled Nannas berries.

However, only five per cent of berries imported from 29 other overseas suppliers were tested because they remained regarded as low risk.

Frozen Berries in the freezers of Woolworths Supermarkets. Town Hall store. Pic: Ben Pyke Source: News Corp Australia

Offenders being watched

The Department of Agriculture issued an Imported Food Notice that meant from May importers of berries had to demonstrate the product has been sourced from a farm using good agricultural practices.

In addition good hygienic practices had to be followed throughout the supply chain otherwise the berries would be considered a risk to human health.

The Department of Agriculture said a Holding Order remains in place for berries from the two Chinese factories associated with the recall. “ This means that all consignments arriving from these factories are tested for E.coli and Hepatitis A Virus,” a spokesman said.

Disease risk ‘not serious’

FSANZ said in its report that it was very difficult to test for Hepatitis A in food and there is no agreed international practice for testing for the virus in food.

It says even if it is present Hepatitis A does not grow in food, unlike some other bacteria and does not increase during transport and storage time.

It says the illness is not serious and many people never develop symptoms.

“Up until the end of April, 2015 there have been 97 cases of hepatitis A this year in Australia (including the 34 cases linked to RTE frozen berries). At the same time last year there were 105 cases. Nearly half of all cases of hepatitis A reported in Australia are usually from people returning from overseas travel,” FSANZ says.

Call for equal standards

A spokesman for AUSVEG which represents Australian vegetable growers said it was aware of the advice issued by FSANZ and is considering its implications.

“We remain of the view that standards imposed on international shipments should be equivalent to the standards required of Australian producers,” a spokesman said..

“Foods that are classified as surveillance foods, which are the majority of vegetable products, must be tested at a higher rate than the current five per cent of shipments that are referred for inspection under the Imported Food Inspection Scheme.

“While we welcome greater scrutiny being applied to agricultural practices employed in importing countries and the requirement to demonstrate that berries have been sourced from a farm using good agricultural practices, we remain concerned that an incident similar to the berries incident could happen again, potentially with another food commodity, if the system itself is not more thoroughly reviewed and improved across all food product classifications.”

The hepatitis berries incident demonstrated the risks that still exist in relation to the current Imported Food Inspection Scheme.

“Consumer safety is imperative, as is full disclosure regarding the country of origin of produce. That’s why our current Country of Origin Labelling system must be improved,” the spokesman said.

FSANZ risk ratings determine the testing regime at the border. Picture News Corp. Source: Supplied

$1.7 million blow to industry

The berry scare and recall is estimated to have cost Patties Foods that sells the berries more than $1.7 million.

The government is planning changes to food labelling rules in the wake of the crisis.

It is considering introducing pie chart labelling on products so consumers can see clearly and easily where their food is coming from.

Currently food labels that state “Made in Australia” don’t actually have to contain food grown in Australia and could simply be packaged in Australia.

Labels that state “Made In Australia from Local and Imported Products” need only contain 1 per cent Australian grown products.