The discovery of fruit fly larvae in nectarines and peaches shipped from Victoria to South Australia has prompted authorities to warn consumers to “anything suspicious”
The discovery also comes as SA continues to tackle a number of serious fruit fly outbreaks in Adelaide and Renmark in the state’s riverside country
The executive director of the Department of Primary Industries and Regions for Biosafety, Nathan Rhodes, said larvae had been reported in stone fruit bought at various retail outlets such as Aldi, Coles, Woolworths and a local farmers market
“The department is working with Agriculture Victoria to investigate this incident, including handling this fruit prior to shipping it to the state,” he
said
“As the state responds to a number of fruit fly outbreaks in metropolitan Adelaide and the riverside, the situation is being closely monitored”
A spokesman for the Department of Primary Industries and Regions in South Australia told 7NEWScom that while this wasn’t a consumer recall, customers should stay “on alert” if they’ve bought a nectarine or a peach in the past week
If you find anything suspicious, zip-lock the fruit and call the state’s 24-hour fruit fly hotline at 1300 666 010
The department will not reveal the locations of the affected Aldi, Coles and Woolworths stores as it is an ongoing cross-border investigation with Victoria
Rhodes said the recent discoveries did not constitute a fruit fly outbreak within the meaning of the National Fruit Fly Code of Practice
“In this case, rapid public action has brought this issue to our attention However, we are taking this incident with great seriousness and as a result, affected products have been withdrawn from the shelves, “he said
“The department is tracking why pretreatment of this fruit as part of the intergovernmental certification assurance process appears to have failed in this case”
Up to the end of the investigation, controls were carried out for future shipments from the suppliers concerned
Fruit fly outbreaks in Adelaide in recent months have raised concerns about the future of SA’s reputation as the only mainland country free from fruit fly
This status is seen as critical to the $ 1.3 billion horticultural industry with around 37500 employees
Late last week, an emergency response was launched on 1,500 properties in the Prospect and Stepney suburbs after more fruit flies were discovered
“We have seen a sharp increase in fruit fly detections in these areas This is an emergency response to step up our eradication activities, “said David Basham, Minister for Primary Industry
South Australia, Woolworths Supermarkets, Coles Supermarkets, Stone Fruit, Aldi, Euro Garages Australia, Produce, Common Fruit Fly
News – AU – Alert for fruit issued to Aldi, Coles, Woolworths after the Discovery of the fruit fly
Source: https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/recalls/urgent-recall-for-fruit-fly-produce-in-sa-c-2215501
