Category: MIL-OSI

Source: police-emblem-97

Source: police-emblem-97

Source: police-emblem-97

Skip to main content

Source: police-emblem-97

The biosecurity response to the discovery of a single male Oriental fruit fly in Birkdale on Auckland’s North Shore is making good progress, with extra traps in place, stepped-up checks and legal controls introduced, says Mike Inglis, Biosecurity New Zealand regional Commissioner North.

“Special bins have started being delivered for fruit and vegetable waste disposal and that will continue over the weekend, and a mobile laboratory to check fruit and vegetables is in place.

“Our team is back out today as we continue to ramp up our response efforts to ensure there are no other fruit flies around,” Mr Inglis says.

There were already more than 60 Oriental fruit fly surveillance traps in the North Shore area, and nearly 700 traps aimed at other fruit fly species. Over the weekend, around 100 extra Oriental fruit fly traps will be in place within a 1500-metre area of the original find.

“Yesterday, we introduced legal controls to restrict the movement of fruit and vegetables around the location where the fruit fly was found to stop the spread of any other Oriental fruit flies that may be out there.

“We’ve been delivering information to residential letterboxes about the two zones affected by restrictions and people can also find full information about what they need to do here.”

Oriental fruit fly detection

“People will notice biosecurity signage up in the area and we delivered special disposal bins for fruit and vegetable waste this morning.”

Mr Inglis says instead of putting waste in rubbish bins to be disposed of normally, residents in the two zones are being asked to put fruit and vegetable waste into the special response bins for Biosecurity New Zealand to dispose of securely.

Every household in Zone A will have a fruit and vegetable disposal bin, and in Zone B, there will be bins placed around the edge of the zone, primarily on major transport routes and more within the Zone.

“The bins in Zone A will be cleared daily initially, then as required. There will be no need to put them out on the street as they will be serviced, re-bagged and insecticide applied in bags and inside lids where they are currently placed. If residents have any issues with the bin or need them cleared earlier, they can call us on 0800 80 99 66.

“I want to thank the local community for their positive response to our team so far. In the previous 13 occasions we’ve found fruit flies in New Zealand we’ve successfully eradicated them with the help of our horticulture sector partners and local communities, so it’s important everyone plays their part.  At present, the restrictions will be in place for a fortnight.”

We will send out a further update at 10am tomorrow. 

For media queries, call 029 894 0328 or email media@mpi.govt.nz

Source: police-emblem-97

Biosecurity New Zealand has now placed legal controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables in the Auckland suburb of Birkdale and nearby areas on the North Shore following the detection of a single male Oriental fruit fly, says Biosecurity New Zealand Commissioner North Mike Inglis.

The horticulture pest was found in one of Biosecurity New Zealand’s national surveillance traps which are placed in fruit trees in residential backyards. Other traps in the area checked in recent days showed no signs of other flies and our initial investigations have found no other signs to date.

“While there is no evidence of a breeding population at this stage, we need community help to make sure we successfully find and eradicate any further fruit flies that may be present in the area,” Mr Inglis says.

Biosecurity New Zealand staff have been busy in the area today laying more traps and giving out information to households. Around 100 additional traps which specifically target oriental fruit fly are being placed within a 1,500m area of the original find.

“There have been 13 previous fruit fly incursions in New Zealand, which we have successfully eradicated so we have a very strong and detailed operational plan to guide our work.

“The rules now in place prohibit moving fruit and vegetables out of a specified controlled area around where the fruit fly was found.”

You can find a detailed map of the controlled area and a full description of the boundaries and rules in place here:

Oriental fruit fly, Birkdale

The controlled area has 2 zones – A and B. Zone A is a 200-metre zone. Zone B covers 1,500m.

• Zone A: No whole fresh fruit and vegetables, except for leafy vegetables and soil-free root vegetables, can be moved outside Zone A. This applies to all produce, regardless of whether it was bought or grown.
• Zone B: All fruit and vegetables grown within Zone B cannot be moved out of the controlled area.

“These legal controls are an important precaution. Should there be any more flies out there, this will help prevent their spread out of the area,” Mr Inglis says.

“It is likely the restrictions will be in place for at least 2 weeks.”

Signs will also be put in place notifying people of the restrictions and marking the controlled area boundaries.

“While it’s disappointing to detect another Oriental fruit fly so soon after closing our previous response in Papatoetoe, the latest find highlights the value of our trapping and surveillance efforts.

“It is not unprecedented to have multiple detections. In 2019, we successfully responded to fruit fly detections in 3 Auckland suburbs, showing the effectiveness of New Zealand’s biosecurity system,” Mr Inglis says.

Biosecurity New Zealand is working closely with the horticultural industry.

“We all appreciate this will be inconvenient for the many people living in and around the controlled area, but following these directions is a critical precaution to protect our horticultural industries, home gardens and our New Zealand way of life.”

To report suspected finds of fruit fly, call MPI’s Pest and Diseases Hotline on 0800 80 99 66.

Detail about the controlled area

Zone A

No fruit and vegetables (other than leafy or soil free root vegetables and cooked, processed, preserved, dried, frozen and canned fruit) can be moved from Zone A of the controlled area.

Compost and green waste from gardens also cannot be moved out of this zone.

Residents in Zone A are asked to avoid composting fruit and vegetables. To dispose of fruit and vegetable waste, use a sink waste disposal unit if available, or bins provided by Biosecurity New Zealand. These bins will be delivered shortly, and residents advised of their location.

Zone B

No fruit and vegetables grown in the Zone B can be moved out of the controlled area. You are free to move commercially purchased fruit and vegetables (for example fruit and vegetables brought at the supermarket) out of the area. Homegrown produce waste and garden waste needs to be disposed of in Biosecurity New Zealand bins.

For further information and general enquiries, email info@mpi.govt.nz

For media enquiries, contact the media team on 029 894 0328.

Source: police-emblem-97

A biosecurity operation is under way and extra field teams are today in the suburb of Birkdale, on Auckland’s North Shore, after the discovery of a single male Oriental fruit fly in a surveillance trap in a suburban backyard, says Biosecurity New Zealand Commissioner North Mike Inglis. 

“This is the same species of fruit fly that we responded to in Papatoetoe recently, but it is too early to say whether the two finds are linked. Our lab will do further DNA analysis of the fly over the coming days.”

With this latest detection, Biosecurity New Zealand is moving quickly to look for any others and eradicate them. 

“We will be ramping up trapping and inspection, with daily checks in a 200-metre zone from the original find and checks every three days in a second zone out to 1500m,” Mr Inglis says.

“The capture of a single male does not mean we have an outbreak. However, while we do our checks for any other fruit flies, we need community help to prevent any possible spread.

“As a precautionary measure, we’ll be putting legal restrictions in place on the movement of fruit and vegetables out of the area where the fruit fly was found.

“Instructions about these controls and the exact area affected will be issued tomorrow (Friday) once we have completed an initial investigation. In the meantime, we ask that people who live and work in the suburb not take any whole fresh fruit and vegetables out of your property.”

Mr Inglis says biosecurity staff will be out tomorrow providing people with information.

“You may notice increased activity in the neighbourhood as we go about inspections and trapping. Our field officers may ask to look at fruit trees on your property. They will always show you a form of official identification and will only enter your property with your permission.”

In addition to the field work, Biosecurity New Zealand is working closely with international trading partners and Government Industry Agreement (GIA) partners in the horticultural industry to minimise the risk to New Zealand growers and exporters.

“There have been 13 incursions of different fruit fly in Auckland and Northland since 1996 and all have been successfully eradicated thanks to the work of Biosecurity New Zealand, our horticulture partners, and local communities who have stepped up to help.

“Back in 2019, we responded to the detection of fruit flies in three separate suburbs over a period of several months, so this is not unusual. We traced and tracked in all three suburbs and continued until we were confident we had eliminated the pest.”

Mr Inglis says the latest find demonstrates the benefit and effectiveness of MPI’s lure-based fruit fly surveillance trapping network and the biosecurity system. 

“Our trapping network involves nearly 8,000 traps set nationwide, and these are checked regularly.  

“By setting traps for these pest insects, we are able to find them early, know exactly where the problem is, and respond quickly and effectively.”

The fruit fly poses no human health risk, but there would be an economic cost to the horticulture industry if it were allowed to establish here. 

Mr Inglis says Biosecurity New Zealand has among the strictest controls in the world for the importation of fruit and checks at the border. The most likely way that fruit flies can arrive in New Zealand is on fresh fruit and vegetables.

Biosecurity New Zealand will provide a further update to media tomorrow afternoon.

To report suspected finds of fruit fly, call MPI’s Pest and Diseases Hotline on 0800 80 99 66.

Background

The Oriental fruit fly is native to Asia but has now spread to many warmer countries, especially as the climate warms. Adult flies lay eggs into fruit. The young stages (maggots) feed inside the fruit, causing it to rot and become unmarketable.

The Oriental fruit fly maggots can feed on 300 different fruit and vegetables. The fly’s favourite hosts are apple, guava, mango, peach, and pear.

How to identify the fly

Adult flies:

• are a little larger than a housefly (6mm to 8mm long)
• have a dark “T” shaped marking on the abdomen (the part behind the waist)
• usually have a bright yellow and orange abdomen (but can vary)
• have clear wings.

The female fly has a pointed “sting” to lay eggs inside fruit (but she can’t sting or bite people). The male fruit fly is a similar size but is reddish-brown.

If you think you’ve found the fruit fly

For media queries, call 029 894 0328 or email media@mpi.govt.nz

For further information on the oriental fruit fly detection

Source: police-emblem-97

New Zealand Food Safety is supporting Foodstuffs Own Brands in its recall of Pams brand Tempura Coated Chicken Nuggets as they may contain small pieces of blue rubber.

“If you have a 1kg bag of Pams Tempura Coated Chicken Nuggets with a best-before date of 16 October 2025, don’t eat them,” says New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle.

“Return the nuggets to the place of purchase for a refund or, if that’s not possible, throw them out.”

The affected products are sold at Four Square, Gilmours, New World, Pak’nSave and Social Supermarket stores nationwide.

The products have been removed from stores and have not been exported.

Visit New Zealand Food Safety’s food recall page for up-to-date information and photographs of the affected product.

Pams brand Tempura Coated Chicken Nuggets

The problem came to light as a result of a customer complaint, and New Zealand Food Safety has had no notification of associated issues.

“As is our usual practice, we will work with Foodstuffs Own Brands to understand how this issue arose and to prevent it happening again,” says Mr Arbuckle.

The vast majority of food sold in New Zealand is safe, but sometimes problems can occur. Help keep yourself and your family safe by subscribing to our recall alerts.

Information on how to subscribe is on the New Zealand Food Safety food recall page.

Recalled food products list

For further information and general enquiries, email info@mpi.govt.nz

For media enquiries, contact the media team on 029 894 0328.

Source: police-emblem-97

A north Auckland fishing company has been fined $16,500 for failing to use the required fishing gear and providing a false statement on their fish landing return.

Macnicol Fishing Limited was sentenced in the North Shore District Court on 3 charges on Friday (14 February 2025) under the Fisheries Act, following a successful prosecution by Fisheries New Zealand.

The company did not use tori lines which are required to prevent accidental seabird capture when surface long lining. Fish landing returns record where a fish was caught for the purposes of sustainable fisheries management.

“All longliners are expected to use tori lines when surface longlining. Video footage showed the fishing vessel, Carolina M, was longlining without using this bird scaring device – which increases the risk of catching endangered seabirds.

“The rules are there for a reason and most commercial fishers follow them closely,” says Fisheries New Zealand district manager, fisheries compliance, Glen Blackwell.

Off the coast of the Bay of Plenty, another of the company’s vessels, Kiella, filed an electronic report identifying a different area to where the fish was actually harvested from.

The following month, the Kiella filed another incorrect electronic report, related to its catch of snapper and trevally. Both these incidents occurred in areas, north of Auckland.

Mr Blackwell says accurate reporting is essential to sustainable management of our fisheries.

“It is a fisher’s responsibility to accurately report their catch. This information is an important part of considerations when setting catch limits, so we take misreporting seriously.”

MPI encourages people to report suspected illegal activity through the ministry’s 0800 4 POACHER number (0800 476 224)

For further information and general enquiries, email info@mpi.govt.nz

For media enquiries, contact the media team on 029 894 0328.

Source: police-emblem-97

Controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables in the Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe have been lifted after no further evidence of the Oriental fruit fly was found in the area, says Mike Inglis, Biosecurity New Zealand commissioner north.

The decision to end the operation follows more than a month of intensive fruit fly trapping and inspections of hundreds of kilograms of fruit.

Mr Inglis thanked residents and businesses in the affected area for their support with the movement controls, keeping an eye out for fruit flies and safely disposing of fruit in provided bins.

“I can’t stress enough how vital this work has been to protect our horticultural sector. This particular insect pest is a significant threat to horticultural exports and home gardens.”

Biosecurity New Zealand quickly placed legal controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables in an area of Papatoetoe on 4 January 2025 after a single male Oriental fruit fly was identified from a national surveillance trap.

“No further adult fruit flies, eggs, larvae or pupae have been found,” says Mr Inglis.

“We are satisfied that with no further detections over six weeks, the Controlled Area Notice restrictions can be lifted, and response operations closed.”

The Biosecurity New Zealand signs and wheelie bins will be removed from the affected area in Papatoetoe over the next few days.

Mr Inglis says checking of Biosecurity New Zealand’s 7,800 fruit fly traps around the country, including some 200 traps in the Papatoetoe/Māngere area, will continue as normal.

“Our people will be out in the Papatoetoe community today, handing out flyers about the response closure and personally thanking residents and business owners for their contribution to the effort.

“I’d also like to acknowledge the good work of our people and our partners across the horticulture sector. By working together, and responding quickly, we have managed this situation well.”

Key figures:

• More than 1,500 individual visits were made to check the 109 special fruit fly response traps in Papatoetoe/Māngere throughout the response.
• These traps are in addition to 187 routine fruit fly surveillance traps in the area.
• Over 600 biosecurity bins distributed in the community to collect produce waste for safe disposal.
• More than 470 kilos of fruit cut up and examined for any signs of fruit fly eggs or larvae.
• More than 150 Biosecurity New Zealand staff were involved throughout the response.

Find out what we did and why we have now closed the response

For more information, email BiosecurityNZ_media@mpi.govt.nz

For media enquiries, contact the media team on 029 894 0328.