Sharp-eyed shopper spots major biosecurity blunder

Horticulture New Zealand president Andrew Fenton has declared a lack of faith in biosecurity controls after a major breach was only discovered by accident when an off-duty inspector was shopping at The Warehouse in Christchurch and noticed Chinese strawberry-growing kits.

"It is disturbing for all growers to know that New Zealand's biosecurity protection now relies on the sharp-eyed, off-duty wariness of a very small group of good people," he said.

"We are only one Queensland Fruit Fly away from a very, very costly situation."

The 7000 Buzzy Strawberry Mini Grow Kits were recalled by The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's (MAF). They comprised small packages of seeds, a clay pot and compressed potting mix.

"We are very disappointed the MAF process was not robust enough to stop this happening," Mr Fenton said.

MAF said the kits should have been quarantined and tested for plant viruses. Testing of the plants grown from the seeds was expected to be completed next month but so far there had been no signs of disease.

"It's exactly this kind of incident that we have to be aware of, not just the possibility that something can slip through the cracks like this, but that it will," Mr Fenton said.

New Zealand horticulture is already counting the cost of several recent biosecurity incursions, including kiwifruit killer Psa and the tomato-potato psyllid which necessitates toxic sprays.