MAF officials wanted biosecurity lapse hushed up

The growing kit. Photo / Supplied

Biosecurity officials tried to avoid testing 2.3 million rogue strawberry seeds because they were worried it would make them look bad.

They told Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry boss Wayne McNee there was "no purpose" in testing because if a virus had come in with the seeds, there was nothing they could do before it spread.

"If viruses are present, then this will only further highlight the perceived failings of MAF over the clearance and potentially further alarm stakeholders," wrote biosecurity response manager Glen Neal.

The emails, released under the Official Information Act, reveal a "perfect storm" of failures which led to about 8000 ready-to-grow strawberry kits going on sale at The Warehouse.

The kits were made up of dirt from India and seeds from China and packaged in and shipped from Holland without being properly assessed.

The $50 million local strawberry industry is highly regulated through Crop and Food Research and seeds are shipped in from the University of California.

The rogue seeds made it into New Zealand after the Tauranga-based export company failed to recognise they were banned in New Zealand. And even though they were flagged on documentation, MAF failed to pick them up.

A biosecurity officer spotted the seed kits for sale in Christchurch and raised the alarm which led to a nationwide recall.

McNee said there was "some reluctance" to do testing but it was carried out at his insistence. Final results were due this month. He said the biosecurity checks at the border were being improved with training and new systems, including a "red flag" on "risk" items.

Importer Tui Products' Don Forgie said it was a "perfect storm" of events. "No one did this to try and sneak these through the border. We were distraught. New Zealand is very precious to us."

The failure had caused widespread concern in the agricultural industry. Industry group HortNZ chairman Andrew Fenton said biosecurity was a constant worry. "Every day of the year is a scary day for us."

Strawberry Growers NZ chairman John Greensmith accused MAF of trying to "run and hide" over the issue. "We were appalled it got through the system."