Store uses packaging to get around fruit fly restrictions

Farro Fresh Supermarket. Photo / Dean Purcell

A boutique supermarket in Auckland's fruit fly zone is using plastic packaging to ensure its fresh produce can be taken out of the area.

Grey Lynn's Farro Fresh, whose sales dropped by 20 per cent in the first week of restrictions after the Queensland fruit fly was found in the area last month, has begun selling fruit and vegetables which had been packaged and sealed outside of the Grey Lynn controlled zones.

The arrangement, approved by the Ministry for Primary Industries, also involves customers being issued with reuseable permits allowing them to take the fresh produce out of the controlled zones.

"Our idea was to package all fruit and vegetables off-site in a non-restricted zone and completely seal them for transport to, and thus from, the restricted zone," Farro co-founder Janene Draper said.

"This way the Queensland fruit fly cannot enter the produce while it is in the zone, so it can be transported out of zone without any concerns."

Customers must also sign a ministry register in the shop to show they understand the restrictions placed on fruit and vegetables in Grey Lynn.

Horticulture NZ chief executive Peter Silcock said Farro had come up with a great idea. "It's a practical way to manage the risk while still being able to look after their customers."

The Environment and Conservation Organisations of New Zealand also supported the packaging initiative.

"We think this is a good interim solution ... but given the amount of plastic involved, we would hope that this is a short-term safety measure and we can go back to normal practice later on," vice-chairwoman Cath Wallace said.

Farro marketing manager Dylan Yelavich said the packaging was mostly plastic-based, but was also made up of biodegrable material.

An MPI spokesperson yesterday said no other retailers in the controlled zones had requested a permit system like Farro but "we are prepared to assess any requests from vendors on a case-by-case basis".

The ministry said two more adult Queensland fruit flies had been caught in traps in the controlled area, bringing the total to 13 since the first was retrieved from a trap on February 16.

- Additional reporting: Martin Johnston