Proposed IHS amendment for Fish Food and Fish Bait from all Countries

The New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) must consult with interested parties before issuing or amending (other than of minor nature) import health standards in accordance with Section 22 of the Biosecurity Act (1993) and Biosecurity New Zealand’s consultation policy. An import health standard specifies zoosanitary requirements that must be carried out, either in the country of origin or of export, during transit, or in quarantine, before biosecurity clearance can be given for the commodity to enter New Zealand. MAF must ensure that these requirements are technically justified and provide an appropriate level of biosecurity protection.

Fish food and fish bait are currently eligible for import into New Zealand. These import requirements have now been reviewed in the . This document is available here:

A revised import health standard for fish food and fish bait from all countries has now been drafted on the basis of the Import risk analysis: Fish food

Key changes include:

  • Deletion of
    • Non-viable organisms to be used for aquatic animal or fish food;
      This item could include a wide range of risk goods that would need risk management measures. This commodity is too broad to define appropriate risk management measures. Subsequently this commodity has been deleted from this import health standard and is no longer eligible for import.
    • Marine fish that has been frozen to below -18ºC for a minimum of 18 hours prior to importation;
      Whole round fish represent a significant risk of introducing pests or pathogens that are not managed by the current freezing requirement. The risks of introducing a pathogen or pest are non-negligible if imported whole round fish are used as fish bait. This commodity is too broad to define appropriate risk management measures for. Subsequently this commodity has been deleted from this import health standard and is no longer eligible for import.
  • Amendment of:
    • fishmeal has been heat treated at a minimum core temperature of 85oC for 15 minutes;
      On the basis of the import risk analysis this has been replaced by:
      The fishmeal has been heat treated at a minimum core temperature of 80oC for a period of no less than 20 minutes.
    • Poultry meal and/or poultry feather meal and/or poultry oil has been heat treated at a minimum core temperature of 110oC for at least 1 hour; OR Poultry blood meal has been heat treated at a minimum core temperature of 90oC for 30 minutes;
      On the basis of the import risk analysis this has been replaced by: Rendered poultry products which have undergone an industrial rendering process, subjecting the product to a core temperature of at least 100oC for 25 minutes or an equivalent time and temperature combination as listed in Part E. APPENDIX A.
    • Zooplankton (freshwater or marine origin) has been subject to irradiation at 5 Mrads (50 kGy) On the basis of the Import risk analysis this has been replaced by: Zooplankton which has been subjected to an irradiation dose of at least 2.5 Mrads (25 kGy).
  • Addition of:
    • Fish oil
      On the basis of the Import risk analysis fish oil has been added to the import health standard and is now eligible for import if it meets the requirements listed in the draft import health standard.
    • Rendered ruminant products
      On the basis of the import risk analysis rendered ruminant products have been added to the import health standard and are now eligible for import if it meets requirements as listed in the draft import health standard.

Comments on this draft document should be forwarded to MAF by close of business on 3rd August 2009. MAF encourages respondents to forward comments electronically to the email address below. However, should you wish to forward submissions in writing, please send them to the following address:

Richard Soons
Border Standards Directorate
MAF Biosecurity New Zealand
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO BOX 2526 Wellington
New Zealand
Fax: +64 4 894 0733
Email: richard.soons@maf.govt.nz

Page last updated: 22 June 2009