Legal controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables in the South Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe will remain in place for the next few weeks as part of the response to the discovery of a single male Oriental fruit fly earlier this month, says Biosecurity New Zealand’s commissioner north Mike Inglis.

“We’ve had fantastic support from the South Auckland community and sector groups to date, and we’re asking for that to continue just a little longer out of an abundance of caution. It is vital to our success in keeping fruit fly out of New Zealand,” Mike Inglis says.

“To date, no other Oriental fruit flies have been found in surveillance traps, which is very encouraging.

“We’ll continue to regularly check fruit fly traps, and specialist staff in our mobile field laboratory will cut up and inspect fruit and vegetables collected in the area for any signs of larvae. So far more than 200kg of produce has been examined.”

Mr Inglis says it’s anticipated the restrictions will remain in place until mid-February.

“This is so we can be confident that we are not dealing with a breeding population.This timeframe is based on scientific advice about the life cycle of the Oriental fruit fly,” Mr Inglis says. 

There is no change to the current movement rules that are in place. The A and B Zone areas in Papatoetoe will remain the same and the instructions on the disposal of produce waste remain unchanged.More detail on these zones is on our website, here.

“Those legal controls prohibit the movement of fruit and vegetables out of the specified controlled area around where the fruit fly was found. The restrictions are a critical precaution to protect our horticultural sector and exports,” Mr Inglis says.

“There have been 12 previous fruit fly incursions in New Zealand which we have successfully eradicated, so we have very strong and detailed operational plans to guide our work.

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

Our next update will be 10am tomorrow.

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