- 4. Facilitating Market Access
- Revision of the genus Rhizoglyphus in New Zealand and Australia
- Identification and establishment of the levels of food safety pathogens on fresh produce in N.Z., and intended for export.
- Consumer/health component of a quantitative risk assessment of Salmonella in sheep meat produced in New Zealand.
- Alternatives to Methyl Bromide as a fumigant for forestry exports - a literature review
4. Facilitating Market Access
This category provides information that will assist in developing and implementing policies that help to facilitate the access of New Zealand’s agricultural, horticultural and forestry products to overseas markets. Trading opportunities for these products are affected by many distortions. These include not only the more direct obstructions to access such as tariffs and non-tariff measures (e.g. sanitary and technical barriers to trade, administration of tariff quotas) but also the use of export subsidies and domestic support policies to assist competing producers.
The animal welfare proposals covered under this category have been separated out into the combined chapter eight for ease of access.
4.1 FMA 120
Programme Title: |
Revision of the genus Rhizoglyphus in New Zealand and Australia |
Programme Leader: |
Dr Zhi-Qiang Zhang |
Institution: |
Landcare Research |
Programme Goal: To provide a revised taxonomy of Rhizoglyphus species in New Zealand and Australia and to prepare user-friendly identification keys to species. The keys will be based on the morphological characters of the adults (both males and females).
Rationale: Unidentified mites in this family can pose problems for market access of horticultural crops. Nevertheless, there is no comprehensive account of the genus for New Zealand and Australia. From scattered literature and unpublished information, there are at least 3 named species of Rhizoglyphus known in New Zealand and 3 species in Australia (two of these shared by both countries). These have been collected from various crop species. The accurate identities of these species are uncertain because of the confused taxonomy of the genus in the world and the lack of systematic studies in NZ and Australia. There are also an unknown number of unnamed or unidentified species. The project will provide worldwide distribution data for each species. The revised classification and keys will allow identification to species level, and thereby facilitate a response to requests for rapid quarantine decisions from trading partners.
Objective 1
Objective Title: |
Revision of the Rhizoglyphus mites |
Research Leader: |
Dr Zhi-Qiang Zhang |
Description:
Revision of Rhizoglyphus mites in New Zealand and Australia and preparation of a key to species. The key will be illustrated and user-friendly and will include available distribution data of both named and unnamed species. A key to separate Rhizoglyphus from other related genera of the family Acaridae will also be included.
4.2 FMA 128
Programme Title: |
Identification and establishment of the levels of food safety pathogens on fresh produce in N.Z., and intended for export. |
Programme Leader: |
TeckLok Wong |
Institution: |
ESR |
To use qualitative risk assessment to identify two sets of produce/hazard combinations for study followed by qualitative, and if present, quantitative measurements of the hazard in the selected produce (conventional and organic).
The cost involved in producing meaningful scientific data covering all of the fresh produce and hazards suggested in the call for expressions of interest would be very large indeed. It is therefore proposed that the produce/hazard combinations identified should be subjected to a round of qualitative risk assessment in order that a sub-set of combinations be derived that appear to pose the greatest risk for the health of overseas consumers. Resources can then be focused on this sub-set.
ESR has now acquired considerable experience in the area of producing risk profiles on specific food/hazard combinations, and can use the same format to address the list of foods and hazards in the call for expressions of interest. This project will extend the work done in the risk profiling by requiring a ranking of the relative risks between the combinations. Once the top concerns are identified, laboratory testing can be conducted in ESR’s IANZ accredited laboratories.
Objective 1
Objective Title: |
Research Topic Prioritisation |
Research Leader: |
Dr J Andrew Hudson |
Description:
This work will take as a basis the hazard identification produced in project FMA 169 and undertake a risk assessment to identify which two food/hazard combinations are the most likely to result in human disease. This information will be used in the prioritisation of food/hazard combinations to be assessed in objective 2.
The risk assessment will use an approach similar to that promulgated by Codex in terms of structure, and use overseas data where it is transferable (e.g. dose/response information) but will use New Zealand data where available.
The overall structure would be:
- Hazard identification
- Hazard characterisation
- Exposure assessment
- Risk characterisation
Hazard identification would not need to be performed in depth as much of this information will be available from previous reports, and hazard characterisation information will be taken from the overseas literature. It can be assumed given the current information that clinical consequences of infection and dose/response models will be similar in the New Zealand population as they would in populations from other developed countries.
Exposure assessment will combine a number of sources of information. Food consumption data are readily available from the National Nutrition Survey. Where possible data for the presence and count of the hazards on the raw produce in question will be obtained. Experience suggests that this is likely to be scant at best, and filling this data gap is part of the reason for carrying out the project. Reactions of overseas authorities, to findings similar to this research, will be noted and mentioned in the report.
Risk characterisation, in the past, has attempted to address this section by using disease surveillance and epidemiological data for New Zealand to attempt to gauge the health impact on our population of particular food/hazard combinations. The work proposed would also factor in export volume and value, as well as risk reduction activities that might be performed by the consumer (e.g. washing).
The output from this objective will be to identify two food/hazard combinations that, given the scientific information available, appear to be the most likely to result in foodborne disease in an export market. These will then be the subjects of analytical work detailed in objective 2.
Scientific opinion will be provided on the potential significance of these two food hazard combinations.
Objective 2
Objective Title: |
Hazard analyses of selected Fruits and/or Vegetables |
Research Leader: |
Dr TeckLok Wong |
Description:
This objective will carry out the qualitative and, if present, quantitative measurement of pathogens on raw produce identified from the risk ranking. To achieve a high probability of detecting a small fraction of produce containing a pathogen, 230 samples each of conventionally and organically grown produce will be purchased from suppliers/retailers from New Zealand and analysed for the pathogen.
Sampling: Conventionally grown vegetables or fruits are more widely available than organic produce. Depending on availability, organic produce can be purchased from the export packhouses. A list of export packhouses will be provided by MAF once the two produce / hazard combinations are identified by the risk ranking.
Organic produce will be identified by means of Bio-Gro New Zealand, label, or as certified under the AgriQuality scheme. Depending on where the produce is grown, similar numbers of conventionally grown produce samples will also be purchased from other packhouses from the same region where practicable. Information that relates to the traceability of produce will be obtained from the packhouses during purchase and documented in the result compilation.
Purchases will be limited to 23 organic and 23 conventional samples at a time. A total of 230 organic and 230 conventional samples will be analysed in total for the selected produce. Given that two types of produce will be chosen, a total of 920 samples will be analysed altogether. Samples would be shipped to the laboratory in a chilly bin cooled with frozen pads.
The method used would depend on the pathogen and produce combination that would be chosen from the risk ranking. Basically most qualitative and some quantitative methods used for pathogen screening, with the exception of Clostridium botulinum and Shigella spp, would be within the scope of ESR Public Health Laboratory IANZ accreditation. However most enumerative methods will not be IANZ accredited. ESR will use best practice and expertise in the area of pathogen enumeration in foods to provide this information. (See detailed methodology description in agreed final proposal version.
4.3 FMA 129
Programme Title: |
Consumer/health component of a quantitative risk assessment of Salmonella in sheep meat produced in New Zealand. |
Programme Leader: |
Michael Baker. |
Institution: |
ESR |
Programme Goal: To quantify the incidence of human infection with all Salmonella spp. inclusively and S. Brandenburg specifically, to estimate the contribution of New Zealand sheep meat consumption to this incidence, and to provide comparative information to validate the MAF Quantitative Risk Assessment model for the sheep meat supply chain in New Zealand.
Rationale: MAF have initiated a comprehensive research project, “A quantitative risk assessment of Salmonella in sheep meat produced in New Zealand” after consultation with a wide variety of stakeholders, and have located a significant sponsor for part of the project. The project centres on development of a quantitative risk assessment (QRA) model to estimate human health risks due to exposure to Salmonella spp. as an end result of the sheep meat supply chain. The model estimates incremental risks at each stage in the farm-to-plate continuum: farm production; meat processing; meat storage, distribution and retail; and health effects among consumers.
The credibility of the model rests on its ability to predict the incidence of salmonellosis among sheep meat consumers. At present, there is no reliable data to provide an independent comparison, and therefore verification, for the QRA model. The project outlined in this proposal will provide information on the New Zealand incidence of human salmonellosis and the proportion of human salmonellosis attributable to sheep meat consumption to compare with, and validate, the QRA model.
Objective 1
Objective Title: |
To determine the contribution of sheep meat consumption to the incidence of salmonellosis and S. Brandenburg infection among humans in New Zealand. |
Research Leader: |
Dr Craig Thornley. |
Description:
Aim: To provide data on risk of salmonellosis and S. Brandenburg attributable to sheep meat consumption among humans.
Outcomes: Relative risk and attributable risk of sheep meat consumption for salmonellosis and S. Brandenburg, calculated at agreed levels of sheep meat consumption (e.g. for frequent and infrequent).
Objective 2
Objective Title: |
To provide data to validate the QRA model, using information from Objective 1 and estimates of the true population incidence of human infection with: (a) all Salmonella species combined; and (b) Salmonella Brandenburg separately. |
Research Leader: |
Dr Craig Thornley. |
Description:
Aim: To provide independent data for comparison with the QRA model.
Outputs: Incidence of salmonellosis and S. Brandenburg infection, per 100 000 person-years, that can be attributed to sheep meat exposure. These estimates would incorporate estimates of the true population rates of salmonellosis in New Zealand adjusted for various sources of under-ascertainment.
4.4 FMA 131
Programme Title: |
Alternatives to Methyl Bromide as a fumigant for forestry exports - a literature review |
Programme Leader: |
Peter Dentener |
Institution: |
Hort Research |
Programme Goal:
To undertake a literature review of alternatives to methyl bromide as a fumigant for forestry exports
Methyl bromide is an ozone depleting substance that is widely used in New Zealand for treating quarantine pests. Most of New Zealand’s use of methyl bromide for quarantine and pre-shipment pest control is for export timber. Fumigation of timber will increase significantly as New Zealand’s potential sustainable forest production increases from the present 18 to 30 million m3 by 2005. New Zealand has signed the Montreal Protocol that requests parties to monitor their own use of methyl bromide, identify opportunities for research into alternatives, and to encourage the use of alternatives and/or recovery where feasible. There is likely to be strong international debate into alternatives when the parties to the Montreal Protocol meet in 2003.
MAF requires a review of literature that identifies alternatives to methyl bromide for quarantine and stored product use that can be used for disinfesting logs and forest produce.
Objective 1
Objective Title: |
Literature review: methyl bromide alternatives |
Objective Leader: |
Dr Peter R. Dentener |
Description:
To identify alternatives to currently used methyl bromide fumigation for quarantine and stored product use that can be used for disinfesting logs and forest produce
Methodology :
Extensive searches on alternatives to methyl bromide fumigation will be carried out using library and internet resources. Where possible, unpublished material will be sourced by contacting relevant researchers directly.
The review will summarise and discuss all available options, and provide a recommendation, bearing in mind the special characteristics of New Zealand’s situation:
- New Zealand exports short rotation grown softwood logs, which have a very high moisture content;
- New Zealand’s distance from markets could be utilised by using environmentally less harmful, low-dose long duration treatments.
Contact for Enquiries
Farm Monitoring Programme Manager
Monitoring and Evaluation
MAF Policy
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 4 894 0623
Fax: +64 4 894 0741
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