Update – 31 May 2022
Notice issued
Today we published the Animal Products Notice: Regulatory Control Scheme – Bivalve Molluscan Shellfish for Human Consumption.
This comes into force on 14 June 2022.
Animal Products Notice: Regulatory Control Scheme – Bivalve Molluscan Shellfish for Human Consumption [PDF, 900 KB]
Summary and analysis of submissions [PDF, 314 KB]
Background to this consultation
New Zealand Food Safety proposed changes to the:
Animal Products Notice: Regulated Control Scheme – Bivalve Molluscan Shellfish for Human Consumption [PDF, 900 KB]
The amendment proposed to incorporate new requirements to minimise the likelihood of Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp) causing illness from consumption of commercially harvested bivalve molluscan shellfish (BMS). The amendments included requirements for imposing a Vp management plan on growers and the supply chain, including the triggers for when the plan would be required. A table was included, describing what regulatory actions would be taken if cases of vibriosis were linked to growing areas. The table laid out the minimum times that growing area restrictions would be imposed, depending on the number of cases reported.
Other proposed amendments
- Reclassified a strain of the phytoplankton species Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata from low to high risk. This genus produces domoic acid (DA), the amnesic shellfish poisoning toxin. The cell numbers of the low risk Pseudo-nitzschia species that can be present in seawater before testing BMS flesh for the biotoxin is carried out was also to be eased from 500,000 to 1,000,000 cells per litre, and turgidula was to be removed as it had been reclassified.
- Changed when growing areas are closed due to the detection of biotoxin in BMS flesh to when the levels in Table 3 are met rather than when they are exceeded.
- Added the toxigenic phytoplankton test method to the list of test methods.
- Updated the average monthly maximum temperature statistics (Table 4B), recalculated using data covering the period 2017 to 2022.
Consultation documents
All proposed amendments were identified in red text in the draft Notice.
Proposed Animal Products Notice: Regulated Control Scheme – Bivalve Molluscan Shellfish for Human Consumption [PDF, 1.3 MB]
More information about the proposed amendments – Supporting document [PDF, 242 KB]
Submissions are public information
Note that all, part, or a summary of your submission may be published on this website. Most often this happens when we issue a document that reviews the submissions received.
People can also ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we must make the content of submissions available unless we have good reason for withholding it. Those reasons are detailed in sections 6 and 9 of the OIA.
If you think there are grounds to withhold specific information from publication, make this clear in your submission or contact us. Reasons may include that it discloses commercially sensitive or personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold details can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may direct us to release it.
