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Non-Commercial Wild Food in New Zealand

4 Going forward- the Wild Foods Project

The Wild Foods Project aims to implement the outcomes of the Wild Food Review and to refine and focus available resources on the management, study and promotion of wild food issues that may cause avoidable food-borne illness.

Taking into account ESR findings, comments and suggestions from submitters (see Appendix 2), and further analysis and development within NZFSA, the fourteen suggested proposals for future activities outlined in the Draft Position Paper (see Appendix 1) have been developed into a series of practical and viable projects that are being implemented by NZFSA.

Priority for action

The ESR research into wild food/hazard combinations identified areas that should be a priority for NZFSA action. Although the research led to the conclusion that wild food does not present a major risk of human exposure to foodborne hazards, it identified areas where further information is required, and areas that represent higher risks to consumers of wild food.

The ESR report showed that there was a lack of reliable information on the level of harvesting, and the consumption patterns, of wild foods in New Zealand, along with poor information generally about the sources of foodborne illness.

Within these constraints, the available information was used to assign a qualitative risk ranking to wild foods (see diagram below). A wild food was considered high risk when estimated consumption was likely to be high, and the hazards associated with the food were likely to be prevalent or potent. The wild food groups with the highest risk ranking identified were shellfish, pigs and deer. Marine fish and waterfowl were the next highest.

The ESR report also noted that filling the identified data gaps would provide information necessary to more definitely assess the risks and assign rankings. The significant gaps that need to be filled are:

• harvesting activities

• consumption patterns

• the relationship between pesticide use and residues

• risks from naturally occurring toxicants e.g. those from fungi, plant alkaloids.

The ESR report provides a baseline against which NZFSA can measure progress in filling these data gaps.

A classification of the risks posed by wild food to consumers

	MARINE FISH WATER FOWL	DEER PIGS SHELLFISH
MUTTONBIRDS, SALMON/TROUT, WHITEBAIT, LOBSTERS	PHEASANTS, QUAIL, MARINE GAMEFISH, KINA, PAUA, PUHA, WATERCRESS	GOATS
FRESHWATER CRAYFISH, HUHU GRUBS, SALMON, TROUT, WHITEBAIT, INANGA KOKOPU, KAORA, WHELKS, LIMPETS, CRABS, MOST GERMS, DANDELION, CABBAGE TREE, NIKAU PALM, SEA CUCUMBER, KIEKIE, SUPPLEJACK, MOST SEAWEEDS, MOST BERRIES, FLAX SEEDS, THISTLE NUT, MOST WILD HERBS	WEKA, EEL, LAMPREY, INDIAN SPINACH, POROPORO, SEA LETTUCE, EDIBLE FUNGI, BLACKBERRIES, WALNUTS, CHESTNUTS, MINT	WALLABIES, RABBITS, HARES, POSSUMS, SEA SNAILS, FRESHWATER MUSSELS, TOXIC HONEY, BRACKEN FERN, STINGING NETTLE, KARAKA BERRIES, TARAIRE BERRIES

Source: Review of Non-Commercial Wild Food in New Zealand, Report to New Zealand Food Safety Authority from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research Ltd, February 2005.

Māori

The importance of wild-gathered food for Māori communities was an integral part of the review. A key point made by the review’s Māori reference group was the importance of identifying the tikanga around traditional food gathering and handling practices, and to ensure that where relevant, this is incorporated in food safety messages targeted at whanau, hapu and iwi, using a collaborative and inclusive approach.

Ways forward for Māori

The Māori Focus Group considered that the best way to minimise foodborne illness amongst Māori people resulting from the consumption of wild food is to empower Māori as kaitiaki (protector, caretaker) to address the associated food safety issues. Kai (food) is an intimate issue for Māori and has always been an important part of the Māori way of life. Kai sustains and nurtures, and is related to Māori health needs. In terms of food safety, it is imperative that Māori solutions are found.

NZFSA recognises that unless processes appropriate and meaningful to Māori are followed, desired results will not be achieved. NZFSA’s Strategy for Involving Māori in Food Safety and Consumer Protection Issues⁴ will underpin the implementation of the Wild Foods project. This strategy provides direction and guidance to enable NZFSA and Māori to work together in terms of information, consultation, negotiation and involvement. It will ensure Māori participation in project activities, including decision-making, monitoring and surveillance, research, education and evaluation. In particular, there will be strong links between the Wild Foods Project and NZFSA’s Marae Food Safety Initiative.

Objectives

The objectives of the Wild Food Project are

1. To ensure that information is provided to gatherers and consumers of wild food with known significant risks on an ongoing basis (collectively or as specific target groups) in an appropriate way to enable them to keep themselves safe from avoidable food-related harm.

2. To identify, scope and carry out, as required, data ascertainment and collection activities to support Objective 1.

Project Scope

The Wild Food Project will encompass the following:

(a) Review of the Non-commercial Marine Biotoxin Shellfish Monitoring Programme to

• redesign and refocus the programme

• reduce its costs

• re-evaluate the NZFSA purchase of data from the commercial shellfish regulatory programme and

• evaluate the effectiveness of public warnings, aiming to identify more effective ways to communicate the risk status of shellfish from area to area, on an ongoing basis.

(b) Development of questions on non-commercial wild food consumption for inclusion in the New Zealand Adult Nutrition Survey, in consultation with the Ministry of Health.

(c) Social research into the hunting, gathering, harvesting and food handling and consumption practices of non-commercial wild foods, with an initial focus on the consumers of foods with the current highest risk ranking (pig, deer and shellfish), and with the aim of better understanding how people perceive risks in relation to wild foods, and how they behave in relation to sourcing wild foods.

(d) Development of information resources relating to wild foods, and particularly targeting at-risk populations and communities, underpinned by a wild foods communication strategy.

(e) Improving the collection of food-borne illness statistics/information through working with general practitioners and public health officers to emphasise the importance of the source of the food implicated in causing foodborne illness – i.e. commercially produced food, domestically produced food, or non-commercial wild food.

The project comprises three sub-projects:

Shellfish

This sub-project focuses on one of the identified high-risk areas of wild food consumption and has two parts:

(a) Completion of the “right-sizing” of the Marine Biotoxin Programme including review of the data-purchasing arrangement with the shellfish industry, development of a review document and consultation at a local, regional and national level.

(b) Development of mechanisms, in conjunction with other stakeholders, to address wider public health issues (e.g. microbiological contamination) associated with recreational collection of shellfish. This may include technical guidance for Public Health Units and Territorial Authorities in managing microbiological contamination issues in non-commercial shellfish, and material to support the provision of information to the public on at-risk sources and appropriate mitigation measures. This will require thorough consultation with, and involvement of, relevant government departments, local and regional authorities, Public Health Units, Fisheries Officers, whanau, hapu and iwi and other interested parties in local Public Health Units areas.

Communications

This sub-project aims to improve communication of food safety messages to gatherers and consumers of wild food by:

(a) Carrying out a stocktake of current resources e.g. NZFSA communication materials, DOC, National Poisons Centre, hunting organisations.

(b) Developing networks with hunting organisations, recreational fishing groups, clubs, marae rūnanga, Māori trusts and incorporations, kaumātua, whanau, hapu and iwi.

(c) Developing and implementing better ways of communicating with hunters to enable them to avoid food safety risks from contaminated carcasses. This will be done in consultation with hunting groups, whanau, hapu, iwi and other interested parties. Priorities to manage are brodifacoum in pigs and microbiological hazards associated with deer and other wild game.

(d) Developing, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, appropriate communication tools (including the NZFSA web site, DVD’s, pamphlets and signage) to ensure key messages are picked up by target groups, and mechanisms for assessing the effectiveness of these tools.

Data Gaps

This sub-project is aimed at addressing the information gaps identified as significant in the ESR report

(a) Social research, including examination of reasons why shellfish warnings are not heeded;

(b) Advocate for inclusion of appropriate questions in the 2007/08 Adult Nutrition Survey, and design and develop a targeted survey of consumption and harvesting patterns;

(c) Update and review of ESR priorities/recommendations for data gap filling, development of a prioritised list of data gaps that need to be filled, and development of risk profiles and recommended risk management options for selected food/hazard combinations; and

(d) Establish mechanisms for the identification and management of new and emerging risks from wild foods.

Excluded from scope

The Wild Food Project will not cover:

• pest control methods

• hunters issues, for example access, environmental sustainability, habitat restoration, species viability

• controls on poisons use, or

• response mechanisms to hazards entering the food chain

Timelines

Details of project activities and progress towards completion will be available on the NZFSA website as appropriate.

⁴ New Zealand Food Safety Authority Strategy for Involving Māori in Food Safety and Consumer Protection Issues April 2007