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Non-Commercial Wild Food in New Zealand

NZFSA Position Paper: No. 02/07

October 2007

[Online] ISBN number 978-0-478-31154-9 ISSN number 1178-4040

[Print] ISBN number 978-0-478-31153-2 ISSN number 1177-0287

Important Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to ensure the information in this report is accurate.

NZFSA does not accept any responsibility or liability whatsoever for any error of fact, omission, interpretation or opinion that may be present, however it may have occurred.

Further copies

Requests for further copies should be directed to:
New Zealand Food Safety Authority
P O Box 2835
WELLINGTON
Telephone : (04) 894-2500
Fax : (04) 894-2501

Website
A copy of this document can be found at www.nzfsa.govt.nz

Table of Contents

1 Executive Summary 4

2 Background 6

No intention to regulate non-commercial wild food 8

Exclusions from the review 8

3 The Wild Food Review 10

Current knowledge and activities 10

Current situation 10

ESR literature search report 11

Non-commercial marine biotoxin monitoring programme 12

Information NZFSA currently offers on wild food 14

Restricted procurement areas 14

Data gaps 15

Data on harvesting activities 15

Data on consumption 16

Relationship between pesticide use patterns and residue profiles 17

Knowledge of natural toxicants 17

4 Going forward- the Wild Foods Project 18

Priority for action 18

Ways forward for Māori 21

Objectives 22

Project Scope 22

Shellfish 23

Communications 23

Data Gaps 24

Excluded from scope 25

Timelines 25

Appendix 1 26

Summary of proposals from the Draft Position Paper 26

Appendix 2 29

Submissions on the Draft Position Paper 29

Information gathering 29

Information sharing 30

Interagency collaboration 31

Programme funding 31

Proposals for Māori 32

Appendix 3 34

NZFSA Publications 34

1 Executive Summary

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) is responsible for protecting public health from risks that may arise from the consumption of food.

NZFSA has undertaken a review of non-commercial wild foods to gain a better understanding of their consumption in New Zealand and to determine if there is a risk to public health, and if there is, to develop ways of ensuring that risk is managed or reduced.

Non-commercial wild food includes animals, fish, plants and insects that are hunted or harvested for personal consumption. The gathering of wild foods is outside of the food safety regulatory systems currently in place (which regulate food for sale). Wild food is not subject to monitoring or risk management in the way that commercially available food is, and the risks of consuming wild food had not been comprehensively assessed until this review was undertaken.

The freedom to harvest food from the wild is part of the “kiwi” way of life. The intention of the review has been to gauge the risks to public health from this activity, and to look at non-regulatory options to manage or reduce those food hazard risks. It is not proposed to regulate wild food hunted or harvested for personal consumption.

As an initial step in the review, NZFSA commissioned a report from the Institute of Environmental and Scientific Research Ltd (ESR) to assess the chemical and microbial risks that may be present in a wide range of wild foods. ESR undertook a search of available scientific and research papers, and published reports (including public health data). The resultant report presents a significant body of evidence on food/hazard combinations that may pose risks.

The ESR research led to the conclusion that wild food does not present a major risk of human exposure to foodborne hazards in New Zealand. However, the research showed that there is a lack of reliable information on harvesting and consumption patterns of wild food, along with poor information generally about the sources of foodborne illness (for example, whether food is from a commercial source or not).

NZFSA released a draft position paper in July 2005, accompanied by the ESR report as a companion document, and invited submissions on the proposals suggested in the paper.

This Final Position Paper sets out the background and process of the review, and, on the basis of the feedback received from consultation, NZFSA's plans in relation to managing public health risks arising from the consumption of non-commercial wild foods.

The Wild Foods Project aims to implement the outcomes of the Wild Food Review, and comprises three sub-projects:

(a) Shellfish - “Right-sizing” the Marine Biotoxin Programme including review of the data-purchasing arrangement with the shellfish industry; and development of mechanisms to address wider public health issues associated with recreational collection of shellfish

(b) Communication – assessing resources, developing networks and appropriate communication tools to ensure key food safety messages are picked up by gatherers and consumers of wild food

(c) Data gaps – focussed on social research, including examination of reasons why shellfish warnings are not heeded; information on quantity of consumption, frequency and location of gathering; identifying sources of foodborne illness, and identifying new and emerging risks from wild foods.

The importance of wild-gathered food for Māori communities was an integral part of the review. A key point made by the Māori reference group formed to provide input into the review 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. NZFSA’s Strategy for Involving Māori in Food Safety and Consumer Protection Issues will underpin the implementation of the Wild Foods Project.

Details of activities and progress in implementing the Wild Foods Project will be available on the NZFSA website.