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Letter to the Editor, The Dominion Post, 26 February 2007

Sir,

In her article, The tummy bug that stole my summer (Monday, 26 February), Helen Turner wonders why the food and hospitality industry is unable to deal effectively with Campylobacter.

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority agrees that this is a major concern, and, as you’ve reported a number of times, we have been undertaking an extensive review of New Zealand’s food regulatory programme with the aim of modernising the country’s outdated food laws and stemming the country’s high rates of foodborne illness.

In October last year we put forward a raft of recommendations for change which were accepted unopposed by Government and implementation is set to begin in July 2008. We are confident this will position our vital food industry for the future and provide added assurance for consumers.

In November last year we also released our Campylobacter in Poultry Risk Management Strategy 2006-2009 in which we will be working with researchers, industry groups and international experts in an all-out effort to stem the country’s high levels of reported cases. This is a complex issue, but like Helen, we want to see a dramatic change in New Zealand’s status.

A copy of the strategy can be downloaded from our website: www.nzfsa.govt.nz and updated progress reports will also be posted there as they become available.

Sandra Daly,

Director, NZFSA Communications