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Department of Agriculture

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Biosecurity and trade
  3. Import
  4. Importing goods
  5. Food
  6. Food type
  7. fruit vegetable

Sidebar first - Import

  • Import requirements by food type
    • Importing food from New Zealand
    • Arachnids
    • Beef and beef products
    • Beef and beef products - raw
    • Berries
    • Bivalve molluscs
    • Caffeine products - pure and highly concentrated
    • Cassava chips
    • Cereal grains and cereal products
    • Cheese
    • Cheese - raw milk
    • Coconut and coconut meat
    • Coconut milk drinks
    • Crustaceans
    • Crustaceans - cooked
    • Finfish - processed
    • Fish - fresh, chilled, frozen - aquaculture
    • Fish - histamine susceptible
    • Fruit
    • Fungi - prohibited
    • Ham - uncooked slow dry cured
    • Hemp seeds and oil
    • Herbs - dried
    • Honey
    • Human milk and human milk products
    • Infant formula - powdered
    • Insects
    • Kava
    • Meat - processed and cooked
    • Meat - processed and uncooked
    • Meat and edible offal
    • Milk - dried
    • Novel food (non-traditional food)
    • Mini jelly cups containing konjac
    • Oil - Edible plant oil
    • Paprika
    • Peanuts
    • Pepper - dried
    • Pistachios
    • Plants - prohibited
    • Pomegranate arils
    • Poultry meat - cooked
    • Poultry meat and offal products
    • Poultry pate, paste and liver
    • Seaweed - brown
    • Sesame seeds and sesame seed products
    • Soy bean curd
    • Soy milk curd
    • Sports food - formulated supplementary
    • Tofu
    • Vegetables
    • All other food and beverages

Fruit and vegetables

Improving access to imported food safety requirements

From mid-2025 imported food safety requirements will be incorporated into the Biosecurity Import Conditions system (BICON).

See more about the Inclusion of food safety requirements in BICON.

All biosecurity requirements must be met before Imported Food Inspection Scheme requirements apply.

Check our Biosecurity Import Conditions system (BICON) for biosecurity import conditions.

Food type

Fruit and vegetables referred for testing include fresh, chilled, frozen and dried commodities.

Before importing, check that the fruit or vegetable intended for sale for human consumption is not a prohibited plant or fungi listed in Schedule 23 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

For example:

  • Alocasia macrorrhiza (giant taro)
  • Manihot esculenta Crantz (cassava other than sweet cassava)
  • Areca catechu nut (betel nut).

Exclusions

  • Fruit and vegetable juices, purees and concentrates.
  • Food from New Zealand.

Inspection and testing

We refer consignments for analytical testing at the rate of 5%. During inspection, we will also conduct a visual and label assessment.

Additional requirements apply to certain fruit:

  • berries that are ready-to-eat
  • pomegranate arils that are ready-to-eat.

Table 1 shows the tests that will be applied and permitted results for the food type.

Table 1, Food type, test applied and permitted result

Food typeTest appliedPermitted result

Fruit and vegetables

  • fresh, chilled, frozen or dried fruit
  • fresh, chilled or frozen vegetables
  • dried leguminous vegetables

Excludes: pulp, puree, concentrates or juice.

Fruit and vegetable residue screenThe Food Standards Code lists maximum residue limits in Schedule 20 and extraneous residue limits in Schedule 21.
Fresh and frozen vegetablesLeadThe Food Standards Code lists maximum levels in Schedule 19
Baby corn (fresh)Escherichia colin=5, c=1, m=10, M=100 cfu/g
Berries that are ready-to-eat (dried)Escherichia colin=5, c=2, m=100, M=1000 cfu/g
Chilies (fresh)Escherichia colin=5, c=1, m=10, M=100 cfu/g
Pomegranate arils that are ready-to-eat (driedEscherichia colin=5, c=2, m=100, M=1000 cfu/g
Spinach (frozen)Escherichia colin=5, c=2, m=less than 10 cfu/g
Sugar snap peas (fresh)Escherichia colin=5, c=1, m=10, M=100 cfu/g

n = the minimum number of sample units that must be examined from a lot of food.
c = the maximum allowable number of defective sample units, that have counts between ‘m’ and ‘M’.
m = the acceptable microbiological level in a sample unit.
M = the level, which when exceeded (the level is greater than M), in one or more samples would cause the lot to be rejected.

Fruit and vegetable residue screen analysis

These are the chemical tests applied to fruit and vegetables.

  • 2-phenylphenol
  • azoxystrobin
  • benalaxyl
  • bitertanol
  • boscalid
  • captan
  • carbendazim
  • chlorothalonil
  • cyproconazole
  • cyprodinil
  • dicloran
  • difenoconazole
  • dimethomorph
  • fenarimol
  • fenhexamid
  • fludioxonil
  • flusilazole
  • hexaconazole
  • imazalil
  • iprodione
  • kresoxim-methyl
  • metalaxyl
  • myclobutanil
  • paclobutrazol
  • penconazole
  • procymidone
  • propiconazole
  • pyraclostrobin
  • pyrimethanil
  • quintozene
  • tebuconazole
  • thiabendazole
  • triadimefon
  • triadimenol
  • trifloxystrobin
  • vinclozolin

  • chlorthal-dimethyl
  • diphenylamine
  • diuron
  • linuron
  • oxyfluorfen
  • pendimethalin

  • acephate
  • azinphos-methyl
  • bifenthrin
  • bioresmethrin
  • carbaryl
  • chlorfenvinphos
  • chlorpyrifos
  • chlorpyrifos-methyl
  • cyfluthrin
  • cyhalothrin
  • cypermethrin
  • deltamethrin
  • diazinon
  • dichlorvos
  • dicofol
  • dimethoate
  • disulfoton
  • ethoprofos
  • fenamiphos
  • fenitrothion
  • fenoxycarb
  • fenpyroximate
  • fenthion
  • fenvalerate
  • fipronil
  • hexythiazox
  • indoxacarb
  • malathion (maldison)
  • methamidophos
  • methidathion
  • methomyl
  • mevinphos
  • monocrotophos
  • parathion-ethyl
  • parathion-methyl
  • permethrin
  • phenothrin
  • phorate
  • phosmet
  • piperonyl-butoxide
  • pirimicarb
  • pirimiphos-methyl
  • profenofos
  • propargite
  • prothiofos
  • pymetrozine
  • pyrethrins
  • pyriproxyfen
  • spinosad
  • spirotetramat
  • tau-fluvalinate
  • tebufenozide
  • tebufenpyrad
  • terbufos
  • tetradifon
  • thiacloprid
  • thiamethoxam
  • trichlorfon

  • aldrin and dieldrin
  • DDT
  • endosulfan
  • endrin
  • HCB (hexachlorobenzene)
  • HCH (BHC)
  • heptachlor
  • lindane

Version history

DateAmendment details
21/08/24Removed food types from Table 1: • Dates (dried) Tomatoes (dried, semi-dried and sun dried)
31/05/2024Added link to Schedule 21 – Extraneous residue limits which are included in the fruit and vegetable residue screen.
29/03/2023Updated permitted levels of E. coli for RTE berries and pomegranate arils (dried).
04/01/2023
  • Added note about FSC Schedule 23 – prohibited plants and fungi  
  • Clarified testing applied to berries and pomegranate arils (dried).
28/01/2022First version of the webpage published on website.

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Page last updated: 28 April 2025

We acknowledge the continuous connection of First Nations Traditional Owners and Custodians to the lands, seas and waters of Australia. We recognise their care for and cultivation of Country. We pay respect to Elders past and present, and recognise their knowledge and contribution to the productivity, innovation and sustainability of Australia’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries.

Artwork: Protecting our Country, Growing our Future
© Amy Allerton, contemporary Aboriginal Artist of the Gumbaynggirr, Bundjalung and Gamilaroi nations.

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