Melons

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

Check our Biosecurity Import Conditions system (BICON) for biosecurity import conditions and food safety requirements.

We classify imported food that presents a potential medium or high risk to public health as risk food. All risk food is listed in the Imported Food Control Order 2019.

Melons will be classified as risk food

Melons are currently classified as a surveillance food. We refer consignments for inspection and testing.

From March 2027, melons will be risk food. This includes:

• fresh whole melon
• fresh or frozen ready-to-eat melon in pieces (e.g. cut, diced, sliced).

Melons include but are not limited to:

• honeydew melon
• rockmelon (cantaloupe)
• oriental melon
• piel de sapo
• watermelon.

Exclusions

Melons that are:

• not ready-to-eat (intended for further processing)
• not of the genus Cucumis or Citrullus (e.g. bitter melon, bitter gourd, winter melon, wax gourd, Chinese watermelon, dracontomelon)
• processed (e.g. dried, retorted, pulped, pureed, concentrate, juice)
• an ingredient in mixed ready-to-eat food
• from New Zealand.

Food safety management certificates

From March 2027, consignments of whole melons and ready-to-eat cut melons that are either fresh or frozen, must be lodged with a recognised food safety management certificate. To ensure you can meet this requirement by March 2027 you will need to check that you can source melons from overseas producers that meet our certification criteria.

The certificate must show that the producer has a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) based food safety management system in place. This system must identify and control food safety hazards, such as Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes. The certificate must cover primary production and processing of the food.

The certificate must also be issued by a recognised Certification Body.

See our determination section to find out what food safety management certificates we will recognise.

You may wish to provide us with the certificate in advance so that we can verify that it meets our determination. Submit the certificate to IFIS-certification@aff.gov.au. 

Declaring certificates

See requirements for lodging a food safety management certificate.

Community Protection (CP) question

From 2 March 2027 you will need to answer this CP question when lodging your Full Import Declaration (FID).

IFIS: Are the goods melons that are either fresh, chilled or frozen? For melons that are fresh, chilled or frozen you must provide a food safety management certificate. 

Inspection and testing

We refer consignments of melons for analytical testing at the rate of 5%. During inspection we will also conduct a visual and label assessment. Details on current analytical testing for melons can be found in BICON food safety requirements for ‘Fruit’. 

Details on changes to the food safety requirements for melons can be found in the food safety requirements alert for melons. 

Food safety risks

Food Standards Australia New Zealand has published advice that whole and cut ready-to-eat melons (fresh and frozen) present a potential high risk to public health for Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.

To make sure there are food safety controls in place to manage these hazards during production and processing we will be requiring food safety management certificates for imports of fresh or frozen melons from March 2027.

Determination

We have identified what food safety management certificates we will recognise in this determination.

The determination sets out:

• who can issue the certificate
• scope of the certification
• who the certificate covers
• how it can be verified.

Glossary

Ready-to-eat

Food is ready-to-eat if it is ordinarily consumed in the same state as that in which it is sold.

To avoid doubt, food is not ordinarily consumed in the same state as that in which it is sold if, before it is consumed, it requires further processing (such as cooking) to reduce any pathogenic microorganisms potentially present in the food to safe levels.

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