Berries that are ready-to-eat

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

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

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.

Ready-to-eat berries that are fresh, frozen or dried are classified as risk food

This includes berries that are:

• whole
• in pieces (for example, crumbled, cut, diced, sliced)
• of a single type or a mix of berries
• imported in bulk for catering or to be repackaged for retail sale.

Whether or not they contain added sugar or other sweeteners.

This includes, but is not limited to, these types of fresh, chilled, frozen, or dried berries:

• barberries
• bilberries
• blackberries
• blueberries
• cranberries
• currants (Ribes genus)
• gooseberries (Ribes genus)
• loganberries
• mulberries
• raspberries
• strawberries.

Exclusions

• berries that are retorted
• berries that are not ready-to-eat
• berries that are pureed, pulped or juiced
• foods that are not berries only (e.g. a mixed food where berries are an ingredient such as berries covered in chocolate)
• açai berries, goji berries and red bayberries (yumberries) as these fruits are not classified as berries
• currants or gooseberries that are not Ribes genus
• food from New Zealand.

Food safety management certificates

Consignments of ready-to-eat berries that are either fresh, chilled or frozen, and are not retorted, must be lodged with a recognised food safety management certificate.

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

Ready-to-eat berries that are dried may be lodged with a food safety management certificate. The presentation of a food safety management certificate replaces testing for E. coli.

Declaring certificates

When lodging a Full Import Declaration (FID), use the correct ICS document code and certificate number for the food.

See requirements for lodging a food safety management certificate.

Community Protection (CP) question

You will need to answer this CP question when lodging your full import declaration.

IFIS: Are the goods berries that are either fresh, chilled, frozen or dried and are not retorted? For berries that are fresh, chilled or frozen you must provide a food safety management certificate.

Inspection and testing

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

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

n = the number of samples to be analysed from a lot of food.
c = the maximum number of sample units that can be greater than ‘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.

Food safety risks

Food Standards Australia New Zealand has given us advice that fresh and frozen, ready-to-eat berries present a potential high risk to public health for hepatitis A, and that dried, ready-to-eat berries present a potential medium risk to public health for hepatitis A.

To obtain assurance that food safety controls are in place to manage these hazards during production and processing we require food safety management certificates for imports of the higher risk, fresh, chilled or frozen ready-to-eat berries. For the medium risk rated dried and ready-to-eat berries, border testing will apply for E. coli unless the importer voluntarily imports these berries under a food safety management certificate.

Determination

We have identified what food safety management certificates we will recognise in these determinations.
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.

Retorted

Goods (other than animal products) are retorted if they are heated in a hermetically sealed container for a time, and to a temperature, sufficient to make the contents commercially sterile.

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