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Costs of FOREIGN OYSTER RECALLS BY DOROTHY-JEAN MCCOUBREY O nce again the New Zealand public have been alerted to the need for a fast recall of imported oysters because they contain harmful pathogens. This month United World Foods Ltd, in conjunction with the Ministry of Primary Industries, announced the public recall of Sea Cuisine branded oysters from Asia. Although norovirus had only been found in the raw oyster meat, United World Foods took the responsible attitude in recalling all Sea Cuisine battered, fl oured and crumbed oyster products. To me this sounds like déjà vu, as in 2006 there was a need to recall Korean oysters when they caused a high profi le food poisoning outbreak associated with a rugby event. Up to 350 people became ill because of the Korean oysters and to date this is New Zealand's largest norovirus outbreak. Any food company will tell you recalls are expensive, there are the advertising costs, loss of product, administration time, and loss of face and likely loss of future customers. As well as local trade dents, today's global communication systems mean recall details are quickly plastered across international websites, resulting in fast blemishing of brand and country reputations. New Zealand is a country rich in seafood resources and we have a world reputation for quality products grown, harvested and processed in food safe environments. So whenever I read that imported seafood products are causing food safety problems I wonder why we need to import them at all. According to Ministry of Primary Industries offi cials we need to allow seafood to come into New Zealand so that we can retain our export markets for primary products such as beef and lamb. It seems that today's globalised free market means that there is the need for trade-offs between economic development, food safety and environmental protection. So what are the health effects of consuming norovirus? Within a day of exposure a person can often experience violent vomiting and diarrhoea which may last a few days. People can also quickly transfer the norovirus particles to others. This is why norovirus outbreaks so often occur on cruise ships, in rest homes and school camps. How does seafood become contaminated with norovirus? If the seafood is harvested from waters polluted with human sewage there is a high likelihood it will contain norovirus and a range of other pathogens. Hepatitis, salmonella have also been linked to overseas seafood taken from polluted areas. New Zealand does operate a comprehensive shellfi sh quality assurance programme that endeavours to ensure that all harvests are taken from unpolluted waters. Even so, we have occasionally had our own virus problems, both in commercial and non-commercial harvest areas. This just shows that we The risk of marine invaders is too great cannot be complacent about our clean, green image and there is a need for constant vigilance on the state of our environment. While New Zealand does have 22 core indicators to monitor environment degradation, none of these indicators monitor the effects of pollution on our marine resources. The Government supports the aquaculture industry's mission to become a billion dollar industry by 2025. This support has included the widening of the Sustainable Farming Fund to enable projects that support economic and environmental performance of the aquaculture sector to be considered. This is commendable, but scientifi c projects are just part of the equation. If such projects do not translate into sound environmental policies the aquaculture industry will still be vulnerable to the effects of marine pollution. We know that leaking septic tanks, poorly performing waste water treatment plants and illegal marine discharges have cause seafood safety problems in New Zealand. Agriculture discharges can also add to the bacterial loading of shellfi sh. If the New Zealand Government is serious about expanding the aquaculture industry it will also need to underpin this growth with sound environmental policies to protect our marine environment. The formulation of an environmental policy is not an end in itself, but simply a step in the process of ensuring environmental quality. Environmental policies need to be implemented, monitored and adapted to ensure success. There will also need to be collaboration with local communities, particularly those small communities who often do have the resources to effectively manage their effl uent sources. If we do not take proactive steps to preserve our coastal environment it is likely that there will be further public recalls of seafood. As mentioned earlier, food recalls are expensive, but when they implicate New Zealand's brands the cost can become immeasurable. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 ■ NZ AQUACULTURE ■ 11