Kiwifruit pre clearance inspections saving time and money at the Australian border

June Media Release

AsureQuality, the country’s leading provider of biosecurity and food safety assurance services has teamed up with the kiwifruit industry once again this season to enable pre clearance inspections saving time and money at the Australian border.

This kiwifruit main packing season is now completed and so far there has been high expectations of larger fruit size and quality for export.

AsureQuality has worked in with the kiwifruit industry and Australian authorities to help ease the inspection process allowing easier access through the borders with “just in time” deliveries to be met for supermarket programmes and other markets across the Tasman.

AsureQuality Field Manager David Cant explains how the pre clearance programme managed out of the Bay of Plenty works.

“Australian inspectors selected from different states across Australia fly to New Zealand and inspect pallets destined for supermarkets and produce outlets across the Tasman.

“By doing this on the ground in New Zealand it minimises the potential for damaging fruit through inspections at the Australian border, it eliminates the delays of failed inspections off shore and it allows cool chain requirements to remain in place again minimising the loss of integrity of product,” said Mr Cant.

According to one of the largest exporters of kiwifruit to Australia, the process makes good business sense.

Southern Produce Managing Director Tony Ponder says the programme that AsureQuality manages makes our life so much easier.

“The ease of managing the logistics, organising the inspectors and meeting the “just in time” delivery requirements is a real bonus for us, but the programme gets the real thumbs up for us because of the significant cost savings”

Currently Australian quarantine inspector Peter Carman is in the Bay of Plenty region inspecting kiwifruit produce for the pre clearance programme.

For further information please contact AsureQuality’s Lisa Williams 09 573 8074 or
021 839729
For interview with Southern Produce Managing Director Tony Ponder please contact him on 07 572 3019