Imported frozen berries polluted by this toxic river in China

THIS grim scene in Jinling in China’s Shandong province goes a long way to explaining our health scare because some of the frozen fruit we buy is grown and packaged here.

Matthew Benns

@MatthewBenns

2 min read

February 17, 2015 - 11:00PM

The toxic river polluting our berries

FROZEN berries recalled from Australian supermarkets freezers were grown and packed in one of China’s most polluted provinces.

Only five per cent of fruit and vegetables imported into Australia are subject to any testing — but even those few tests do not check for the bacteria that leads to hepatitis A.

Nine people in NSW, Victoria and Queensland have been diagnosed with hepatitis A after eating Nanna’s and Creative Gourmet mixed berries.

HEP SCARE AS 95% OF IMPORTS GO UNCHECKED

‘I FEEL LIKE I WANT TO THROW UP ALL THE TIME’

MADE IN AUSTRALIA? NOT ALWAYS

An empty space on the supermarket shelf where the recalled berries used to sit in Woolworths in Neutral Bay. Picture: Bradley Hunter

The Red Cross Blood Service last night imposed a two-month blood donation ban on people who have eaten berries linked to the health scare.

Yesterday law firm Slater and Gordon said it was looking at a class action after a number of people who had eaten the frozen Chinese berries had contacted them.

Slater and Gordon principal lawyer Julie Clayton said: “If consumers have contracted the virus because of a manufacturer’s conduct, they deserve to be fully compensated.”

RECALLED PRODUCTS

* 1kg Nannas Mixed Berries up to and including Best Before Date 22/11/16.

* 300g Creative Gourmet Mixed Berries, with a Best Before Date up to and including 10/12/17.

* 500g Creative Gourmet Mixed Berries, with a Best Before Date up to and including 06/10/17.

* 1kg Nanna's Raspberries with a Best Before Date up to and including 15/09/16

Patties Foods CEO Steven Chaur said the company had also withdrawn frozen raspberries from shelves because “they are sourced from the same area and could be the culprit”.

He said there was no proven link at this stage. Berries have been sent to Italy and the US for testing for hepatitis A but the results will not be known for several weeks.

Our tainted berries came from this area in China.

The berries were brought into Australia from Shandong province, which has a host of pollution problems. The capital Jinan is in the top 10 of China’s smoggiest cities.

And in the town of Jinling local media reports say the river runs purple from toxins pumped into it by chemical factories and the residents talk about the “cancer virus” that is leading to a funeral a day.

Andrew White deputy CEO of AUSVEG that represents Australia’s fruit and vegetable growers attacked the Department of Agriculture’s lack of testing of overseas products that are grown without the stringent health standards applied to Australian farmers.

A health warning has been issued for 1kg packets of Nanna's Frozen Mixed Berries. Picture: Brendan Francis

“Testing just five per cent of the fruit and veg that is imported into Australia is simply not enough,” he said.

“Particularly when they are testing for chemical residue and labelling defects and not microbiological threats such as this one and things like salmonella and listeria.”

Neutral Bay mother Judy Chapman said she was extremely shocked to find items in her shopping bags not produced in Australia when she spoke to The Daily Telegraph yesterday.