Apiculture New Zealand said most honey producers were already testing for glyphosate in their products.
Apiflora owner Steve Weenink who has been a beekeeper for 50 years, said the tough part is not the testing, but keeping bees away from glyphosate in the first place. The issue with glyphosate is it s a type of salt and the bees will work it even when it s not on a flower. I had a case where the guys sprayed on a farm last year and he got a little bit of manuka, and it wasn t much, but the glyphosate levels were very high, he said.
As a result of the recall in December, Pestell’s have stopped producing and selling ready-to-eat ham products. In October, routine testing by Pak ’n Save Blenheim found listeria in some packaged meat products, with the affected products being recalled.
Derek Flynn/Stuff
The first sign of the listeria contamination was found after routine testing at a Pak ‘n Save in Blenheim. It was identified after genome testing, that the listeria found as a result of the testing, had the same sequencing as the listeria found in Pestell’s products. New Zealand Food Safety food compliance services national manager Melinda Sando said after finding the contaminated products at the supermarket, investigators went to Pestell’s to take samples from their processing environments and their products.
Source: Ministry for Primary Industries
A New Zealand Food Safety and Nelson Marlborough Public Health Service investigation has confirmed the source of listeria contamination last month that resulted in illness for 4 people and led to recalls of ham products from a number of South Island supermarkets, and 3 stores in the greater Wellington region.
The contamination originated at meat supplier Pestellâs Rai Bacon Company Ltd, where it was discovered in products and in the processing environment. This was confirmed through the results of DNA testing, received this week.
As a result of the recall in December, Pestellâs have stopped producing and selling ready-to-eat ham products.
He said research had shown that while glyphosate was not found in mānuka, miniscule traces had been found in other types of honey, but at such a low level there is no danger here whatsoever .
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies glyphosate - which is used around the world as a weed killer - as being probably carcinogenic to humans.
But MPI food risk assessment manager at New Zealand Food Safety, Andrew Pearson, told RNZ that New Zealand Food Safety has concluded there is no credible risk to users of the weedkiller or to consumers of produce with residues of glyphosate in compliance with New Zealand s maximum residue levels.
Tough border testing for New Zealand honey imports to Japan is re-igniting the conversation about the use of the weed killer glypohsate in New Zealand.