Stop the berries: Tony Abbott says all dodgy imported frozen berries will be 'stopped at the border' in the wake of Hepatitis A scare, The frozen berries at the centre of the Hepatitis A outbreak are now banned from entering Australia as the imported products have so far seen 18 people suffer from the disease.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott declared in Question Time at Parliament House on Monday that the Nanna's frozen berries products would undergo 100 percent screening as the fruit is categorised as medium risk.
'They will not ever be allowed for human consumption,' Mr Abbott said, The Daily Telegraph reported, adding that the products would be 'stopped at the border'.
The statements are in stark contrast to the Agriculture department's secretary Paul Grimes who told a Senate estimates hearing that there were no changes on surveillance rates for berries 'broadly at this stage', Seven News reported.
Meanwhile, Patties Foods says its imported Chinese berries were recalled on health department advice despite a lack of proof from accredited laboratories of a link to the hepatitis A virus (HAV).
'At this point, we have not been provided any remaining consumer product to test from the 13 confirmed HAV cases to clinically verify there is indeed a link with the Nanna's Mixed Berries,' managing director and chief executive Stephen Chaur said in a statement on Friday.
Up to 450,000 people may have eaten the frozen berries suspected of transmitting hepatitis A, as four more people were diagnosed with the disease on Saturday.
As many as 70,000 packets of the Chinese berries are sold each week in Australia, putting nearly half a million people at risk and sparking concerns over potential future cases.
18 people in total have been diagnosed with hepatitis A, which has an incubation period of seven weeks, leading health experts to believe that more cases will come to light.
Mr Chaur insists the company had rigorous testing that went beyond the Australian standards requirement that five per cent of imported fruit containers be tested.
'Patties Foods' documented test regime is amongst the highest, testing 20 per cent of all the containers when they arrive in Australia,' he said.
But Mr Chaur said sample testing for microbial and viral markers had been increased to 100 per cent of imported frozen berries from all countries.
The company has checked quality control testing documents back to June 2014 and says they're satisfied no biological indicators outside Australian guidelines have been detected.
Recalled products are being tested further at laboratories in Australia, Europe and North America with results expected in a fortnight.
Production of recalled products has been stopped until the formal results are known.The health department says the source of the virus is still unconfirmed but the berries are the only common exposure in all cases.
The Department of Agriculture is asking all companies importing Chinese berries for more information about their sources and food safety management.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand will review of the risk status of frozen berries.
Approximately two percent of the country's population may have consumed the berries, said Finn Romanes, public health physician and Victorian government medical adviser.
'We are still working on this outbreak and we think that there will be more cases come to light,' Mr Romanes told The Australian.
Consumers are being urged not to buy or eat Nanna's Raspberries one kilogram packs, Nanna's Frozen Mixed Berries one kilogram packs and 300 and 500 gram packs of Creative Gourmet Mixed Berries.
While only the Nanna's Mixed Berries product has been linked with the outbreak, and the other products have been recalled as a precaution, a Health Department spokesperson said that the source of the disease was still unconfirmed.
'However, the berries are the only common exposure for cases,' the Heath Department said in a statement on Saturday.
Despite the Federal government refused to release statistics relating to the scare, it has been revealed that three Victorians were the first to contract Hepatitis A, between Christmas and New Years.
The Victorians were all interviewed by health authorities, and found that all three had consumed the berries, corroborating similar findings in NSW.
An estimated one in 100 people who have eaten the contaminated berries will develop the disease, a figure which the Federal Health Department labelled as 'worse case scenario'.
The Department of Agriculture is contacting companies that have imported Chinese berries to find out about the source of the berries and supply chain food safety management systems.
Early last week, the Red Cross Blood Service banned those who had eaten the berries from donating blood for two months, but lifted the ban on Saturday when they found the blood supply was not at risk.
It has been revealed the frozen berries are from the Shandong province in east China, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Cities and villages in Shandong are reportedly plagued by chemical and industrial waste pollution, with farming land laying adjacent to factories and petrochemical plants.
One river running through the village of Jinling is so polluted by nearby chemical factories that the water is red coloured and has a foul smell, according to local Chinese reports.
The small town of Jinling in east China's Shandong province is located near the Qilu Chemical Industrial Park in Zibo City, according to the Epoch Times.
In previous reports, there have been claims that the company releases chemical distribution into the river, which was once sparkly clear but has now visibly been contaminated and also emanates a stench.
Residents also say there's a 'cancer virus' floating around the village as cancer is quite common in the town.
This comes as reports emerged that health tests weren't conducted on any frozen berry products imported to Australia while similar goods have been tied to hepatitis breakout in North America and Europe,The Australian reports.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott declared in Question Time at Parliament House on Monday that the Nanna's frozen berries products would undergo 100 percent screening as the fruit is categorised as medium risk.
'They will not ever be allowed for human consumption,' Mr Abbott said, The Daily Telegraph reported, adding that the products would be 'stopped at the border'.
The statements are in stark contrast to the Agriculture department's secretary Paul Grimes who told a Senate estimates hearing that there were no changes on surveillance rates for berries 'broadly at this stage', Seven News reported.
Meanwhile, Patties Foods says its imported Chinese berries were recalled on health department advice despite a lack of proof from accredited laboratories of a link to the hepatitis A virus (HAV).
'At this point, we have not been provided any remaining consumer product to test from the 13 confirmed HAV cases to clinically verify there is indeed a link with the Nanna's Mixed Berries,' managing director and chief executive Stephen Chaur said in a statement on Friday.
Up to 450,000 people may have eaten the frozen berries suspected of transmitting hepatitis A, as four more people were diagnosed with the disease on Saturday.
As many as 70,000 packets of the Chinese berries are sold each week in Australia, putting nearly half a million people at risk and sparking concerns over potential future cases.
18 people in total have been diagnosed with hepatitis A, which has an incubation period of seven weeks, leading health experts to believe that more cases will come to light.
Mr Chaur insists the company had rigorous testing that went beyond the Australian standards requirement that five per cent of imported fruit containers be tested.
'Patties Foods' documented test regime is amongst the highest, testing 20 per cent of all the containers when they arrive in Australia,' he said.
But Mr Chaur said sample testing for microbial and viral markers had been increased to 100 per cent of imported frozen berries from all countries.
The company has checked quality control testing documents back to June 2014 and says they're satisfied no biological indicators outside Australian guidelines have been detected.
Recalled products are being tested further at laboratories in Australia, Europe and North America with results expected in a fortnight.
Production of recalled products has been stopped until the formal results are known.The health department says the source of the virus is still unconfirmed but the berries are the only common exposure in all cases.
The Department of Agriculture is asking all companies importing Chinese berries for more information about their sources and food safety management.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand will review of the risk status of frozen berries.
Approximately two percent of the country's population may have consumed the berries, said Finn Romanes, public health physician and Victorian government medical adviser.
'We are still working on this outbreak and we think that there will be more cases come to light,' Mr Romanes told The Australian.
Consumers are being urged not to buy or eat Nanna's Raspberries one kilogram packs, Nanna's Frozen Mixed Berries one kilogram packs and 300 and 500 gram packs of Creative Gourmet Mixed Berries.
While only the Nanna's Mixed Berries product has been linked with the outbreak, and the other products have been recalled as a precaution, a Health Department spokesperson said that the source of the disease was still unconfirmed.
'However, the berries are the only common exposure for cases,' the Heath Department said in a statement on Saturday.
Despite the Federal government refused to release statistics relating to the scare, it has been revealed that three Victorians were the first to contract Hepatitis A, between Christmas and New Years.
The Victorians were all interviewed by health authorities, and found that all three had consumed the berries, corroborating similar findings in NSW.
An estimated one in 100 people who have eaten the contaminated berries will develop the disease, a figure which the Federal Health Department labelled as 'worse case scenario'.
The Department of Agriculture is contacting companies that have imported Chinese berries to find out about the source of the berries and supply chain food safety management systems.
Early last week, the Red Cross Blood Service banned those who had eaten the berries from donating blood for two months, but lifted the ban on Saturday when they found the blood supply was not at risk.
It has been revealed the frozen berries are from the Shandong province in east China, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Cities and villages in Shandong are reportedly plagued by chemical and industrial waste pollution, with farming land laying adjacent to factories and petrochemical plants.
One river running through the village of Jinling is so polluted by nearby chemical factories that the water is red coloured and has a foul smell, according to local Chinese reports.
The small town of Jinling in east China's Shandong province is located near the Qilu Chemical Industrial Park in Zibo City, according to the Epoch Times.
In previous reports, there have been claims that the company releases chemical distribution into the river, which was once sparkly clear but has now visibly been contaminated and also emanates a stench.
Residents also say there's a 'cancer virus' floating around the village as cancer is quite common in the town.
This comes as reports emerged that health tests weren't conducted on any frozen berry products imported to Australia while similar goods have been tied to hepatitis breakout in North America and Europe,The Australian reports.
