Risk reduction & quarantine treatments off-shore
Biosecurity outcome
Develop appropriate ‘fit for purpose’ pre-border disinfestation treatment systems that reduce non-compliance for imports and the risk of establishment of unwanted organisms by:
- Improving the uptake of temperature treatments that target fruit flies and a range of contaminants by developing product tolerant protocols (Obj 1);
- Developing an x-ray system for disinfesting a range of commodities off-shore to enable safe importation of commodities into NZ (Obj 2);
- Developing systems approaches for controlling a range of high impact pests and contaminants using multiple risk mitigation technologies e.g. pest removal systems (high pressure washing) and temperature treatments (Obj 3).
Science outcome
- Contribute to the development of mortality models for heat applied as air, vapour and water to determine if the mode of heating matters as long as heating profile at the target site of fruit fly is reached (Obj 1).
- Develop pest mitigation models that can incorporate a range of measures and assess the risk of establishment of risk organisms (Obj 3).
Key end users/stakeholders
Implementation: Knowledge and methods for disinfestation treatments taken up directly by collaborating institutions (SROS, MAFS, Ah Liki) in the Pacific. Horizons for the development of x-ray systems are longer term and are likely to inform future B3 (or other investment) research.