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Methyl bromide entry requirements update

On 23 February 2018 Biosecurity Tasmania called a joint Chief Plant Health Manager/Subcommittee on Domestic Quarantine and Market Access meeting to discuss fumigation and the recent detection of fruit fly larvae on fumigated fruit from Victoria.

On 2 March 2018 Biosecurity Tasmania advised the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries that, effective immediately, they have changed their import requirement for methyl bromide-treated fruit and vegetables entering the state.

The new requirements are as follows.

  1. A person must not import, or cause to be imported, any fruit of a plant that is considered to be a Queensland fruit fly host unless:
    It has been fumigated with methyl bromide for two hours at one of the following rates:

    Methyl bromide (g/m3) Fruit core temperature (°C)
    32 21+
    40 16 – 20.9
  2. Fumigant loading rates for fruit and vegetables are not less than 30 per cent, nor more than 50 per cent, of the volume of the chamber when empty.
  3. The fumigator ensures produce packaged or covered with impervious materials (plastic bags, stacked plastic punnets or waxed paper) are opened, cut or removed to allow adequate penetration of the gas unless impervious materials contain:
  • not less than four unobstructed perforations of 6 mm diameter per 100 cm², or
  • five unobstructed perforations of 5 mm diameter per 100 cm², or
  • numerous pinholes (at least six holes per square centimetre).

For further details on the changed requirements please contact the Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment.

Reproduced from an alert distributed by Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries