Ready-to-eat frozen berries need food safety clearance
Ready-to-eat frozen berries are foods of high regulatory interest, which require food safety clearance at the border.
This is due to the potential for contamination with pathogens, such as hepatitis A virus and norovirus, which can cause food poisoning.
Learn about hepatitis A [PDF, 203 KB]
Learn about norovirus [PDF, 44 KB]
Types of berries that need clearance
Food safety clearance requirements apply to frozen berries that are ready-to-eat, and are any of the following types:
- blackberry
- blueberry
- boysenberry
- cranberry
- currants (red, black, white)
- goji berry
- gooseberry
- juneberry
- logan berry
- mulberry
- raspberry
- rose hip
- strawberry
These include ready-to-eat frozen berry products that are:
- single type frozen berries (for example, 100% strawberry)
- a mixture of frozen berries (for example, a product which is 100% berries, but consists of 2 or more types)
- a mixture of frozen fruits containing frozen berries (for example, a mix of frozen tropical fruits and frozen berries)
- a mixture of frozen foods containing frozen berries (for example, a product containing a mixture of frozen fruits, vegetables, seeds, and berries).
The frozen berries in these products can be:
- whole or in pieces, crushed or pulped
- free-flowing or non-free flowing
- with or without added sugars or coatings (for example, chocolate-coated frozen berries).
Types of berries that do not need clearance
Food safety clearance requirements do not apply to:
- fresh berries
- frozen berries that are not ready-to-eat and are destined for further processing
- ready-to-eat frozen berries that have been subjected to a treatment sufficient to eliminate significant hazards, such as norovirus and hepatitis A virus, and where evidence of this treatment is provided to MPI
- ready-to-eat frozen processed food containing berries (for example, ice cream, frozen yoghurt, frozen desserts)
- freeze-dried berries.
