Help protect Australia’s biosecurity this Fruit Fly season

(November to March)

Fruit fly outbreaks cause interstate and export trade restrictions, loss of lucrative markets and damage to the livelihood of horticultural communities in Australia. Fruit fly (as larvae/eggs or maggots) can only be transported from one place to another through fresh fruit or fruiting vegetables and are considered one of our biggest pests, which is ironic given their size.

Two species of fruit fly are considered endemic or already established in Australia, the Queensland fruit fly (Qfly) and the Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly). The biggest risk of infestations being spread is from people taking road trips around Australia carrying fruit or vegetables containing infestation. While it can be easier to detect maggots inside produce it is very hard to detect from the outside so it is often difficult to know these pests have hitched a ride with you.

A Tri-State Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone (FFEZ) has been established covering south-western NSW, south-eastern SA and north-western VIC. It also includes southern parts of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, the Murray and Goulburn Valleys and the Riverland. There are harsh penalties and fines for anyone ignoring or disobeying warnings to eat or dispose of fresh fruit or fruiting vegetables before entering the FFEZ.

The main categories of fruits and fruiting vegetables excluded from the FFEZ include:

• all citrus fruits;
• tropical and temperate fruits (eg: grapes, mango, passionfruit and lychee);
• pome fruits (eg: apples, pears and quinces);
• stone fruits (eg: peaches, cherries and apricots);
• berry fruit (eg: blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries);
• fruiting vegetables (eg: capsicums, chillies, eggplants, and tomatoes);
• any host fruits of the Qfly; and
• any home grown fruit from any Australian region.

Any prohibited items accidentally brought into the FFEZ should be destroyed by placing them in a thick plastic bag, tying the top and leaving it in the sun for a few days before disposing of it with normal garbage. People growing fruit and vegetables in their home gardens should never dispose of ripe or rotten fruit in compost bins.

SA’s prohibited fruit list is even more extensive than that of the FFEZ and also includes beans, potatoes and any members of the allium family (e.g. garlic, leeks, onions, shallots and spring onions). It is also illegal to carry fresh fruit back into SA from WA, the NT, NSW and Victoria, or from Adelaide into the Riverland.

Anyone who introduces fruit and fruiting vegetables into SA from other states can be fined a maximum of $2,500 for the offence. SA has permanent quarantine roadblocks on highways at Ceduna, Pinnaroo, Oodla Wirra and Yamba. Random roadblocks are also used and quarantine warning signs and permanent disposal pits have been installed at SA’s nine major entries.

It is easier not to travel with any fresh fruit when travelling between some Australian regions and states and rely instead on dried or preserved versions. It is always safest to adopt the Tri-State Fruit Fly slogan ‘No Fruit/No Veg/No Fine’.

For more information:

The Greater Sunraysia Pest Free Area
www.new.dpi.vic.gov.au/agriculture/pests-diseases-and-weeds/pest-insects/queensland-fruit-fly/greater-sunraysia-pfa

Primary Industries & Resources South Australia (PIRSA)

Ph: 1300 666 010 or visit www.pir.sa.gov.au/fruitfly

Tri-State Fruit Fly Program
www.fruitfly.net.au/ or www.fruitfly.mobi

Quarantine Domestic

Ph: 1800 084 881 or visit www.quarantinedomestic.gov.au

Primary Industries Agriculture – Qfly
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/pests-weeds/insects/qff