A NEW assurance system will allow Victorian growers to more easily move fruit and vegetables out of Fruit Fly suspension zones.
The Victorian and NSW Departments of Primary Industries have developed the system, Interstate Certification Assurance, to streamline existing regulations, simplify the marketing of uninfested produce and reduce regulatory burden on affected businesses in the Goulburn Valley, northern Victoria and East Gippsland.
The ICA-47 says certified produce must be "inspected and found free from Queensland Fruit Fly".
It allows fruit fly-free produce to be moved out of Pest Free Areas and areas in outbreak, to other areas of Victoria without a treatment protocol.
But it is not accepting South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and Greater Sunraysia Pest Free Areas.
DPI Victoria's director of plant biosecurity Russell McMurray said while government would continue to regulate fruit fly host produce movement, businesses would only need to treat produce if infestations were present.
DPI has consolidated existing QFF outbreak areas into two new suspension zones - one spanning the Goulburn Valley and northern Victoria, the other in south-eastern Victoria.
Plunkett Orchards general manager Andrew Plunkett said the ICA was a mixed bag and would make life easier for some growers, and more difficult for others.
"Areas which are pest free will be worried about incoming infection now red tape is relaxed, and many growers feel as though we have given up the fight against fruit fly," he said.
For more details about ICA-47 requirements, phone 136 186.
