Dr WOODRUFF question to MINISTER for MENTAL HEALTH and WELLBEING, Mr JAENSCH
Salmon industry mouthpiece, Luke Martin, was recently asked a specific question by a journalist from the Saturday Paper, namely whether diseased Atlantic salmon that have been treated with antibiotics are being withheld from processing for human consumption for the mandated two months. He was unable or unwilling to answer. We already know diseased salmon are being processed for human consumption. We are hearing of multiple recent cases of gastrointestinal illness following the consumption of salmon. Restaurants are taking salmon off their tables. Stores are removing it from their shelves. The RSPCA has withdrawn certification. Our waterways are being polluted, and Tasmania’s brand is suffering.
It would be unconscionable if consumers are not only being served diseased fish, but also fish contaminated with oxytetracycline. Can you demonstrate the mandated two-month withholding period is being observed by the companies, or is this another example of your hands‑off industry self-regulation?
ANSWER
Honourable Speaker, I thank the member for her question. I would like to reassure the parliament, and anyone listening or watching this, that salmon produced and sold in Tasmania is safe to eat. When you store it and prepare it and handle it, like any other animal product in your home: keep it refrigerated, follow suitable precautions for ensuring that your food is well-cooked, et cetera.
We are advised very clearly, and have been advising the public, that the bacterium that has contributed to the mass salmon mortalities in itself is a fish-specific pathogen and does not in itself pose a risk to human health or food safety. We are aware, and the Public Health Service is aware, that salmon at some of the leases in the lower D’Entrecasteaux Channel have been administered with an antibiotic to treat the bacterial infection that is affecting salmon stock. In Tasmania, the safety of commercial produced seafood is overseen and regulated under the Primary Produce Safety Act 2011 which is administered by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) in Tasmania.
Commercially farmed salmon treated with the antibiotic are subject to mandatory withholding times, which set a date before which treated fish cannot be harvested. The timeframe is determined by water temperature at the time. Fish treated with the antibiotic are also required to comply with the requirements of the Australian and New Zealand Food Standards Code, which specifies a maximum residue limit for the antibiotic in fish and product for sale must comply with the maximum residue limits.
Seafood producers are required to ensure that the food they produce complies with the requirements of the code. This is regulated by NRE Tas under the Primary Produce Safety Act 2011. The safety act is the primary mechanism for the safe production and supply of primary produce including seafood, meat, eggs, dairy, and horticulture. If an issue is not appropriately managed at this point, and not suitable for supply under the act, and the product subsequently makes it to the marketplace, the broad provisions of the Food Act could be applied to manage suitability issues within the retail sector. We are advised that the relevant audits and inspections have indicated that compliance is being met by producers and that the fish sold for human consumption in Tasmania is safe to eat.
SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION
Dr WOODRUFF – A supplementary question, Speaker?
The SPEAKER – I will hear the supplementary question.
Dr WOODRUFF – The minister said that there has been, as I understand it, spot inspections.
Mr JAENSCH – No, I did not say that.
Dr Woodruff – Well, sorry, no. You made reference to compliance checks.
The SPEAKER – You do not get to have a discussion with him. ‘Regular audits and inspections’, I believe.
Dr WOODRUFF – Can you demonstrate and be confident that the mandated two-month period is being observed and that all fish sold from Tasmania is free of that antibiotic and disease-free or is it being self‑regulated?
The SPEAKER – The time for answering the supplementary has well-and-truly expired. I will allow the minister to repeat the part of his answer addressing it, because I think that has been addressed. You may ask another question if you wish to after this, Dr Woodruff. You have entitlement.
Mr JAENSCH – I am advised that recent audits conducted by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as late as 17 March this year have indicated compliance on all fronts.
Dr Woodruff – Can you table that information and make it public?
The SPEAKER – The Leader of the Greens does not get to do that. If you wish to have the member table a document, there are other forms of the House via which you can do it, or you can have another question in a moment.
