NZFSA welcomes conviction

NZFSA welcomes conviction

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority has welcomed the conviction of a man and his company who exported illegal sheep intestines to China.

David Hector Bloor and his company Export Solutions Limited was convicted and fined $50,000 plus court costs on five charges laid under the Animal Products Act 1999 in Hastings District Court this week.

The court heard that between March 2001 and September 2002 Export Solutions Limited, of which David Bloor was sole director, exported five consignments of processed sheep intestines to China. The consignments totalled 81,851 kilograms and were worth a combined total of $850,000.

Under the Animal Products Act 1999 anyone exporting animal products or material from New Zealand is required to be registered and products have to have official assurance for the intended destination country. The sheep intestines had been imported from Australia to New Zealand, processed here and then sent to China.

China Overseas Market Access Requirements exports of processed sheep intestines to China require official assurance. None of the consignments had any official assurance.

Compliance and Investigation Director Geoff Allen said he was pleased with the conviction and fine.

“It sends a clear signal that the illegal exportation of animal products will not be tolerated by the courts and we commend that. Trade in animal products is extremely important to New Zealand. Meat, game, fish and their by-products returned in excess of $5.5 billion for the year to June 2002 and amounted to 22 percent of total exports,” he said.

“Illegal exports have the ability to jeopardise relations with our trading partners. New Zealand’s meat trade with China is, at the moment, based on trust while market access negotiations continue and any breach of that trust could be extremely damaging,” Mr Allen said.

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