Hon Lianne Dalziel
Minister of Commerce, Minister for Food Safety,
Associate Minister of Justice, MP for Christchurch East

25 August 2008 Media Statement
Embargoed until 4.40pm

Wild food safety DVD helps hunters and gatherers

Food Safety Minister Lianne Dalziel and the New Zealand Food Safety Authority today teamed up with Wellington wild foodie restaurant Logan Brown to launch a new DVD and two booklets aimed at advising hunters and gatherers how to ensure the food they catch, store and eat is safe for consumption.

"Collecting and hunting wild food is a traditional activity for our Maori, Pacific and pakeha cultures and it is a rite of passage for many young Kiwis," Lianne Dalziel said.

"Wild food doesn't just feature in our kitchens, it has an important place in our family and community histories, our literature and our oral traditions. It is an iconic part of kiwi life – part of our identity as a nation."

Lianne Dalziel said awareness of food safety issues was just as important for people who hunted and fished for their food as it was for those who bought it from supermarkets or restaurants.

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority’s role relating to wild food is largely in regulating the commercial sector, to ensure adequate food hygiene practices by businesses supplying game meat and seafood to restaurants. In 2005 NZFSA looked at the potential risks around non-commercial wild food – that is wild food for personal consumption, rather than for sale. It found the risks posed were relatively low, but that there was a lack of food safety information for hunters and gatherers.

"NZFSA’s new wild food safety resources fill that information gap so that hunters and gatherers will know how to treat safely the wild food they catch, store and eat," Lianne Dalziel said.

The Wild Food Safety DVD will be distributed through the Hunting & Fishing Catalogue in September. The DVD and booklets, Food Safety for Hunters and Food safety for Seafood Gatherers, are available from NZFSA by phoning the consumer helpline on 0800 NZFSA1 (0800 693 721)

ENDS

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