CANBERRA: The Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has loosened its temporary suspension of the import of uncooked prawns and related products. According to a notice issued Monday, the department’s Director of Biosecurity has agreed to exempt certain goods from the suspension order that went into effect on Jan. 9, including dried prawns and shelf-stable prawn-based food products; irradiated bait for aquatic use; pet fish food and aquaculture feed; and uncooked prawns sourced from Australia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Australian-caught prawns are not exempt if they have been exported to another country for processing, said the notice. The notice states that this exemption is a result of the department’s ongoing work to resume the safe trade in uncooked prawns and prawn products as soon as possible. This work includes an assessment of the bio-security risk presented by white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) on uncooked prawns and uncooked prawn products. The Director of Bio-security agreed with the conclusion of the assessment that these goods pose a very low risk of introducing prawn diseases into Australia, including WSSV.
