WE live in a lucky country. We’re lucky on so many levels: income levels, society standards, political stability (yes, we are still stable) and health standards.
It is that latter standard, health, that rarely hits our radar. We take it for granted that the food we eat, the water we drink, the treatment we receive and our sanitary system will do us no harm.
And that is why a disease outbreak, such as the recent hepatitis A scare, is such a news maker.
This outbreak, which appears to have come from berries imported from China, sends a clear message about the divide between imported and locally grown produce.
To put it simply, some imported foods are not up to scratch.
They are not grown, handled or possibly processed to the standards that we impose on our own growers and processors.
But then there’s nothing new in that.
It is nigh on 10 years since The Weekly Times tested fruit and vegetables from China and found they contained high levels of toxins that were consistent with them being treated with human waste.
Yet that didn’t jolt the authorities to act with any urgency.
It has been claimed that just on 5 per cent of food imported into Australia is actually inspected when it arrives.
That is not only absurd — it is also a blight on the Government’s priorities.
We can’t do much about how farmers in China or South Africa treat their crops.
But we can make sure that when the food lands on our shores, it is in a condition that is not going to harm us.
Yet for the past few years, particularly under the former Labor government, quarantine inspections were allowed to dwindle as budgets for the service were slashed.
It has now reached the point where the inspection of imported food has become little more than a lucky dip.
That we live on an island is both a blessing and a curse.
It is a blessing that many harmful bugs and diseases have not yet reached us. But it is a curse that when they do, their exotic nature can lead to rapid spreading.
So it is vital our inspection and testing is as thorough as it can be.
At the same time we read of the imported berry scandal, The Weekly Times is reporting that a major effort is under way to stop a tiny bug from making its way into Australia.
The brown marmorated stink bug — yep, that is what it is called — has devastated fruit crops in the United States, to the point where fruit infected by the bug is unsellable.
It has recently been found in machinery destined for Australia — in tractors, tyres and parts.
We import about $500 million worth of machinery and parts from the US each year.
The delay in fumigating the machinery before it leaves the US or while on its way is causing concern that many farmers will not have their new machinery by the time sowing season hits in April.
But we need to make sure it does not get to our shores, because it could cripple our $10 billion horticulture industry.
That brings us back to the opportunities for local growers to cash in on any backlash against imported berries.
Unfortunately, there are few.
The starkest message from the hep A outbreak is the fact Australia has virtually no frozen fruit industry. Frozen berries almost exclusively come from cheap-labour countries such as China.
Local fruit is almost entirely a fresh-fruit proposition. If we were to swing to Australian produce, consumers would need to pay more for local frozen berries. Much more.
It is estimated that our cost of production — mainly wages — would double the roughly $10 a kilogram we currently pay for imported frozen berries.
And it’s no good complaining about the supermarkets. They merely reflect consumer demands. We want cheap food. They supply it. It’s that simple.
The berry hepatitis A outbreak has the potential to spark many debates — the local cost of production, our quarantine service and how we ensure imports are safe.
But most of all it should spark a recognition that food safety is paramount.
How much we are willing to pay for it is the real issue.
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