Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister inform the parliament how many Australians have potentially been exposed to the contaminated frozen berries, and how many Australians are now at risk of contracting hepatitis A?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a matter which our authorities are currently working on, but I do accept that this is a very serious issue. It is a very serious issue, and I want to assure the Leader of the Opposition that we certainly have been taking it very seriously ever since there were reports that contaminated product from overseas was linked to a hepatitis A outbreak.

I can inform the Leader of the Opposition and the House that swiftly in response to this information a health incident room was stood up, the National Health Protection Committee has met, the company, to its credit, has recalled all the relevant product, and berries from the overseas producer have now all been held at the border and certainly will not ever go for human consumption. Food Standards Australia New Zealand has reassessed the risk of this particular product and, as a result of a reassessment of the risk, much more surveillance will in future be taking place.

I do wish to assure the parliament, the Leader of the Opposition and everyone who is, quite rightly and properly, interested in this that, along with our state colleagues and along with people in the food-manufacturing sector, we will be vigilant to ensure that our country is as safe as we can humanly make it.