Only 5 per cent of shipments of the imported canned tuna at the centre of a Sydney food poisoning scare were being checked at the border at the time of the outbreak, despite canned tuna being classed as high risk.
While officials usually test 100 per cent of consignments of high-risk products, the rate of checks on John Bull tuna had been reduced to the minimum level because of the good compliance history of its manufacturer.
Seven customers of Sydney’s Soul Origin cafe last month reportedly became ill with symptoms of scombroid poisoning after consuming salad containing the tuna, which is canned in Thailand.
The 5 per cent inspection rate for the tuna is the same level of surveillance that was being applied to the supposedly low-risk frozen berries from China which were linked to more than 20 cases of hepatitis A last month.
FoodWorld 