NZ growers urge consumers to destroy risky strawberry seeds
New Zealand growers are making a plea to consumers who bought the 1,362 high-risk strawberry seed kits from China to destroy or return them.
Horticultural New Zealand president Andrew Fenton, said the situation was serious.
"People might think these are just little plants in their backyard but they could carry viruses that could damage our industry."
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) has announced a recall of the packs which were mistakenly allowed into the country.
About  7,000 packs were imported from China and sold through The Warehouse retail chain.
However, 1,362 of them still remain unaccounted for.
"Unless we get 100% of these kits destroyed, there is still a risk left out there, which could eventually cost growers in lost production and higher crop protection costs," he warned.
Photo: Sunlive.co.nz
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