Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2017L00094:schedule:3:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2017L00094
Segment Type: schedule
Provision Reference: sch 3 (pt 1/3)
Character Range: 8421–11408

Schedule 3—Reasons—dried prawns and shelf‑stable prawn‑based food products

Note: See subparagraph 5(b)(ii).

Summary of reasons
 Various preparation methods for dried prawns and shelf-stable prawn-based food products are likely to reduce the amount of infective WSSV, if present in the fresh material.
 The 2009 Generic import risk analysis report for prawns and prawn products (the 2009 IRA) considered that shelf-stable food products containing prawns, such as canned prawns or condiments containing prawns as an ingredient (e.g. prawn balachan, shrimp paste) were unlikely to come into contact with live crustaceans in Australia.
 No new information has come to light since the publication of the 2009 IRA to challenge this assessment.
 Because exposure of susceptible species in Australia through dried prawns and shelf‑stable prawn-based food products is unlikely, the biosecurity risk posed by WSSV associated with these products meets Australia's ALOP.

Dried and shelf-stable prawn-based food products
Prior to the Biosecurity (Suspended Goods – Uncooked Prawns) Determination 2017, dried prawns and shelf-stable prawn-based food products were approved for import. An import permit was not required for commercial or personal use consignments.
The only intervention was that products may have been subject to physical inspection upon arrival to ensure the goods were dry or shelf-stable and free from other animal or plant material and soil.

Likelihood of entry of WSSV with dried prawns and shelf-stable prawn‑based food products
Shelf-stable and dried prawn products are considered to have lower likelihood of contamination with WSSV compared to raw prawn products.
 The preparation of dried or shelf-stable products exposes the prawn material to conditions that are expected, at least partially, to incapacitate the virus. Processes that subject prawn meat to heat, pressure, or chemical treatments such as acidity (pickling), result in denaturing/coagulation of the meat protein. Prawns that are subjected to such processes, or their combinations, are likely to have reduced viral titres compared to their fresh state.
 There are no specific studies on the prevalence or infectivity of WSSV in dried prawns or shelf-stable prawns for human consumption. Various studies assessed the sensitivity of WSSV to thermal, ultraviolet or pH exposure (Chang 1998, Balasubramanian 2006, Kumar 2013).
– These investigations indicate that WSSV is susceptible to these physical and chemical conditions. For example, WSSV in prawn tissue homogenates was completely inactivated (based on infectivity studies) with 20 minutes heating to 60°C or UV irradiation at 3.1 × 105 μW s/cm2 (Balasubramanian 2006).
 Persistent infectivity of WSSV in deceased prawns has been demonstrated:
– Whole carcases: retain infectivity for six days at 25.5 – 28.8°C (Wang et al. 2002);
– Heads: retain infectivity for at least 14 days at 27°C (Prior and Browdy 2002);
– Tails: retain infectivity for at