A fruit fly outbreak is devastating

• Fruit fly outbreaks cost Australian fruit growers more than $100 million each year in lost income and eradication.
• A fruit fly outbreak means fresh produce cannot be sent freely to some interstate or overseas markets, resulting in fewer jobs in the local community and less income for the region.
• A trade zone - called the Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone (FFEZ) - has been established to maximise the access to export markets by eliminating fruit flies from that zone, and from nearby areas.
• Just one piece of infested fruit brought into a horticultural area within the Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone can cause this hardship.

The world’s worst fruit pest

• Fruit flies can lay eggs in all types of maturing or ripe fruit, such as stone fruit, citrus, loquats and quinces, as well as some vegetables, including tomatoes, capsicums, and chillies.
• Tiny creamy-white maggots hatch from the eggs and burrow through the fruit as they feed. Infested fruit can look perfectly good on the outside but is mushy and brown on the inside.
• The majority of fruit fly outbreaks are associated with travellers bringing infested fruit into the Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone.
• Do not carry fruit at any time into the Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone or into SA.

Don’t travel with fresh fruit

• Travellers can play an important role in keeping fruit fly out of major fruit growing regions.
• Do not bring fruit, including tomatoes, capsicums, avocados and mangoes into the Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone.
• Signs warn you when you are approaching the Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone.

No fruit no fine

• It is illegal to take fresh fruit into the Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone without a permit.
• Random mobile roadblocks operate within borders of the Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone.
• Motorists who ignore roadside warning signs and are caught carrying fresh fruit face fines ranging from minimum $200 on-the-spot to a maximum of $11,000 for serious offences.

Where to get further information about fruit fly

Freecall 1800 084 881.