No magic for mushroom mavericks

Quarantine reminds: declare fungus or face fines

THEY may boast near-magical healing powers or be capable of clinching a culinary masterpiece – but dried mushrooms can still attract fines of up to $10,000 for passengers who fail to declare them to Quarantine.

The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) is reminding travellers to declare on their Incoming Passenger Card all items made from plants and animals. That includes dried mushrooms – including the dozens of varieties commonly brought into Australia for specialist culinary or health uses.

According to AQIS’s National Airports Manager, Helen Gannon, AQIS officers have been answering an increasing number of queries about bringing dried mushrooms into Australia – particularly from travellers returning from or intending to visit Asia.

“Travellers typically want to know if they have to declare dried mushrooms to Quarantine, why they have to declare them, and what they can do to get these products in,” says Helen.

“The reason dried mushrooms need to be declared is because they could introduce some serious diseases to Australia,” she says.

“For example, in traditional medicine terms, the mushroom Ganoderma lucidum is considered a powerful health elixir. But this mushroom could potentially kill Australia’s native and plantation forests, and for this reason is only permitted entry with an import permit and after being irradiated so the spores cannot infect the roots and foliage of trees.”

People who want to bring mushrooms from overseas into Australia have a range of options:

• To bring in large quantities such as for commercial sale, they can apply for an import permit at www.aqis.gov.au/importapp. Depending on species and origin, import may involve treating goods and showing documentary proof of treatment.
• To bring in smaller quantities for personal use, travellers should look for products clearly labelled in English, in a way that would enable a Quarantine inspector to identify the species (eg scientific or common name). Some species will be permitted entry following inspection. Others will need to be treated to enable entry, which can occur if the traveller is willing to pay. In a small number of cases, passengers will have to surrender goods for destruction – in the case of mushrooms, that would usually only occur when the species could not be identified.

Helen says: “Many dried mushroom species are readily available from Chinese herbalists and food stories in Australia. This is often the simplest way to obtain them, because the companies who imported them will have already gone through the process of complying with quarantine as well other import conditions, including food and health safety conditions set by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and food safety authorities.”

For interviews in your language: ask for an AQIS officer who speaks your language. Phone DAFF Media +61 2 6272 3232.