Potato mop-top virus has turned up in potatoes being sold at retail stores – the first confirmed cases of infected spuds reaching shop shelves.
Biosecurity Tasmania said three new positive cases were confirmed this week.
“One potato was found at a processing site and two were bought as fresh produce from retail stores,” an advisory published shortly after midday said.
“Links to any known infected sites have not yet been confirmed.”
The retail detections make tracing more complicated for investigators, the alert continued.
Unlike detections at farms or storage facilities, consumer products can come from multiple points across the supply chain.
“The incident management team is tracing these samples to find their source, however this process is complex because of where and how they were found,” the advisory said.
So far, the virus has been detected at several sites across the state.
It has already led to import restrictions on unprocessed Tasmanian potatoes in a number of mainland states.
Officials stress there are no food safety risks with consuming potatoes. “… All Tasmanian potatoes are safe to consume,” they said.
Biosecurity Tasmania is again urging the public to report any suspicious symptoms in potatoes or potato plants.
Warning signs include stunted growth, yellowing leaves and brown internal markings in tubers.
