The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has confirmed that biosecurity officers were called to Woolworths at Kiama Shopping Village on Saturday over concerns about the khapra beetle larvae being in a contaminated batch of nappies.

A DAFF spokesperson said biosecurity officers had been undertaking visits to various Woolworths stores after a packet of nappies was found to include the beetle larvae on September 7.

The Kiama community groups on social media went into a frenzy with reports of “the nappy aisle blocked and people on (sic) uniforms using box cutters to open the nappies” at the Woolworths store on Terralong Street.

The pandemonium drew similar comparisons to scenes from the film Contagion (2011) which features an Academy Award-winning cast dealing with a global disease outbreak.

“Customers may see biosecurity officers inspecting Woolworths stores as part of their tracing process,” a DAFF spokesperson said.

“The importer and Woolworths, as well as state and territory governments and key industry bodies, have been working with DAFF to ensure all goods associated with this shipment have been traced, to ensure any biosecurity risk is identified and managed.”

Khapra beetles are considered “a serious pest of the plant industries, stored grain, and dry foodstuffs worldwide and the beetle is not currently present in Australia”.  

Australia’s chief plant protection officer Gabrielle Vivian-Smith told ABC Rural “it’s estimated it would cost the country conservatively $15.5 billion over 20 years if it was to establish”.

The DAFF website states “biosecurity has played a critical role in reducing risk and shaping our nation to become one of the few countries in the world remain free from the world’s most invasive pests and diseases”.

In 2007 there was a biosecurity outbreak where equine influenza infiltrated the NSW horse industry through the quarantine facility at Eastern Creek. 

A comprehensive biosecurity response was implemented by the NSW Department of Primary Industries and DAFF and disruption costs are estimated to have reached just over $2.3 billion. 

DAFF has advised purchasers of Little One’s Ultra Dry Nappy Pants – Walker Size 5 (42pk) or any goods with signs of insect or pest activity:

· Do not use the goods

· Do not dispose of the goods or their packaging

· Do not return the goods to store

· Call 1800 798 636 or visit ‘report a pest or disease concern’ (www. agriculture.gov.au/report).

Kiama Woolworths and the Kiama Village Shopping Centre failed to respond to The Bugle’s requests for comment.