The government, through the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), has threatened to take legal action against macadamia farmers found harvesting or processing immature nuts.
AFA Director General Bruno Linyiru on Thursday, February 6, revealed that the Authority, through its routine surveillance, noted a rise in malpractices within the macadamia nuts industry that compromised the integrity of the supply chain.
Such unethical practices included the harvesting, handling, trading, and processing of immature macadamia nuts, as well as unauthorized trading by unlicensed individuals, particularly marketing agents.
Other malpractices involved the improper disposal of rejected or low-quality nuts, which were often mixed with higher-quality nuts and resold to unsuspecting processors.
