Learn the Lessons from the horticultural sector response to Cyclone Gabrielle

The NZFSSRC was centrally involved through Chief Scientist, Distinguished Professor Phil Bremer, in this Landwise Inc. paper and presentation on what we learned from the response to Cyclone Gabrielle.  Contributors included Graham Fletcher, Allan B Wolf, Reginald Wibisono, Bethan Shaw, Nicola King, Peter Cressey, and Milana Blackmore, representing BSI, PHF Science, and NZFS.

The report is succinct and readable, and a must for anyone interested in how we prepare for and manage the next extreme weather event. 

‘Challenges included: the wide-spread scale of the destruction; regulators and researchers needing to simultaneously address multiple risks; a lack of preparedness for an event of such magnitude; limited communications; disruption to the workforce; an inability to make generalizations across sites or crops; working amongst piles of silt; limited local or international guidance; limited knowledge of background microbial levels on produce and in soils; disagreement on potential risks and what to test for, and a lack of capacity for timely testing.’

Challenging indeed.  Professor Bremer recently visited a Mr Apple orchard in Hawke’s Bay which was flooded to the rooftops.  He marvelled at their resilience.  Harvesting of picture-perfect apples was well underway.  The only visible reminder of the flooding three years later was a faint watermark just below the eaves of the administration building.  

Cyclone Gabrielle posed unprecedented food safety challenges for New Zealand's horticultural sector. For some sectors, the event revealed significant gaps in preparedness, knowledge, capability, and coordination. Despite these challenges, the collaborative efforts of regulators, researchers, and industry stakeholders achieved a reasonably effective response. Best responses were achieved in sectors where previous food safety research had been carried out, both in terms of knowledge base and relationships between researchers, the industry body and the pre- and post-harvest industry players.

Unfortunately, for some sectors limited progress has been achieved in addressing identified knowledge gaps or preparing for future events, but we believe it is not too late to begin preparation. Having knowledge and technical capability ready to deploy instantly enables effective response. Stakeholders must establish baseline knowledge of normal conditions, develop scenario plans, invest in people and food safety culture, build scientific capability, establish testing protocols and capacity, resolve financial arrangements, and develop clear communication frameworks.

Published on: 24 March 2026