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Bunnings pulls broom off shelves, prompting biosecurity investigation

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Bunnings has removed a popular item from its shelves after an eagle-eyed shopper raised questions about its unusual contents.

An eagle-eyed shopper spotted a popular Bunnings product that could pose a biosecurity threat to Australia, prompting the retail giant to pull it from its shelves.

The New South Wales shopper was shopping at her local Bunnings when she spotted a straw broom imported from China that was “claimed to be millet” but looked like rice.

Bunnings removes brooms from shelves, sparking biosecurity investigation

An eagle-eyed shopper spotted a popular Bunnings product that could pose a major biosecurity threat. Picture: X

The man shared his discovery online and notified Bunnings and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry of the potential “biodiversity threat”.

Since sharing the post, Bunnings has confirmed the product does not pose a biosecurity risk to Australia as the brooms’ bristles are heat-treated twice before being sold.

However, since the discovery, Bunnings has removed the brooms from its shelves and is investigating with authorities to identify their source.

Bunnings removes brooms from shelves, sparking biosecurity investigation

Bunnings quickly removed brooms from its shelves. Photo: NewsWire / John Appleyard

A Bunnings spokesperson said: “We take our commitment to biosecurity very seriously and work with our suppliers and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to ensure our products comply with all relevant biosecurity and import regulations.

“When we became aware of these issues, we removed the brooms from our shelves out of an abundance of caution and are investigating with our two Xiaomi broom suppliers and quarantine regulators.

“We strictly adhere to biosecurity requirements for all our imported products and can confirm that the products undergo a 24-hour high temperature heat treatment and methyl bromide fumigation to ensure that any seed material that may remain is unable to germinate.”

A Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry spokesman said it was continuing to “investigate reports of millet brooms containing rice seeds being sold in hardware stores across Australia”.

“We are working with the retailer to ensure the goods are safe during our investigation. We are checking whether the brooms were properly handled to mitigate any biosecurity risks, or if additional handling is required,” the spokesperson said.

“Contaminated seeds can be a potential pathway for the spread of plant pathogens. Our import conditions manage these risks by applying import requirements that require biosecurity treatments.”

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