Growers ask cricket fans to leave fruit at home

New Zealands commercial fruit and vegetable growers are asking everyone going to the World Cup Cricket match at Eden Park tomorrow to help smash an unwanted Aussie visitor for a six.

The industry that takes every opportunity to promote healthy eating is taking the unusual step of asking fans not to take fresh fruit or vegetables with them into the stadium.

This request comes in the wake of last weeks discovery of a small localised population of Queensland fruit flies in the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn.

Eden Park, the venue for Saturdays World Cup Cricket clash between Australia and New Zealand, is right on the border of the controlled area.

This means no fruit and vegetable material can be taken out of the stadium.

"We are asking cricket fans to leave their fruit and vegetables at home when they head to the stadium," Horticulture New Zealand chief executive Peter Silcock says.

"You know it must be a serious situation if we are asking people NOT to have fruit and vegetables."

Three industry groups have joined together to pay for a full page advertisement in todays New Zealand Herald to ask cricket fans not to take fruit to the ground.

"We feel it is the most pragmatic approach. It makes sense to ask people not to take food into the ground which would ultimately need to be thrown away as they were leaving," Pipfruit New Zealand chief executive Alan Pollard says.

The horticulture industry is united in its support of the Ministry for Primary Industries response to the fruit fly.

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Growers ask cricket fans to leave fruit at home