Newly hired fish food worker quits, raises mould and pigeon risks

Fishing and Aquaculture Industry

Mark Levien's photo of what he describes as contaminated fish feed at Skretting's Cambridge facility in Tasmania. (Supplied: Matthew Levien)

In short:

The world's largest supplier of fish feed products has fired back at a former employee's claim that mould and pigeon poo are contaminating pellets at a factory supplying Tasmania's salmon industry.

Matthew Levien, who quit after two weeks, posted photos he says are from the Skretting factory near Hobart of pellets clumped together to social media, after what he says was inaction from the company.

What's next?

Skretting says "there is no food safety risk and no fish will consume this feed". Biosecurity Tasmania has confirmed it is investigating.

Biosecurity Tasmania has confirmed it is investigating a fish food contamination claim at a major manufacturer after an employee resigned and posted a series of images online.

On Friday morning, Matthew Levien, 36, resigned from his position as team leader at Skretting Australia's facility at Cambridge, Hobart, after alerting the production manager about mouldy feed being processed back into pellets.

Matthew Levien says he complained to his supervisors, to no avail. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)

Mr Levien, who quit his job at Skretting after less than two weeks, is a trained aquaculture technician and captain who has worked in the industry for about 15 years, including at barramundi farms, oyster farms and pearl farms.

He also has qualifications in compliance, health and safety and food hygiene.

Fish feed pellets, as they appear on the Skretting website. (Skrettings)

A photo by Mark Levien of fish feed at the Skretting factory. (Supplied: Matthew Levien)

In his second week, when he was put on a regular roster, Mr Levien said he was in the facility's intake area, where he saw mouldy fish feed pellets "getting reworked back into new pellets".

"I raised that with the operators who worked there, and they said, 'Oh, it's common' [and] 'it's a bag every now and then ', and they were under the assumption the rework process burns off the mycotoxins," he said.

New South Wales's SafeWork agency defines mycotoxins as "naturally occurring toxins produced by certain moulds", which are "dangerous to humans and can cause serious health problems".

Skretting is the world's largest producer of feeds for industrially farmed fish. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)

Mr Levien said he "raised it with managers and they told me the same thing".

He said he noted, "pigeons roosting as well and laying eggs in the intake area where the raw product goes in for rework".

"I did mention this to one of the senior team leaders, and he said he's been trying to get them to clean it for years and that it's a very ongoing problem," he said.

More Tasmania news

Topic:Gun Control

Topic:Avian Influenza

Topic:Missing Person

Topic:Mining and Metals Industry

Mr Levien took photos and video to provide evidence of his concerns.

After his supervisor minimised his concerns, he decided to resign and lodged a formal complaint with Biosecurity Tasmania.

In his written complaint, which the ABC has seen, Mr Levien wrote that the severity of the breach he witnessed at Skretting "cannot be overstated" and posed a grave risk.

"Fish Health: The presence of mould indicates potential mycotoxin contamination, which can cause severe health complications, reduced growth, immune suppression, and mass mortality in fish populations.

"Human Health: Contaminated feed presents a risk of mycotoxins entering the human food chain through fish consumption, posing long-term food safety risks."

"Despite these clear dangers, management was fully aware of this practice and chose to ignore it," Mr Levien wrote.

Compounding these concerns, Mr Levien said the facility suffered from severe structural and vector contamination issues:

"Pigeon Contamination: Pigeon faecal matter is visibly present directly in the intake area for raw products, creating a direct vector for biological pathogens.

"Feral Pests: Feral cats are present throughout the warehouse environment, further compromising sanitation and contamination controls."

Skrettings supplies fish feed to the Tasmanian salmon industry. (Supplied: Bob Brown Foundation)

Mr Levien said an officer at Biosecurity Tasmania told him his complaint would be investigated, but that it might take days before the agency could inspect Skretting's Cambridge facility.

The regulator's reaction prompted Mr Levien to share his photos on Facebook.

Matthew Levien fired back at claims that he is merely a disgruntled employee. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)

"I didn't have confidence they would go to the facility. I was told directly that we can't go there right now. And I know that companies as large as this one have enough financial backing to sweep these sorts of practices under a rug completely."

A Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania spokesperson told the ABC that Biosecurity Tasmania was aware of the allegations and was investigating the matter but would not comment further.

Independent Member for Franklin Peter George, who Mr Levien contacted on the weekend, wrote to Primary Industries Minister Gavin Pearce on Saturday describing the allegations as "credible and serious" and calling for a "full, urgent and transparent investigation".

Skretting describes itself as "a world leader in the manufacture and supply of aquaculture feeds, making us an essential link in the feed-to-food chain". (Tassal)

'No food safety risk', Skretting says

Skretting Australia issued a statement on Saturday that it was "aware of social media posts and allegations made by a former employee".

"We recognise that the images in the post are concerning when viewed without the correct context and facts," it said.

"In this case, the product identified in the post had developed mould during storage and was contained during the intake process, before any related post appeared on social media. The product remains isolated, awaiting disposal, and it was not, and will not be, incorporated into feed production.

Skretting, which is a major supplier to the aquaculture industry in Tasmania and nationally, is a global business with billions of dollars in turnover, employing more than 3,000 people in 18 countries.

Headquartered in Norway, it is a division of Nutreco, in turn owned by private Dutch trading company SHV Holdings.

In a statement to the ABC yesterday, Skretting said that it took Mr Levien's allegations "seriously, but we do not accept the suggestion that mould-contaminated material is purposefully being reworked into feed production at our Cambridge facility".

Skretting said that an independent third-party laboratory routinely tested finished feed for undesirable substances, including mycotoxins and aflatoxins.

All testing undertaken in 2026 and 2025 returned results below detection thresholds, it said.

"We are aware concerns have been referred to Biosecurity Tasmania and will cooperate fully with any enquiries from the relevant regulatory authorities," Skretting's statement said.

Main risk to salmon, expert says

Christian Narkowicz, a senior lecturer in pharmacology at the University of Tasmania, told the ABC that it was very common for fungi to infect salmon feed.

"Especially as they've gone to a lot of plant-based ingredients in salmon feed. It's a more common occurrence now than when it was mostly fish-based feed," Dr Narkowicz said.

"I'm not surprised to see so much mould growing in salmon feed, especially if it hasn't been stored appropriately."

Those black, circular things floating in the water off the Tasmanian coastline? They are salmon farms. Here is how many there are — and who owns them.

Dr Narkowicz said the main risk, if there were one, would be to the health of the salmon.

"It's been shown that mycotoxins in salmon feed impact their health, can damage their liver and also reduce their immunity, which makes them more susceptible to other kinds of diseases.

"It's also been shown that mycotoxins that are consumed by salmon do enter the flesh of the salmon. Now, whether that's a human health issue or not, I think is yet to be determined.

Dr Narkowicz said whether or not the levels in Skretting's fish feed exceeded the regulatory limits was "yet to be determined".

'Not something I would expose lightly'

Mr Levien's Facebook posts have sparked debate, with several people claiming to have worked at Skretting also suggesting poor practices were common.

Other posters suggested Mr Levien was a disgruntled ex-employee, which he rejects, saying the position at Skretting was "a dream job for me".

"What person does that for their own benefit? I probably won't be hired in this industry again across the whole of Australia.

"I love this industry. I love the marine industry. I've farmed for 15 years. So it's not something that I would expose lightly.

"Even if I were disgruntled, I wouldn't release such a bombshell for myself.

"It's something I'm concerned about. I think people eating this food need to know what goes into it. The facility should have extra cleaners and extra operators on the floor.

See more ABC coverage in your search results

Promotion

Latihan mendengarkan

Latihan mendengarkan