A small Hawke's Bay packhouse with poor hygiene protocols has sparked a national food scare.
The Ministry for Primary Industries said a worker with hepatitis A at the plant handled royal gala, New Zealand beauty apples and golden queen peaches during a four-day period while infected with the virus, possibly infecting fruit.
Apples and peaches on sale throughout the country could have then been contaminated.
Yet the ministry said the risk of contracting the illness from the fruit, sold between February 27 and March 13 this year, was "relatively low".
While some potentially affected fruit had been traced and withdrawn from sale, it was likely about 1400 cartons destined only for the domestic market, had been sold, ministry deputy director general Scott Gallacher said.