Two vehicles have been seized by authorities after eight people were caught with more than 10,000 cockles leaving an estuary north of Christchurch on Monday.

Prosecutions of 15 butchers and three company directors over illegal chemicals found in raw meat shows a "dereliction of duty" by the Ministry for Primary Industries in its failure to monitor food, the Labour Party says.

Fifteen butchers and three company directors have been prosecuted for the illegal use of sulphites and sulphur dioxide in raw meat.

Parts of the South Island have experienced sporadic bursts of rain in recent weeks but Marlborough and Canterbury are still waiting for the big drought breaker.

Sanford, New Zealand's largest listed fishing group, is in consultations with 232 staff who look likely to lose their jobs at the company.

Two bouncy, wriggly beagle puppies will be spending their first Easter as trainee biosecurity detector dogs. Brother and sister Charleston and Roxy are only 10 weeks old but are already two weeks into their Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) training programme.

Almost 2000 people are being viewed as persons of interest in the investigation into the threat to contaminate infant formula with 1080 poison.

One of the first things you learn in journalism is that a hoax is not news, John Roughan writes.

All of the samples of infant formula tested by police after being suspected of possible tampering have tested negative for 1080.

Authorities are investigating a photo of thin jersey cows being transported across Cook Strait to slaughter, which caused outrage after being shared on Facebook.

Authorities are no closer to saying if the threat to poison baby formula with 1080 was a hoax, or who wrote the blackmail threats - even with 30 staff on the case.

Police are testing infant formula after a number of tins were found with pin-pricks in packaging lids.

Harrier hounds may soon be helping to protect New Zealand's border from pests and diseases, the Ministry for Primary Industries says.

Questions remain about some $15m of NZ infant formula arriving in China next week without new import certification introduced following the 1080 poison threat, says the head of an industry group.

Dairy companies are confident security measures at their facilities are tight enough to prevent a 1080 contamination.

Queensland fruit fly larvae were found in fruit collected from two properties in Grey Lynn at the weekend, three weeks after the initial fly was caught.

The New Zealand dollar's record-breaking run against the long-suffering euro has hit the local venison market hard because of its high exposure to Europe, but strong deer velvet prices have provided....

A French foodie who couldn't part with her pate has become the first person convicted for deliberating concealing biosecurity goods on a visiting yacht.

Researchers have been given permission to import live specimens of the pest the Ministry for Primary Industries is waging war against in Grey Lynn.

An intensive biosecurity operation is in progress in the backyards of hundreds of Auckland residents, but residents of Grey Lynn are continuing their lives as usual.

Forestry investors are delivering a clear vote of no confidence in Government policy, in an area critical for New Zealand's response to climate change.