New Zealand kiwifruit marketer Zespri has decided to start releasing fruit that was put on a precautionary hold, following advice from domestic and international independent agencies.

The kiwifruit was put on hold in early April after concerns small deposits of grease on pocket packs could affect around 0.01% of the fruit concerned.

In a release, the single desk marketer said it had "full confidence" the fruit did not pose a risk to consumer safety.

"Having confirmed there is no risk to human health, we now want to focus on ensuring all our fruit is delivered in top condition," Zespri chief operating officer Simon Limmer said in the a release, clarifying there was no risk given the composition of the grease and the very small deposits potentially on the packaging.

"This means we will now undertake a process to unpack, check and repack all trays of fruit in potentially-affected packaging to ensure no product with any traces of grease get to market.

"We are taking this extra step to reassure our customers and consumers that this fruit is the same premium quality as all Zespri Kiwifruit."

The same process will be used to check and re-pack trays currently on hold in the market. Once this process is finished, the remaining fruit will be released from hold.

“We thank and acknowledge the huge efforts of the industry in working through this issue,” Limmer said.

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