Australian government body Biosecurity Tasmania is investigating allegations of contamination at a major fish feed plant after a former employee raised concerns about moldy pellets and pigeons at the facility, reports ABC News.

Matthew Levien resigned as a team leader at Skretting Australia’s Cambridge plant near Hobart after less than two weeks. He said he saw moldy feed being reworked into new pellets and was told the practice was common.

Levien said he raised the issue with managers, along with concerns about pigeons roosting and laying eggs in the intake area and pigeon droppings near raw materials. He later lodged a complaint with Biosecurity Tasmania and posted photographs online.

He warned that mold could produce mycotoxins, which can harm fish and potentially pose food safety risks.

Biosecurity Tasmania confirmed it was investigating but declined to comment further.

Skretting rejected the allegations, saying the moldy product shown in the photographs had been isolated during intake and would be disposed of. It said the material had not been incorporated into the feed and would not be.

“There is no food safety risk, and no fish will consume this feed,” the company said.

Skretting also said independent laboratory testing of finished feed for mycotoxins and aflatoxins in 2025 and 2026 had returned results below detection thresholds.

The investigation is continuing, with no finding that contaminated feed entered production or reached farmed fish or consumers.

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