Yabbies go by the Latin name, cherax destructor but some Victorian growers believe their industry has a rival destructor.

Little Nippa Yabby Farm owners Tony and Christine Milton of Bearii near Strathmerton are angry at the new food safety rules that come into force on July 1.

Mr Milton said until recently there were 76 growers selling eating yabbies in Victoria, but this number had dropped to 54 after a recent Heathcote meeting to discuss the new regulations.

Of the attendees at that meeting, Mr Milton said "half would close their doors".

The Miltons plan to stop producing eating yabbies as of July 1 and will refuse to pay the new licence.

The most divisive point is the differing view on the risks posed by live yabbies.

The impending regulations for the seafood industry, administered by PrimeSafe, start at "the dam bank" when the yabbies are brought out of the water.

Mrs Milton said there was no risk with live yabbies.

"Fresh is best, that has been our motto for years," Mrs Milton said.

"If there is a contaminant in the water, it's going to kill the yabby, before it gets to people."

PrimeSafe chief executive Brian Casey said from the point of harvest there were food safety issues that related to the potential contamination of products that needed to be managed.

However, he would not comment on what the food safety issues were.

"The yabby industry needs to understand that they are in the food industry," Mr Casey said.

Yabby farmers will be required to pay a $200 annual fee to PrimeSafe, which will visit growers in the first year to explain the regulations.

After this, growers will be audited by a third party at their own expense, to ensure they are complying with the rules.

This will be charged at $125 to $140 an hour.

The Miltons claim they will have to pay for auditors' travel time from Melbourne at the same rate.

Although yabby farms are at the low-risk end of the meat industry, the actual cost is difficult to calculate, and the frequency of audit visits has not been set.

Mr Casey said the most complex businesses were audited four times a year and gave the example that a butcher's shop took one to 1¹/₂ hours to audit.

One suggestion given for troubled growers, who can sell yabbies for bait as well as for pets, was to start selling 5 kg bags of "pets" instead of eating yabbies.

david.wood@mcmedia.com.au