They aren't brought into the country. The apples are loaded by caterers at, say, LAX and are handed to pax over international waters and airspace on foreign carriers. Technically speaking, a pax is not in NZ until they are through immigration. The Government has no right (whether legally or morally) to tell foreign airlines what they can and can't serve on board. But they do have the right to tell people entering NZ what they can and cannot bring into the country.