Discussion Paper  
Proposed Food Notice: Requirements for Registered 
Food Importers and Imported Food for Sale  
 
New Zealand  Food Safety Discussion  Paper  No: 2022/04  
 
 
 
Prepared by Imported Food, Food Regulation  
 
 
ISBN No: 978-1-99-103940 -8 (online)  
eISSN No: 2624 -0157  (online)  
  
  
 
 
 
 
1 June  2022 
 
 
Disclaimer  
 
While every effort has been made to ensure the information in this publication is accurate, the Ministry for Primary Industries  
does not accept any responsibility or liability for error of fact, omission, interpretation or opinion that may be present, n or for 
the consequences of any decisions based on this information.  
 
This publication is also available on the Ministry for Primary Industries  website at  
http://www.mpi.govt.nz/news -and-resources/publications/   
 
 
© Crown Copyright - Ministry for Primary Industries   
i Contents  Page 
 
Request for submissions  1 
Who should review this proposed Notice  1 
How to make a submission  1 
Confidentiality of information  2 
Review and publication of submissio ns 2 
1 Background  3 
1.1 Review of the Food Notice: Importing Food  3 
1.2 Proposed revocation of the current Food Notice: Importing Food and its replacement notices  3 
2 Overview of the Proposed Notice  5 
2.1 Structure and contents  5 
2.2 Application  6 
3 Proposed changes and their impact on registered food importers and other business 
sectors  7 
3.1 Part 1: General requi rements  7 
3.2 Part 2: Registration as an importer  7 
3.3 Part 3: Duties of a registered importer  7 
3.4 Part 4: Categories of imported food  9 
3.5 Part 5: Requirements for HRI and IRI food requiring clearance, and Schedules 1 and 2  10 
3.6 Part 6: Requirements for bovine meat and bovine meat produc ts, and food containing such 
products  10 
  
New Zealand  Food Safety  • 1 Request for submissions  
New Zealand Food Safety  is consulting on the proposed Food Notice: Requirements for Registered Food 
Importers and Imported Food for Sale  and invites interested parties to provide feedback on the proposed notice  
by means of a written submission.    
 
Your written submission must be received by N ew Zealand Food Safety by 5 pm on 23 August  2022.  
Who should review this propos ed Notice  
The following people or entities are encouraged to review this propos ed Notice and consider making a 
submission:  
 
• Registered food importers  
• Imported food agents and brokers  
• Domestic food businesses that transport, store or sell imported food  
• Laboratories approved for testing imported food  
• Verifiers of food importers  
• Exporters of food or ingredients imported in to New Zealand  
• Competent authorities of countries that export food to New Zealand  
 
The proposed Notice will be of particular interest to those involved in the import or export of bovine meat and 
meat products.  
 
How to make a submission  
Your  submission must be made in writing and include the following information:  
• the title of the proposed Notice;   
• your name and title (if applicable) ; 
• your organisation’s name (if applicable);  
• your address and contact details ; and 
• any requests regarding the confidentiality of information you provide  (see Confidentiality of information 
below) . 
 
Please cite the number of the clause  you are commenting on , and, where appropriate, include supporting 
information , data or examples to explain  your comments . You may wish to use the submission form provided in 
New Zealand Food Safety’s  consultation webpage .   
 
We prefer  that you send your submission  electronically  by email to: import.systems@mpi.govt.nz  
However, i f you wish to send your submission by mail, please post it to this address:  
 
Imported Food  Team  
Food Regulation  Directorate  
New Zealand Food Safety  
Ministry for Primary Industries  
PO Box 2526  
Wellington 6140  
 
  2 •  New Zealand Food Safety  Confidentiality of  information  
 
Publication of the review of submissions   
A summary of the review of submissions will be published on the New Zealand Food Safety website.  If your 
submission contains any information that you consider  confidential and which you do not want included in the 
publish ed summary,  indicate this in your  submission  and clearly mark or identify the specific information  you wish 
to be kept confidential .  Otherwise, New Zealand Food Safety will consider that you have consented to the 
inclusion of any of the details in your submission  in the published summary of the review of submissions.   
 
Release of information under the Official Information Act 1982  
Any information related to this consultation, including submission s made, may be  subject to a request by a person 
or corporate entity eligible to make a request under the  Official Information Act. Your submission can be made 
available  to the requester , unless there is a good reason for withholding it.  
 
If you have any objection to the release of any information in your submission, clearly state  this in the cover letter 
or email acco mpanying your submission and indicate which parts you consider should be withheld, together with 
the reasons for this. Grounds for withholding information are outlined in the O fficial Information Act, for example, 
the need to protect personal information (such as names and contact details) and commercially sensitive  
information . 
 
New Zealand Food Safety will take such objections into account when determining whether to release information  
under the Official Information Act . An automatic confidentiality disclaimer from your IT system will not be 
considered as acceptable grounds for withholding information. Any decision to withhold information requested 
under the Official Information Act may be reviewed by the Ombudsman.   For more information , visit the website of 
Ombudsman New Zealand .  
 
Review and publication of submissions  
Once the consultation period has closed, New Zealand Food Safety  will review each of the submissions and 
consider whether any changes are needed to the proposed Notice . We will seek further clarification  about any of 
the submissions , if necessary .  The summary of the review of submissions will be published on the New Zealand 
Food Safety  website.  
 
   
New Zealand  Food Safety  • 3 1 Background  
1.1 Review of the Food Notice: Importing Food  
 The current  Food Notice: Importing Food  was first issued in 2016 under the new Food Act 2014.  This 
Notice specifies food that is High Regulatory Interest (HRI) food and Increased Reg ulatory Interest  
(IRI) food and the ir clearance requirements.  It also sets out requirements for laboratories approved 
for testing imported food . 
 Minor amendments have been made to the Food Notice : Importing Food  since it was first issued , 
mainly to update  the list of exporting countries permitted to export products to New Zealand in 
Schedule 1 and the expiration dates of  laborator y approvals  in Schedule 3.  The last minor 
amendment of the Notice was in December 2021. No significant  changes have been made to the 
Notice since it was first issued  in 2016.  
 As part of the work programme of the Imported Food team  of New Zealand Food Safety, a review of 
the Notice was undertaken in 2020 -2021  to investigate  problems regarding  its implementation and 
identify areas where improvement s could be made.   A particular  focus of this review was  the import 
requirements for bovine and bovine meat products, the first of the differ ent HRI and IRI food to be 
reviewed.  Reviews of other HRI and IRI food will be done subsequently.  
 The review recommended that amendments be made to the Notice to: 
• supplement  regulations  related to the duties of a registered importer under part 5 of the Food 
Regulations 2015;  and 
• improve the clarity and transparency of the import requirements for HRI and IRI food , in 
general , and bovine meat and bovine meat products, in particular.  
1.2 Propos ed revocation of the current  Food Notice:  Importing Food and its 
replacement notices  
 The current  Food Notice : Imported Food  applies to two distinct groups (registered food importers and 
approved laboratories), with the requirements for each group given in separate parts of the Notice . It 
is proposed that the  requirements for the two groups are separated and placed into two notices .   
 It is proposed that the current Food Notice : Importing Food  is revoked and replaced by two new 
notices : 
• Food Notice: Requirem ents for Registered Food Importers and Imported Food for Sale   
• Food Notice: Laboratories Approved for Testing Imported Food  
 The proposed split of the current Notice is unlikely to have any adverse impact on either group . It will 
provide better focus on each  group ’s requirements and allow for them  to be expanded and amended 
separately  in the future .  
Food Notice: Requirements for Registered Food Importers and Imported Food for Sale  
 This consultation mainly  covers  the proposed Food Notice: Requirements for Registered Food 
Importers and Imported Food for Sale . 
 Parts 2 and 3, and Schedules 1 and 2 of the current Food Notice : Importing Food , which are the parts 
that apply t o registered importers of food and imported food for sale, form the base of the proposed 
Notice , renamed Food Notice: Requirements for Registered Food Importers and Imported Food for 
Sale. 4 •  New Zealand Food Safety  
 The proposed changes and additions to th is Notice (discussed in section 3 of this document) are 
intended to:  
• help registered food importers understand the requirements and make it easier for them to 
comply  with the requirements ; 
• improve the enforceability of requirements;  
• facilitate food safety border clearance operations ; 
• clarify what verifiers will expect importers  to demonstrate ; and  
• improve the alignment of requirements for importers and domestic food businesses with 
similar operations.  
Food Notice: Laboratories Approv ed for Testing Imported Food  
 Part 4 and Schedule 3 of the current Notice , which contains the requirements that apply to approved 
laboratories have been  removed and transferred in their entirety to the proposed Food Notice : 
Laboratories Approved for Testing  Imported Food .  The requirements for approved laboratories  
remain unchanged.    
 Since the requirements for approved laboratories remain unchanged, we are not asking for comments 
on the contents of this Notice.  However, interested parties may wish to comment about the potential 
impact of the creation of a stand -alone notice for approv ed laboratories.   
 
   
New Zealand  Food Safety  • 5 2 Overview of the Proposed Notice  
2.1 Structure and contents  
 The proposed Food Notice: Requirements for Registered Food Importers and Imported Food for Sale  
consists of the following parts and schedules : 
• Part 1 – General requirements  
• Part 2 – Registration as an importer  
• Part 3 – Duties of a registered importer  
• Part 4 – Categories of imported food  
• Part 5 – Requirements for High Regulatory Inter est food and Increased Regulatory Interest 
food requiring clearance  
• Part 6 – Requirements for impor ted bovine meat and bovine meat products, and food 
containing such products  
• Schedule 1  – Clearance requirements for High Regulatory Interest food  
• Schedule 2  – Clearance requirements for Increased Regulatory Interest food  
 
 Requirements are set out in the proposed Notice following a hierarchy  based on the scope of their 
application . It starts  with general requirements that apply to the importation of all imported food , 
followed by more sp ecific requirements that apply to a narrowing range of food, as  shown below:  
 
Requirements that apply to all registered importers and all 
imported food
Parts 1-3
Requirements that apply to all HRI and IRI food
Parts 4 & 5
Requirements that apply to specific HRI or IRI food
e.g. bovine meat and bovine meat products : Part 61
2
3
 
 
 6 •  New Zealand Food Safety  2.2 Application  
 
The application of the different parts of the proposed Notice is summarised below.  
Parts of the 
proposed Notice  Non-HRI and IRI food  HRI and IRI food  
HRI and IRI food (other 
than bovine meat  and 
meat  products ) Bovine meat  and meat 
products  
Part 1     
Part 2     
Part 3     
Part 4  x   
Part 5  x  x 
Part 6  x x  
Schedules 1 and 2  x  x 
 
   
New Zealand  Food Safety  • 7 3 Proposed changes and their impact on registered food 
importers  and other business sectors  
 
Parts and c lauses referred to in this section of the consultation document are parts and clauses of the proposed 
Food Notice: Requirements for Registered Food Importers and Imported Food for Sale, unless otherwise stated .   
3.1 Part 1 : General requirements  
Background  
 Part 1 sets out definitions and specifies the international standards and materials incorporated into 
the Notice by reference . 
Proposed change s 
 Clause 1.1 incorporates by reference Chapter 11.4 of the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health)  
Terrestrial Animal Health Code  and the List of Member Countries with a BSE risk status , which are 
referred to in part 6.  
 Definitions of terms used in parts of the current Notice  that apply only to approved laboratories have 
been removed.  
 Definitions of ter ms relevant to the requirements for bovine meat and bovine meat products in part 6 
have been added under  clause 1.2.  This is further discussed in section of 3.6 of this discussion 
paper . 
Impact on registered food importers  
 The added definitions will help clarify the application of the requirements for imported bovine meat 
and bovine meat products  set out in part 6.  
3.2 Part 2 : Registration as an importer  
Background  
 The Food Notice: Importing Food  sets out how a registered food importer must apply for registration 
and specifies a  registration expiry date for a person deemed to be a food importer .   
Propos ed change s 
 Clause 2.2. in the current Notice , which s pecifies  the expiry date of 1 July 2016 for a person deemed 
to be a food importer , is obsolete and has been  removed in the proposed Notice . 
 No other change in part 2  is proposed.  
Impact on registered importers  
 No impact.  
3.3 Part 3 : Duties of a registered importer  
Background  
 The following regulations provide  for duties of registered importers of food : 8 •  New Zealand Food Safety  a) regulations under Part 5 of the Food Regulation s 2015  (the Regulations)  requires registered food 
importers : 
• to ensure that an assess ment  and confirmation  of the safety and suitability of food for import 
into New Zealand is undertaken before the food arrives in New Zealand  (regulation 122) ; 
• to ensure that imported food is transported and stored  in New Zealand in a manner that 
ensures the safety and suitability of the food  (regulation 123) ; 
• to keep records of specified information, including information  used in the assessmen t of 
food and information that demonstrates that the food is transported and stored in 
accordance with regulation  123 (regulation 124) ;  
• to provide any inf ormation required by a food safety officer in English or with an English 
translation  (regulation 125) ; 
• to have procedures for recalling food and comply with  specified reporting and record 
keeping requirements (regulation 126) ; and 
• to provide to J oint Border Management System  or a food safety officer specified information 
for each consignment of food for import into New Zealand  (regulation 127) . 
 Furthermore, new regulations under the Food Amendment Regulation 2021  will soon require 
registered food importers:  
• to have procedures for identifying, locating and tracing imported food  (regulation 124A , 
applies from July 2022 ); and  
• to conduct a simulated recall at a specified frequency  (regulation 126A , applies from July 
2023 ). 
 An audit by the Ministry for Primary Industries  (MPI) of food importers in 2018 found  significant 
differen ces in the levels of compliance by importers to the regulations  listed in (1)(a) above , 
particularly with rega rds to : 
• the manner and rigour applied in undertaking assessments  of food  for import into New 
Zealand ;  
• the conditions under which imported food were stored; and  
• the keeping of records . 
 The problem s identified  in (3) above were  considered to be partly due  to a lack of clarity of the 
relevant requirements, i.e. what these activities should cover , the required outcomes and how they 
can be achieved .  To help address this issue, new requirements supplementing  regulations related to 
the assessment of food  for import into New Zealand , transport and storage  of imported food , and 
record keeping , have been added in the proposed Notice . 
 The requirements for traceability and recall described in regulations 124A, 126 and 126A are clear  
and a dequately detailed , therefore, it is not proposed to supplement  them by setting requirements in 
the Notice  at this time . 
Propos ed change s  
 Proposed new  requirements  have been added  under the following clauses : 
• clause 3.2 sets out requirements regarding  the manner an assessment  of food for import  into 
New Zealand  must be undertaken , including the factors that must be considered , and the 
required outcomes of an assessment ; 
• clause 3.3 sets out requirements regarding the manner and conditions under  which imported 
food m ust be transported and stored ; and   
New Zealand  Food Safety  • 9 • clause 3.4 sets out requirements regarding the legibility, contents and storage of records of 
information  that are  kept and provided by a registered importer .  
 The proposed requirements in part 3:  
• are consistent with relevant  requirements that apply to registered domestic food businesses 
involved in similar activities ; and  
• where appropriate, are outcome -focused, to provide flexibility to registered importers on how 
the requirements can be met.  
Impact on registered food importers  and businesses involved in the transport, storage and sale of 
imported food  
 Part 3 does not introduce new duties for registered food importers under the Food Act , it merely 
supplements e xisting regulations to clarify the  requirements and how they can be met. P art 3 will help 
importers better understand  the requirements .   
 It should be noted that, a lthough  a registered importer is legally responsible for ensuring compliance 
to the requirements of part 3, certain aspects of  an assessment, or transport and storage of imported 
food may be undertaken by another person or business entity.  For example,  in the case where food 
is imported by a broker or agent  for a manufacturer or retailer , the manufacturer or retail er may be in 
a better position to assess the safety and suitability of the imported food.  
 The addition of new  requirements set out in  part 3 is likely to have minimal impact on registered 
importers that also operate under a Food Control Plan (FCP) or National Programme (NP) under the 
Food Act 2014, or Risk Management Programme (RMP) under the Animal Products Act 1990 , since 
similar requir ements must be met by businesses under these regulatory regimes.  
 Similarly, addition of new  requirements set out in clause 3.3 for storage and transport of imported food 
is likely to have minimal impact on registered importers who use a transport and stora ge business that 
operate s under a n RMP, FCP or NP . 
3.4 Part 4: Categories of imported food  
Background  
 Regulation 128 p rovides for two categories of imported food – High Regulatory Interest (HRI) food 
and Increased Regulatory Interest (IRI) food.  Food that fit s within either category are specified by 
Notice .  HRI food requires clearance for entry , and IRI food may require clearance for entry if 
specified in a Notice . 
 HRI and IRI food are categorised as such, regardless of the country where they are imported from , 
except for Australia. Only two types of food imported food from Australia  are HRI food.  
Propos ed change s 
 No change in the list of food specified as HRI and IRI is proposed.  
 Part 4 more clearly indicates which food imported from Australia are  HRI and IRI.  It also indicates 
that the requirements for bovine meat and bovine meat products are now set out  separately in part 6 
of the Notice . 
Impact on registered food importers  and exporters  
 No impact . 10 •  New Zealand Food Safety  3.5 Part 5: Requirements for HRI and IRI food requiring clearance , and Schedules 
1 and 2  
Background  
 Regulation 131 provides for clearance requirements to be set in a notice . 
 Schedules 1 and 2 of the current Food Notice : Importing Food  specify the countries where specific 
HRI and IRI food are permitted to be imported from and the clearance requirements that must be met 
for a consignment of food from a particular country to be given clearance for entry  by a food safety 
officer . 
 The current Notice requires one of the following documents to be pro vided  for clearance  of a 
consignment of an HRI or IRI food : 
• an official certificate ; 
• a manufacturer’s declaration ; or 
• other forms of documented evidence . 
 Problems have been reported by food safety officers about some of t he documents they receive for 
clear ance  of consignments , which occasionally leads to delays in border clearance . For example , 
manufacturer’s declarations with wrong or incomplete information are sometimes submitted by 
importers.   
Proposed change s 
 “Bovine meat and bovine meat products , and food containing such products ” has been  removed from 
Schedule 1 .  A new part 6 sets out the import requirements for bovine meat and bovine meat 
products, and food containing such products . 
 There are no  changes  in the list of permitted exporti ng countries and clearance requirements  for all 
other HRI and IRI food listed in Schedules 1 and 2.  
 The layout of Schedules 1 and 2 has been changed  to improve the clarity of the requirements , and 
minor rewordings made to a lign the terms  with usage in  relevant regulations .  These minor changes 
do not change what food can be imported or where it can be imported from . 
 Clause 5.3 specifies  new requirements related to documents required for clearance.  
Impact on registered importers  and exporters  
 There is n o impact on the importation and clearance of current HRI and IRI food  (other than bovine 
meat and bovine meat products) . 
 Improved clarity about the required contents of a  manufacturer’s declaration and other documented 
evidence  will help importers obtain  and submit  documents with the correct  information , which will  
facilitate border clearance.  
3.6 Part 6: Requirements for bovine meat and bovine meat products, and food 
containing such products  
Background  
 Imported bovine meat  and bovine meat products, and food co ntaining such products, are identified in  
Schedule 1  of the current Food Notic e: Importing Food  as HRI food for the purpose of managing the  
New Zealand  Food Safety  • 11 risk from the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) agent in these products.  HRI food 
consignments require food safety clearance for entry into New Zealand.  
 Although not specifically stated in Schedule 1  of the curre nt Notice , in practice, there are certain 
products under this category that are routinely excluded from requiring clearance because they 
present a negligible food safety risk of transmission of the BSE agent .   
 Schedule 1 of the current Notice specifies th e countries where bovine meat and bovine meat 
products, and food containing such products are permitted to be imported from and the relevant 
clearance requirements that apply  to these products .  Inclusion in the l ist of eligible exporting 
countries  is pred icated on having an agreement or pre-clearance arrangement between the Ministry 
for Primary Industries/ New Zealand Food Safety  and the exporting country ’s competent authority that 
covers the export of bovine meat and bovine meat products  to New Zealand.  
 Imports from all countries  (except Australia ) currently require an official certificate issued by the 
exporting country’s competent authority to satisfy food safety clearance requirements.   
 Importation of bovine meat and bovine meat products from Australia are exempted from the T rans-
Tasman Mutual Recognition Agreement .  Under current arrangements, each consignment of such  
products imported into New Zealand from Australia must be accompanied by a consignment -specific 
manufacturer’s declaration confirming that the bovine meat used or contained in the product is of 
Australian and/or New Zealand origin.  
 The OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) is recognised by the World Trade Organisation, of 
which New Zealand is a member, as the international standard setting body for trade in animal 
products .  New Zealand’s  import controls for BSE in bovine meat and bovine meat products are 
based on the OIE recommended BSE measures provided in Chapter 11.4 of the OIE Terrestrial 
Animal Health Code .  New Zealand Food Safety  accepts the official recognition by the OIE of the BSE 
risk status of individual countries, zones or compartments , as listed in the  List of Member Countries 
with a BSE risk status .   
 In terms of the HRI and IRI requirements, t he recent review of the Food Notice : Importing Food  
focused on the  import requirements for bovine meat and meat products  (i.e. other HRI and IRI food 
will be reviewed consequently). The review identified a lack of clarity and transparency about t he 
requirements for these products  with regards to:  
• the application of the i mport requirements (i.e. product inclusions and  exclusions) ;  
• the requirements for eligibility of bovine meat and bovine meat products  for import into New 
Zealand ;  
• the requirements  for eligibility of a country as a source of bovine meat and bovine meat 
products ; and  
• the import conditions agreed under country -specific pre -clearance arrangements.   
Currently, information on routine operational practices covering the above  are not publicly available.  
Importers typically would have to ask New Zealand Food Sa fety to get this information.  
 The review recommended that the current Notice be revised to:  
• improve the clarity and transparency of requirements, particularly for those areas mentioned 
in (7) above;  
• update requirements in line with current OIE recommended BSE measures; and 
• provide for alternative ways of meeting requirements by importers and exporting countries . 
 12 •  New Zealand Food Safety  Proposed changes  
 “Bovine meat and bovine meat products, and food containing such product s” has been removed from 
Schedule 1 of the current Notice and a new part 6 added to the proposed Notice , which sets out the 
requirements for these products.   
 To clarify the application of the requirements in the proposed Notice : 
• part 1 includes definitions for the following terms - “bovine”, “meat”, “meat product”, “fresh meat” 
and “tallow”; and  
• clause 6.1 (2) lists the products excluded from the application of the requirements.  
 Clause 6.2 (1) specifies  the requirements for bovine meat and bovine  meat products for import into 
New Zealand.   
 Clause 6.2 (2) specifies the countries where bovine meat and bovine meat products, and food 
containing such products  are permitted to be imported from . 
 Clause 6.3 specifies, by reference to Table 1, the require ments  registered importers must meet to 
satisfy food safety import requirements. There are no proposed changes in import conditions and 
clearance requirements for products from countries currently listed in column A of Table 1 , except for 
Australia.  
 Column  1 of Table 1 lists the exporting countries that have agreed country -specific official certificate s 
for the export of specific bovine meat and meat products to New Zealand . The import conditions listed 
in column C are not new. They are based on existing arrangements with the different exporting 
countries, although we acknowledge these may not have been visible to all importers . [Note: Uruguay 
is a new addition to the list .] 
 There are no proposed changes to the clearance requirements for products from countries currently 
listed in column A of Table 1, except for Australia.  
 With regards to imports from Australia:  
a) The current food safety import condition  that requires bovine mea t products exported to New 
Zealand from Australia to be derived only from meat of Australian and/or New Zealand origin  has 
been removed . This means that bovine meat imported into Australia , regardless of its origin , may 
be used  in products for export to Ne w Zealand .  
b) The current requirement for “a manufacturer’s declaration ” confirming the origin of the meat to be 
provided for each consignment  has been changed  to “a documented evidence ”, allowing other 
forms of documented to be used.   
c) Table 1 specifies the proposed requirements for imports from Australia, as applicable to products 
that fit the following  descriptions:  
• any b ovine meat or bovine meat product processed or manufactured in Australia; and  
• any b ovine meat and bovine meat produc t imported into Australia , and then exported to 
New Zealand without any processing or manufacturing taking place in Australia  
 The proposed change discussed in (16) above is based on:  
• Australia’s negligible BSE risk status ; 
• New Zealand Food Safety’s recognition of the effectiveness of Australia’s imported food 
programme for managing the risk of transmission of the BSE agent in bovine meat and 
bovine meat products imported into Australia ; and  
• New Zealand Food Safety’s recogni tion of equivalence of Australia’s domestic food 
legislation (including a joint Food Standards Code) and food control system, and our  
New Zealand  Food Safety  • 13 existing trade relationship with Australia under the Trans -Tasman Mutual Recognition 
Agreement .  
Impact on registered  food  importers and exporters  
 The increased  clarity and transparency of requirements in the Notice will help:  
• improve  importers’ understanding of the requirements; and  
• strengthen border clearance operations and the legal basis for New Zealand Foo d Safety’s 
enforcement action, when required.  
 The changes and additions to part 6 do not affect  any of the current arrangements  covering the 
importation of bovine meat and bovine meat products  from exporting countries listed in Table 1 .  
Therefore, these changes are unlikely to have a  negative impac t on current trade . Importation of 
bovine meat and bovine meat products can continue , as is, under current arrangements.   
 The revision of the Notice  provides a clearer basis, and opportunity, for exporting countries to 
renegotiate existing import and certification arrangements , if needed,  or apply for new arrangements . 
 The changes and improved clarity of clause 6.1(a) regarding the list of products ex cluded from the 
application of part 6 (i.e. products that do not require clearance for entry) will make it easier for 
importers who import or want to import food containing minimal amounts of bovine meat products  
(such as those listed in (g) to (l) of the list).  
  The proposed change in food safety clearance requirements for imports from Australia is less trade 
restrictive and provides more flexibility.  The proposed change will allow bovine meat and bovine meat 
products processed or manufactured in Australi a, regardless of the origin of the bovine meat , to be 
exported to New Zealand.  It will also allow bovine meat products imported into Australia to be re -
exported to New Zealand.