Proposals for regulations under 
the Food Act 2014  
  
MPI Public Discussion Paper No: 2015 /01 
 
 
 
 
  
ISBN No: 978- 0-477-10526 -2 (online ) 
ISBN No: 978- 0-477-10527 -9 (print) 
ISSN No:  2253- 3907 (online)  
ISSN No:  2253- 3893 (print)  
  
  
 
January  2015  
 
 
 
 
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, nor for 
the consequences of any decisions based on this information.  
 
Requests for further copies should be directed to:  
 Publications Logistics Officer  
Ministry for Primary Industries  
PO Box 2526 WELLINGTON 6140  
 
Email: foodregulations@mpi.govt.nz  
Telephone: 0800 00 83 33  
Facsimile: 04 -894 0300  
 This publication is also available on the Ministry for Primary Industries website at  
www.mpi.govt.nz/news -and-resources/consultations  
  © Crow n Copyright  – Ministry for Primary Industries 
   
Contents  Page 
1 Submissions  1 
1.1 How to have your say  1 
1.2 Official Information Act requirements  2 
1.3 What happens next  2 
2 Summary  3 
2.1 What we propose 4 
2.2 Further regulations and notices  6 
2.3 Terms used in this document  6 
3 Context  8 
3.1 Overview of the Food Act 2014  8 
3.2 Why regulations are needed  9 
3.3 The roles of MPI and territorial authorities  10 
3.4 Overlap with the Animal Products Act 1999 and Wine Act 2003  11 
3.5 Timeline for regulations and transitional matters  12 
3.6 Further guidance and support  13 
4 Food control plans and national programmes  14 
4.1 What the Act says  14 
4.2 Proposed regulations for food control plans and national programmes  19 
5 Recognised agencies, persons, and classes of persons  56 
5.1 What the Act says  57 
5.2 Proposed regulations  60 
6 Approved documents, materials, facilities, or persons  or classes of persons  73 
6.1 What the Act says  73 
6.2 Proposed regulations  75 
7 Cost recovery  77 
7.1 What the Act says  77 
7.2 Proposed regulations  80 
8 Food standards  90 
8.1 What the Act says  90 
8.2 Proposed regulations  91 
9 Imported food  94 
9.1 What the Act says  94 
9.2 Proposed regulations  94 
10 Exemptions  103 
10.1  What the Act says  103 
10.2  Proposed regulations  104 
11 Infringement offences  107 
11.1  What the Act says  107 
11.2  Proposed regulations  109 
12 Transitional matters  112 
i 12.1  What the Act says  112 
12.2  Proposed regulations  113 
13 Appendix 1: Infringement Scheme for the Food Standards Code  121 
 
 
 
Table s  
Table 1: Food sectors subject to food control plans  14 
Table 2: Food sectors subject to national programmes  17 
Table 3: Proposed verification frequencies for food control plans  29 
Table 4: Proposed verification frequencies for national programmes  31 
Table 5: Adjustments between verification steps  34 
Table 6: Regulation -making powers in respect of recognised agencies, persons, and classes  of 
persons under the Food Act  60 
Table 7: Core requirements of recognised agencies under food- related legislation 
administered by MPI  66 
Table 8: Proposed performance requirements for recognised agencies and persons  69 
Table 9: Factors for hourly rate calculation  84 
Table 10: Assessment charges on hourly basis  85 
Table 11: Proposed fees and charges  85 
Table 12: Regulation -making p owers about exemptions in the Food Act  103 
Table 13: Proposed transition schedule  114 
Table 14: Proposals for contents of a noti ce issued under section 437(3) of the Food Act 2014 
about approved auditors and agencies  119 
 
ii  
1 Submissions  
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is seeking submissions from interested parties , 
both individuals and organi sations, on regulations under the Food Act 2014 .  
 
This document set s out proposals for regulations in a number of areas. Your submissions will 
help us assess  whether we need to amend these proposals in any way  to better meet your 
needs, while still meetin g the purpose of the Food Act  2014.  
1.1 How to have your say 
Deadlines  for all submissions are:  
• 5pm on 20 February 2015 for responses to the cost recovery proposals (section 7 of this 
document)  
• 5pm on  31 March 2015  for all other proposals.  
 We have included questions throughout this document. If you want to respond directly to 
some or all of these, you can download a document  that contains these questions from  
www.mpi.govt.nz/news -and-resources/consultations . 
  
MPI will consider all relevant material made in submissions , so you are welcome to provide 
additional information on this form. You may also prefer to provide a submission in  your own 
format.   
 
Please  make sure you include the follo wing information in your submission:  
• the title of this discussion document;  
• your name and title;  
• your organisation’ s name (if you are submitting on behalf of an organisation); and  
• your contact details (e.g. phone number , address and  email).  
 
Also:  
• make  sure that your comments can be clearly read as a number of copies will be made to help 
with analysis;  
• state the number of the question you are answering or, if you are making a general comment, state the number of the section your comments are referring t o.
 
 You can return your submission in any of these ways :  
 
Email   foodregulations @mpi.govt.nz  
Mail:    Consultation: Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014  
Ministry for Primary Industries  
PO Box 2526  Wellington 6104  
Or hand delivery : Consul tation: Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014  
Ministry for Primary Industries  
Pastoral House  
25 The Terrace  
Wellington  
 
Please make sure your submission  gets to us no later than 5pm on the closing dates given 
above . 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 1 1.2 Official Information Act requirements  
Under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) information held by MPI is to be made 
available to requestors unless there are grounds for withholding it. The grounds for 
withholding information are outlined in the OIA.  
 If you are making a submis sion, you may wish to indicate any grounds for withholding 
information contained in your submission.  Reasons for withholding information could include 
that information is commercially sensitive or that you wish personal information, such as 
names or contact details, to be withheld. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer from your IT 
system will not be considered as grounds for withholding information.  
 We will take your indications into account when determining whether or not to release 
information. Any de cision to withhold information requested under the OIA may be reviewed 
by the Ombudsman.  
1.3 What happens next  
After the consultation period has closed, we will analyse submissions and make 
recommendations to the Minister for Food Safety , and Cabinet . A summar y of submissions 
and analysis will be sent to all submitters and posted on the MPI website.  
 Once Cabinet has approved the proposals, Parliamentary Counsel Office (the Government ’s 
legal drafters) will prepare a set of draft regulations.  MPI intends to car ry out targeted 
consultation with representatives of affected parties on these draft regulations to ensure they 
are clear and that they accurately reflect Cabinet ’s decisions.  
 MPI will also be preparing notices to support the Food Act  2014 and its regulat ions.  Notices 
are issued by the MPI chief executive and will be consulted on with affected parties as they are developed.  
 The regulations and notices must be in place by 1 March 2016.  
 
Key dates  Action  
To March 2015  Public consultation on the proposed re gulations  
Second and third quarter 
2015  Regulations drafted  and consulted  on with representatives of affected 
parties   
Third and fourth quarter 
2015  Notices drafted  and consulted on with affected parties  
By 1 March 2016  Regulations and notices come into  force – immediate effect for food 
businesses starting after that date  
March 2016 to June 2019  Proposed introductory  period for food businesses that existed at 1 March 
2016 – regulations will specify a start date within this period for each food 
sector  
  
2 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
2 Summary  
 
The Food Act 2014 (the Food Act) was passed into law in June  2014 and will replace the 
Food Act 1981  over time . Most of the Food Act, including the regulations proposed in this 
document, will come into force on 1 March 2016 (unless an earlier da te is appointed by the 
Governor - General)1.  
 
The Food Act 1981 and the Food Hygiene Regulations 1974 were in ne ed of modernising as 
these instruments employed  a prescriptive approach that d id not encourage operators to take 
responsibility for the food the y produce d, placed unnecessary regulatory cost s on businesses 
and did not meet food safety needs.  
 The Food Act and its regulations  will implement a modern, flexible regime intended to 
protect consumers through the effective management of food safety risks  by food producers, 
independent verifiers, territorial authorities and MPI . This reflects government decisions on 
the recommendations arising  from a comprehensive review of the domestic and imported food 
regulatory regimes .  
 MPI is responsible for the leg islation that ensures safe and suitable food is available in 
New  Zealand  and for export. A well regulated food safety system enables consumers to have 
confidence that the risks to public health from foodborne illness are minimised.  The food 
safety system i s also vitally important to New  Zealand ’s economy, and underpins our 
reputation as a trusted exporter of food.   
 The Food Act introduces a risk-based food safety system  by requiring a number of food 
businesses to operate under either  a food control plan (f or high -risk food businesses , as 
described in Schedule 1 of the Act ) or a national programme  (for lower food risk businesses , 
as described in Schedule 2 ). It only covers food produced and sold or traded commercially.  
 The Food Act provides for further requ irements to be specified in regulations  to set  out how 
“things will work”  on a more practical level . This allows public input  into the proposals 
before they become law.  
 The proposals in this document apply to the food businesses covered by the food sector s 
identified in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 of the Food Act. They cover a wide range of areas to 
bring this Act into operation, including requirements for registration and verification 
(auditing) of businesses, and requirements to ensure food is safe and sui table.  
 
The Food Act will apply to  around 85,000 food premises.  The challenge in making 
regulations is  about how  to encourage business es to provide  safe and suitable food for 
consumers , whether they are  small food retailer s, such as “corner ” dairies, or nation wide  food 
supplier s.  
 
These p roposals also include requirements for importers of food, cost recovery, 
infringements, exemptions , and how existing businesses will make the transition from the 
Food Act 1981 to the Food Act 2014.  
  
1 Please note that the cost recovery regulations will be made by 1 July 2015 and will come into force by 1 March 
2016  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 3                                                 2.1 What we propose  
Our proposed regulations are outlined  below and detail ed in Sections 4 to 12.   
 
Food control plans and national programmes  
Registration   
• The Food Act requires food businesses subject to food control plans and national 
programmes to register  either with MPI or the territorial authority where they are located .  
• For food businesses subject to food control plans: s ome plans will need to be  evaluat ed to 
ensure the y produce safe and suitable food . The p roposed regulations clarif y the 
evaluation process before evaluat ors recommend these  plans are approved. Other 
proposed regulations relate to the physical boundaries  of the premises that  food businesses 
operate within to provide assurance that food produced there is safe.  
• For food businesses subject to national programm es the proposed r egulations set out the 
duration of their regi stration and when they must register with MPI rather than the 
territorial authority.   
Verification  
• Food businesses need to be periodically “verified ” (audited) to determine whether they are 
managing food safety risks appropriately.   
• We propose setting out how often this happens in the regulations. The frequency of 
verification will be determined by the type of food business and its associated risks.  It will 
be adjusted according to a framework that rewards compliance with the requirements . 
Food safety and suitability  
• The proposed regulations cover the essential elements of the food safety system that need 
to be managed to ensure food is “safe and suitable” , as the Food Act itself does not 
prescr ibe how businesses should manage these.  
• These essential elements relate to such matters as : the places, equipment and essential 
services used by food business es; the health and hygiene practices employed by the 
people that work at these businesses ; the ing redients and other inputs in food;  and the 
production, processing and handling of food.  
Recognised agencies , persons , and classes of  persons  
• The Food Act provides that recognition may be granted to agencies and persons to carry 
out functions such as verifi cation and evaluation. Regulations are needed to clarify 
expectations and help recognised agencies and persons carry out their duties.  
• We propose r egulations to:  
- set requirements and competencies to confirm that agencies and individuals 
seeking r ecognitio n are “ fit and proper ”; 
- make sure the skills and competencies of recognised agencies reflect the range of 
food preparation and activities; and  
- make  the recognition process tranparent and consistent . 
Approved documents, materials, facilities, persons and classes of persons  
• The Food Act allows the MPI chief executive to approve persons and classes of persons, 
and such things as faci lities, documents and materials .  
• The proposed r egulations will establish criteria to govern all approvals, and will promote 
clarity and consistency in the  approval  process . 
Cost recovery  
• The Food Act requires the Minister and MPI chief executive to take all reasonable steps to 
recover the direct and indirect costs incurred by MPI in administering the Act that are not 
funded by the Crown.   
4 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
• The proposed r egulations:  
- identify services that are not C rown funded  because they provide a private or 
industry good;  
- establish appropriate charging mechanisms for  cost recovery ; and 
- establish particular costs for these services . 
Food standards  
• Food can be affected by the levels of residue from agricultural compounds.  
• To make sure that maximum residues levels in food are identified systematically , the 
proposed regulations establish:  
- methods that must be used to determine residue levels;  
- prohibiti ons on the sale of foods containing residues ; and  
- grounds for exemptions from residue level requirement s. 
Imported food  
• Import ed foods h ave not necessarily been developed in a way that establishes they are safe 
and suitable by New Zealand ’s standards.  
• The proposed reg ulations establish:  
- general requirements for importers, including requirements for availability of 
information about food safety, origins and distribution;  
- requirements for verification of compliance with duties;  
- categorisation of food accordi ng to risk; and  
- clearance requirements for foods according to identified risk level . 
Exemptions  
• Exemptions are generally  an acknowledge ment  that there are instances where applying the 
requirements of the Food Act flexibly  achieves better results, while still meeting its 
objectives.  
• The Food Act has a number of provisions allowing for exemptions to be set in the 
regulations. However, the only proposal at this stage is to define the circumstances in 
which food business es may be exempt from a fee, levy or char ge. 
Infringement offences  
• The Food Act provides for regulations t o specify infringement offences and fees.   
• The proposed r egulations identify breaches that are considered comparatively minor and 
that warrant more than a warning but less than the full sanct ion of criminal 
law. Infringement  offences are proposed for breaches of the Australia New  Zealand  Food 
Standards Code  Proposals , and the requirement s to register under the Food Act.   
Transitional matters  
• The regulations will come into force by 1 March 201 6, when a  three -year introductory  
perio d to the new regulatory regime begins .  
• The proposed r egulations set out the timeframe within which specific food sectors must 
move from operating under the Food Act 1981 to meeting the requirements of the Food 
Act 20 14. This gives food businesses a staged and orderly transition to meeting the new 
requirements.   
• Regulations will also clarify the deemed recognition of an auditor.  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 5 2.2 Further regulations and notices  
A number of areas require  no regulations at this stage . However, further proposals  may be 
developed  as the “ new” food safety system develops and matures , and as it becomes clear that 
they are required to meet the Act ’s purpose.  
 
The Food Act also provides the MPI chief executive with the power to specify certain matters 
by notice  if they are necessary or desirable to give effect to the Act  or its regulations . MPI 
intends to develop notices in 2015 and undertake targeted consult ation  on these with affected 
stakeholders.   
2.3 Terms used in this document  
 
Term  Meaning  
authorised 
transition period  The period after the commencement of the regulations during which each 
food sector  will be required to make the transition from the requirements of 
the Food Act 1981 and /or the Food Hygiene Regulations 1974 to the new 
requiremen ts of the Food Act 2014  
MPI chief executive  The Director -General of the Ministry  for Primary Industries  
evaluation  The process of assessment, independent of the operator, of the validity of a 
food control plan for the purposes of providing an independent  evaluation 
report to the MPI chief executive  
food business 
operator  The owner or other person in control of the business  
introductory period  The three -year period following the commencement of the regulations during 
which all food businesses will transition to the requirements of the Food Act 
2014  
non-compliance  Where the operator ’s actions or omissions contravene an offence provision of 
the Food Act 2014 or of regulations and notices made or issued under the 
Food Act 2014 
notice  A legal instrument iss ued by the MPI chief executive that specifies particular 
requirements under authority of the Food Act 2014  
operator 
verification  A process to ensure that internal practices, procedures, and activities comply 
with the applicable requirements of the Food A ct 2014  
recognised agency  A person or a group of persons recognised by the MPI chief executive of the 
Ministry for Primary Industries as responsible for managing and carrying out 
specified functions and activities (such as verification and evaluation)  
6 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
recognised person  A natural person recognised by the MPI chief executive to carry out specified 
functions and activities (for example, verification and evaluation)  
registered importer  An importer registered under section 118 of the Food Act 2014  
registrati on 
authority  The MPI chief executive or, as the case may be, the relevant territorial 
authority  
risk-based measure  A food control plan or a national programme  
safety  A condition in which food, in terms of its intended use, is unlikely to cause 
or lead to  illness or injury to human life or public health  
suitability  A condition in which the composition, labelling, identification, and condition 
of the food are appropriate to food in terms of its intended use  
territorial authority  A city council or district  council as defined in the Local Government Act 
2002 
validation  A process by which evidence is obtained to demonstrate that food will be 
safe  
verification  Includes  the application of methods, procedures,  tests, and other checks to 
confirm ongoing compliance with the applicable requirements of the Food 
Act 2014; compliance of a food business with a risk -based measure; 
applicability of a risk -based measure to the operations of a food business; 
effectiveness of a risk -based measure  
verifier  A recognised pe rson whose specified functions and activities include 
carrying out verification  
 
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 7 3 Context  
 
Note: Development of the Food Act 2014  
Between 2004 and 20092 the Government produced a series of discussion documents as 
part of the process to develop the Food Act. As these documents were prepared to assist 
public submissions, they provide useful context for consider ing the proposed regulation s 
outlined here.   
 
You can download t hese discussion documents at:  
www.foodsafety.govt.nz/policy -law/food- act-2014/background/documents.htm   
 
3.1 Overview of the F ood Act 2014  
The Food Act 2014 was passed into law in June 2014 and is replacing the Food Act 1981 over 
time. It reflect s government decisions on recommendations that arose from a comprehensive 
review of the domestic and imported food regulatory regimes .  
 
The Food Act covers all businesses, activities, or undertakings involving trade in food , 
including food that is  importe d. It does not distinguish between food intended for domestic 
consumption or for export.   
 Food that is not sold or traded commercially is not covered by the Food Act.  Examples of 
food activities that are excluded are food provided by club members to a vis iting sports team 
or food shared between families, friends, and neighbours . However, t he Food Act does apply 
to food that is exchanged or bartered in commercial quantities, or via businesses specifically set up to facilitate this practice.   
 The policy obj ective of the Food Act  and its regulations  is to provide an efficient, effective 
and risk -based regulatory regime that manages domestic food safety and suitability issues, 
while meeting the Government ’s objective of having increased certainty for food busi nesses .  
 The Food Act meet s this policy objective by establishing a risk management framework that 
is underpinned by the following principles:  
• the need to achieve the safety and suitability of food ; 
• the need to require persons who operate food businesses or otherwise trade in food  to take 
responsibility for the safety and suitability of food ; 
• the need to promote standards and control mechanisms that are, as far as possible, risk -
based and science -based ; 
• the need for efficiency and to minimise compliance co sts; 
• the importance of ensuring that regulatory requirements are applied consistently and fairly 
across sectors and groups depending on factors such as risk ; and  
2 Broadly titled the Domestic Food Review  
8 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries                                                   
• the importance of providing services in a co -ordinated and coherent manner as far as 
practicab le.  
 
The risk -based food safety system  has been designed to be  responsive to the diversity of 
businesses operating in the food industry.  The Food Act regulates types of food businesses at 
different levels depending on the food safety risk that such busine sses present to the public.  
The different levels correspond to different  risk-based measures , including food control plans 
and national programmes. Accordingly, high risk  businesses will be required to have a food 
control plan, and medium to low risk businesses  will operate by using a national programme.  
 
Businesses will be verified  periodically against the requirements of the appropriate risk -based 
measure to ensure  they are managing food safety risks. The frequency and type of 
verification , which will be outlined in regulations,  is determined by the type of food business 
and its associated risks . 
 
All food businesses should fit within one or more of the food sectors that are listed and 
described in Schedules 1 to 3 of the Food Act.  Schedules 1 and 2 assign  one of two risk -based 
measures (food control plan and national programme) to these food sectors as follows:  
• Schedule 1 food businesses are in a sector that must operate under a food control plan;  
• Schedule 2 food businesses are in one of three sectors that  must operate under one of three 
levels of national programme: level 3 ; level 2; level 1. 
 
Schedule 3 food businesses are in a sector that are not required to operate under a food control plan or national programme, but are still required to meet the requi rement of selling food that 
is safe and suitable.   
 
Traditional  fundraising and “Kiwiana ” activities such as sausage sizzles and school fairs are 
not regulated other than the requirement to ensure food is safe and suitable, and if they occur no more than 2 0 times in a calendar year . This is in contrast to the Food Act 1981, which has 
a one -size-fits-all approach to food safety so that, with limited exceptions, all food for sale 
must be prepared in a commercial kitchen.  
3.2 Why regulations  are needed  
Regulations  are also referred to as s econdary legislation and, like primary legislation such as 
the Food Act, impos e legally binding obligations. Regulations  have a statutory requirement 
for consultation with stakeholders before being put in place.  
 
The Food Act pro vides for a wide range of powers under which regulations can be made.  In 
many instances regulations  are required to amplify the provisions already in the Food Act . 
While the Food Act provides the legal framework, r egulations allow for  more detail ed 
require ments  to help set  out how “things will work ” on a more practical level . 
 
For example , the Food Act requires that the appropriate registration authority for food 
businesses operating under national programmes is determined  by regulation.  The ability to 
determine whether the registration authority for businesses is MPI or a territorial authority  
provides an opportunity to develop regulation s based on careful consideration  of operational 
requirements . Developing r egulation s also allows time for Government to establish systems 
and processes and to consult on proposals to ensure they are workable.  
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 9 Setting requirements in regulations also gives necessary flexibility if, after a period of 
operation , it is considered necessary to make changes.  It is easier to chan ge regulations than 
to chang e the Food Act. 
 
There are other areas where the Food Act allows for regulations to be made but we have no 
current proposals. F urther proposals  may be developed  later as the “new” food safety system 
develops and matures , and it becomes clear that they are required to meet the purpose of the 
Food Act.   
 
Issuing notices under the Food Act  
 
The Food Act provides the MPI chief executive with the power to specify certain matters 
by notice ( this is also referred to as tertiary legislation). This includes an ability to set 
requirements that are necessary or desirable to give effect to the Food Act or its 
regulations, or necessary to amplify the manner in which the requirements of regulations 
under the Food Act must be met.   
 
Any notices  issued by the MPI chief executive must be consistent with the Food Act and 
with any regulations under the Food Act.  
 
Notices are likely to be issued where specialist knowledge is considered essential , where 
there is a need for flexibility , or to respond t o the needs of sectors that face frequent 
change. The Food Act also specifies that some particular requirements are set out in a 
notice rather than in regulation s.  
 
Where this document proposes  “regulations ”, it may be that it is better to set out a  
requi rement in a notice  instead . Therefore, the  consu ltation on  the content of  regulations in 
this document , as required by section 379  of the Food Act, is also consul tation  on any 
notices as required by section 380.  
 
MPI intends to develop notices in 2015 and will undertake targeted consultation on these 
with affected stakeholders. Notices will be drafted by MPI and do not require Cabinet 
approval.   
 
This document contains a limited number of proposals for notices where the Food Act 
specifies that requirements must be set out in notices rather than regulations.  Consultation 
on the content of these notices ha s been included in this document because it is considered 
that this will help readers to better understand how these notices  relate to some of the 
proposed r egulations.  
 
3.3 The role s of MPI and territorial authorities  
Under the Food Act MPI will continue to take principal responsibility for all regulatory and related functions , as it did under the Food Act 1981.  These functions  includ e: administering 
the Food A ct and related regulations, preparing guidance material, undertaking approvals and 
recognition of agencies and persons , and providing a public register of food businesses 
registered under the Food  Act.  
 
Territorial a uthorities will  also continue to play e ssentially the same role as they did under the 
Food Act 1981.  This includes : acting as registration authorities and  a first point of contact for 
10 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
a significant  proportion of food businesses , assist ing businesses with changes to the new 
regime, monitoring co mpliance, and generally provid ing the MPI chief executive with the 
support needed to implement the new Food Act.  
3.4 Overlap with the Animal Products Act 1999 and Wine Act 
2003  
3.4.1 Overlap with the Animal Products Act  
There is a significant overlap of the food typ es regulated by the Food Act and Animal 
Products Act 1999 (APA).  
 
The Food Act has a much wider scope, generally applying to anything that is food for sale 
(refer to section 9 of the Food Act for a definition of “food”.)  The APA applies principally to 
animal material and product s that are intended for human or animal consumption but may also 
apply to animal material and products for other purposes.  
 The overlap between the coverage of the two Acts is illustrated below:  
 
 
 The F ood Act has been constructed using a similar risk -based regulatory model as the APA, 
allowing for greater equivalence between the regimes.  A central principle of the regulatory 
model is that food businesses are required to operate under a risk management t ool. These are 
either Risk Management Programmes (or regulated control schemes in some instances) under the APA, or risk -based measures under the Food Act (as discussed in this document).  
 Where food businesses make products that are covered under both the Food Act and the APA , 
such businesses will in some instances be able to choose which risk -based risk management 
tool they wish to operate under.  
 Regardless of whether an animal products business operates under a risk -based measure under 
the Food Act or a risk management plan under the APA, they will have to comply with the technical requirements of both Acts that apply to their particular activities. For example, a 
business producing dairy products for the domestic market and choosing to operate under a Food Act  
Food is anything for human consumption  ,  
such as fruit   ,  vegetab les ,  bread  ,  milk ,  and  
meat  . 
Excludes  :  tobacco  ,  cosmetics  ,  medicines  
Animal Products Act  
Animal products that are food include  : 
o dairy products  
o meat products  
o seafood  
o honey and bee products  
o eggs  Animal pro ducts that are not for  
human consumption include  : 
 
        o inedible products  
o animal consumption  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 11 food control plan (under the Food Act) will need to meet any applicable technical 
requirements under the APA (and vice versa).  The food control plan or risk management plan 
that a food business registers will be required to reflect all these requirements.  
3.4.2 Overlap with the Wine Act  
 Note that there is also an overlap between the Food Act and the Wine Act 2003.  “Wine ” is 
defined as any grape wine, fruit wine, vegetable wine, or mead.
3 The definition of food in the 
Food Act covers wine, and the equivalence bet ween the Food Act and the Wine Act is 
explicitly recognised.   
Section 27 of the Food Act provides that winemakers that do not export wine can apply to the 
MPI chief executive to operate under a registered food control plan or national programme, 
provided they are also required to operate under a food control plan  or national programme  
for activities other than wine- making.  
 
Therefore, as in the case of the APA, regardless of whether a business operates under a risk -
based measure under the Food Act or a wi ne standards management plan under the Wine Act, 
they will have to comply with the technical requirements of both Acts, where applicable.  
3.5 Timeline for regulations and transitional matters  
While the Food Act was passed in June 2014, most  of the Act  and the regulations are 
expected to  come into force on 1 March 2016 (unless an earlier date is appointed by the 
Governor -General)4.  
 
Key dates for developing and enacting the regulations and notices  are: 
• Consulti ng on proposals for regulations as provided in this  document  – until March 2015.   
• Assessing the submissions in response to the proposals and questions posed in this 
discussion paper , and making changes to the proposals as a result.  
• Obtain ing Cabinet policy approval for the regulations , and instructions to the 
Parliamentary Counsel Office (wh ich will be responsible for drafting the regulations).  
• Drafting of regulations and seeking Cabinet approval to submit the regulations to 
Executive Council .  
• Regulations in force – by 1 March 2016.  
  
While t he Food Act  determines that the  regulations must be in force by 1 March 2016 and 
will apply to new businesses commencing trading after that date, a three -year introductory 
period  commences  for food businesses that already exist at that time.  
 
Each food sector will be s et a date specified in regulations under the Food Act during the 
three -year introductory period. At this date all businesses in th at food  sector will need to have 
3 Wine includes cider and perry, fortified wines such as sherry, port, and fruit or vegetable -based liqueurs, but 
does not include beer or spirits  
4 Please note that the cost recovery regulations will be made by 1 July 2015 and come into force by 1 March 
2016  
12 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries                                                   
made  the transition from the requirements of the Food Act 1981 to the requirements of the  
Food Act 2014.5  
 
The Food Hygiene Regulations 1974 and the Food (Safety) Regulations 2002 will continue to 
be in force until the end of the Food Act’s introductory period6 to help food businesses  make 
a smooth transition.  At the end of the introductory perio d these regulations will be revoked . 
Food b usinesses  starting operati ons after 1 March 2016 will  automatically  be subject to the 
new requirements .  
 
Providing an authorised transition period for each food sector is intended to give  food 
businesses  across t he entire food industry the opportunity to make an  orderly transition to  the 
new requirements.  
 
During th e introductory period some functions and activities  that were in place under the 
Food Act 1981  will be “ deemed ” as recognised under the Food Act 2014.  Such functions and 
activities  include food safety programmes, recognised agencies (such as auditors) and listed 
food importers.  Proposals for transition regulations , including for “ deeming  notices ”, are 
discussed in section 12  Transitional matters .  
3.6 Furthe r guidance and support  
To implement the Food Act and to support the regulatory framework, MPI is developing a  
package of materials, including:  
• a food control  plan development  manual to assist food businesses  to develop a custom 
food control plan;  
• food cont rol plan  templates for food retail and food service activities;  
• guidance for food businesses  operating under national programmes ; 
• guidance for food sectors that are exempt from having to operate under a national 
programme or food control plan;  and 
• guidanc e for verifiers and evaluators of food businesses operating under the new food 
safety regime . 
 
 
5 The Food Act 1981 is repealed by the Food Act  2014.  However, despite the repeal of the Food Act 1981, the 
Food Hygiene Regulations 1974, the Dietary Supplements Regulations 1985, and the Food (Safety) Regulations 
2002 continue in force until the end of this Act ’s introd uctory period, unless they are revoked sooner by 
regulations made under this Act.  
6 Unless these regulations are revoked sooner by regulations made under the Food Act 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 13                                                 4 Food control plans and national programmes  
4.1 What the Act says  
4.1.1 Food control plans  
Food businesses  dealing at the high risk end of the food chain are required to operate under  a 
food control plan.  In these businesses and sectors there is a high diversity of products , food 
activities , and food processes that are considered high  risk in relation to the potential  for food  
borne illness , either for the general populati on or for vulnerable  population groups.  
 
A food control plan is  defined in the Food Act as  “a plan designed for a particular food 
business to identify, control, manage, and eliminate or minimise hazards or other relevant factors for the purpose of achievi ng safe and suitable food, taking into account : 
• each type of food that the food business trades in;  
• each type of process or operation that is applied to the food; and  
• each place in which the food business trades in food ”. 
 
The f ood sectors subject to food  control plans  are identified in Schedule 1 of the Food Act  
and summarised in the following table . 
 
Table 1: Food sectors subject to food control plans  
Food sector  
Food retail sector where food businesses prepare or manufacture and  sell food  
Food service sector  
(except for those types of food service listed in Schedule 1 as subject to other risk -based measures)  
Manufacturers of:  
• commercially sterilised food products  
• dairy products  
• food for vulnerable populations  
• fresh ready -to-eat salads  
• meals and prepared foods  
• meat, poultry, or fish products  
• non-shelf -stable sauces, spreads, dips, soups, broths, gravies, or dressings  
Wholesale bakeries  
(except for those categories of bakery listed in Schedule 1 as subject to other risk -based m easures)  
Manufacturers of:  
• processed egg products  
• vegetable proteins or other protein products  
 
 
 
14 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
The Food Act establishes a framework for f ood control plans by describing their purpose, 
how they will manage risks, the power of the MPI chief executive to issue or approve  official 
templates or models, the required content of food control plans, and controls that are intended 
to be imposed on food businesses , including the requirement to register the business and 
ensure it is verified.   
Registration of food  control plans  
Any business operating in a sector identified in Schedule 1 of the Food Act is required to 
operate under a food control plan.  The Food Act enables a business  to do this by either:  
• developing a plan that is customised to the needs of the indi vidual food business. Such a 
plan needs to be evaluated before being submitted to the MPI chief executive for 
approval; or  
• using a template that has been issued by a notice by the MPI chief executive under  the 
Food Act  (section 39), if such a template is a vailable tha t covers the scope of the 
business es’s activities;  or 
• using a template or model developed  by a third party such as a food “ industry body ”, and 
approved by the MPI chief executive under the Food Act  (section 40) , and issued as a 
notice.  
 
Food bu sinesses  that are subject to food control plans are required to register  either their food 
control plan or their business  with either MPI or a territorial authority so that  these regulators 
are aware of  the food businesses that operat e legitimately and  compliance activities can be 
managed.  A food control plan may apply to more than one food business (if requirements in 
section 50(2) of the Food Act are met) . 
 The MPI chief executive  has an obligation under the  Food  Act to maintain  public  register s for 
food businesses subject to risk -based measures , and so has to be satisfied that all information 
is accurate, and complies with the requirements of the Food Act.  The Food Act sets out the 
requirements for public registers of food control plans  (Schedule 5) . 
 
The Food Act  (section 48)  provides that the food operator of a food business that is required 
to operate under a food control plan must:  
• register the food control plan that is proposed to apply to the food business  with the 
appropriate registration authority;  or 
• ensure that a food control plan that applies to the food business is registered with the appropriate registration authority.  
 The appropriate registration authority for food control plans is determined by the Food Act 
(section 52) as follows:  
• for a foo d control plan that is based on a template or model issued by the MPI chief 
executive, the registration authority is the territorial authority  where the business is 
situated ;  
• for all other food control plans the  registration authority is MPI  (unless regul ations are 
made to propose that it be the relevant territorial authority – note that MPI is not 
proposing any such regulations at this point) .  
 
In some instances a template food control plan might apply to more than one place of 
business ; i.e. the busines s might have more than one branch, or be part of a franchise where 
the food businesses  choose to all operate under the same food control plan .  
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 15 If those food businesses  are all situated in the same territorial authority district or combined  
territorial authority  district7, the responsible territorial authority will also be the registration 
authority.  If a multi- site business is situated in more than one territorial authority district 
(which would otherwise result in different territorial authorities being responsible), the 
registration authority is MPI.  
 
Example:  Food business with different operations  at different sites  
 
A food business has two operations – site A operates as a retailer that prepares or 
manufactures food (template food control plan) and s ite B operates as a retailer that 
handles but does not prepare or manufacture food (national programme 3).   
 
If the sites are located in more than one territorial authority district, the food business can 
either choose to register site A and site B separat ely with the respective territorial 
authorities where each of the sites is located, or register both sites A and B under a food 
control plan with MPI.  
 
Evaluation of custom food control plans before they are registered  
Evaluation is a pre -registration ass essment of a custom food control plan that has not been 
issued as a template by the MPI chief executive  under the Food Act  (section 39 or section 40) . 
The Food Act  requires such an application for registration of a food control plan  to include a 
report of an independent  evaluation  (section  53(3)(b)). An evaluation may also be required if 
there is a significant amendment to a food control plan.  
 
The assessment  of a food control plan  is to determine compliance with regulatory 
requirements, appropriateness to the operations, whether the food control p lan is technically 
sound and, if implemented appropriately, whether it will reliably ensure safe and suitable 
food.  
 The evaluation must be carried  out not more than six months before the  date of the application  
for registration (unless this requirement is waived by the MPI chief executive o n a case- by-
case basis, or as required by a notice issued under section 405) .  
 In addition, section 46(4) provides that on receipt of an application for a significant 
amendment the appropriate reg istration  authority may require the amended food control plan 
to be evaluat ed before registering the plan.  Section  46(6)  provides that the  MPI chief 
executive may specify by notice what amendments to a food control plan must be treated as 
significant amendments.  
4.1.2 National programmes  
National programmes are the risk -based measures for food businesses  that broadly present 
lower risk.  The difference to operating with a food control plan is that a business subject to a 
national programme will not be required to register a fully documented plan.  
 
7 Combined territorial authority district means the area comprising t he districts of territorial authorities that have 
combined for the purpose of performing their function as a registration authority   
 
16 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries                                                   
A national programme is a programme designed to identify, control, manage, and eliminate or 
minimise hazards or other relevant factors for the purpose of achieving safe and suitable food.  
It does this by imposing controls on a food business.  These controls are generally proportional 
to the level of risk that the food sector poses to public health.   
 The Food Act provides for three levels of national programmes that differ in the level of 
control or the set of requirements they impose. A level 3 national programme generally poses 
the highest level of control on a food business and level 1 the lowest.   
 
The food sectors subject to the three different levels of national programme  are p rovided in 
Parts 2 to 4 of S chedule 2 of the Food Act . The sectors are outlined in the table below:  
 
Table 2: Food sectors subject to national programme s 
National 
programme 
level  Food sector  
Level 3  • Brewers, distillers, manufacturers of vinegar, alcohol ic beverages, or 
malt extract  
• Manufacturers of non -alcoholic beverages  
• Manufacturers of oils or fats for human consumption  
• Manufacturers of food additives, processing aids, vitamins, minerals, or 
other nutrients intended to be added to food  
• Processors of g rain 
• Retailers that handle food (but do not prepare or manufacture food)  
• Processors of herbs or spices  
• Manufacturers of dry mix products  
Level 2  • Bakeries that prepare or manufacture bread or bread products only  
• Food service provided to preschool children (including children under 5 
years of age) in a centre- based service setting  
• Manufacturers of confectionery  
• Processors of nuts and seeds  
• Manufacturers of crisps, popcorn, pretzels, or similar snack products 
• Manufacturers of dried or dehydrated fruit or vege tables  
• Manufacturers of shelf -stable condiments (including sauces, spreads, 
and preserves)  
• Manufacturers of shelf -stable grain -based products  
• Manufacturers of water -based products including ice, iced 
confectionery, and iced desserts  
• Retailers of manufactur er-packaged chilled or frozen food (excluding 
ice cream, iced confectionery, and iced desserts)  
• Manufacturers of frozen fruit or vegetables  
Level 1  • Extractors and packers of honey  
• Producers of horticultural food and horticultural packing operations 
(packh ouses)  
• Manufacturers of sugar or related products  
• Retailers of hot beverages and shelf -stable manufacturer -packaged 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 17 goods only  
• Retailers of manufacturer -packaged ice cream, iced confectionery, and 
iced desserts  
• Transporters or distributors of food products  
Registration of national programmes  
The Food Act requires a food business that is subject to a national programme to be registered 
with the appropriate registration authority  (section 79) .  
 
The Food Act  sets out the requirements for an application for r egistration ; i.e. the information 
that must be provided by food businesses in order to be registered  (section 83) . Food 
businesses  that are subject to national programmes are required to register with either MPI or 
a territorial authority so that  these regulators are aware of  the food businesses that operat e 
legitimately, and  so that  compliance activities can be managed.  
 
Note: How the requirement s to operate under a national programme or food control 
plan appl y to education and health care providers  
Educa tion providers  
 
Under the Food Hygiene Regulations 1974 schools and early childhood education centres 
are generally not required to register their food related activities.  
 
As a result of the Food Act most education providers will now be required to opera te under 
a food control plan or national programme, unless their activities are exempt.   
 
In general, the following activities will be exempt:  
• home baking brought to share (e .g. birthday cakes) ; 
• “bring a plate”  food (e .g. for sports -day teas, staff/parent gatherings) ; 
• baking /cooking  as part of a curriculum activity ; 
• preparing infant formula ; 
• food for f und-raising activities ; 
• food sold by the establishment at a once- a-year event, such as a school open day ; 
• food that is provided by a contract caterer (the cat erer would be required to operate 
with a food control  plan) ;  
• the school veggie garden ; and  
• school breakfasts serving minimally prepared foods.  
 
The following food activities will be subject to either a national programme or food control 
plan:  
• a kitchen/c anteen  (e.g. providing cooked meals, making sandwiches) ; and 
• “tuck shop”  activities (e. g. selling pies, ice cream) .  
 
Health care providers  
 
Under the Food Hygiene Regulations 1974 hospitals, aged residential care facilities and 
homes for people with disab ilities are exempted from registering their food activities.  
 
Most hospitals, aged residential care facilities and homes for people with disabilities are 
18 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
instead certified by the Ministry of Health and are audited by a Designated Auditing 
Agency, as presc ribed by the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001.  
 
As a result of the Food Act, most of these providers will now be required to operate under 
a food control plan or national programme.  Hospitals and residential care facilities will be 
subject to food control plans because they serve food to “ vulnerable populations ”, defined 
by the Food Act as:  
• children under five  years of age;  
• people over 65 years of age;  
• pregnant women;  and 
• people with compromised immune systems.  
 
Some providers of health care services will not be required to operate under  either a food 
control plan or under a national programme. Examples include “care in the community ”; 
such as where a person with disabilities is supported in their home, or children that live 
with foster  paren ts. There will be other circumstances, similar to the education sector, 
where there will not be a requirement to operate with a food control plan or under a 
national programme, including:  
• food brought by patients or their visitors ; 
• “bring a plate”  food (e .g. for staff gatherings) ; 
• fundraising; or  
• food sold at a once -a-year event, such as an open day . 
 
MPI and the Ministry of Health will work together to identify the most appropriate ways to 
achieve the safety and suitability of food provided throughout the  health care sector, while 
identifying opportunities to avoid the duplication of regulatory requirements.  
 
 
4.2 Proposed regulations for food control plans and national 
programmes  
 
The Food Act provides for regulations to be made for a range of purposes about  food control 
plans (section 43) and national programmes (section 76).   
 
Proposed r egulations for food control plans and national programmes consist of : 
• registration requirements ; 
• verification requirements ; and 
• safety and suitability requirements . 
 
 
 
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 19 4.2.1 Registration requirements for food control plans and national 
programmes  
Proposed r egulations for the registration of food control plans  
 
Key issues  
A number of operational matters relating to registration of food control plans are left for 
regulations to pr escribe.   
Objectives  
For the evaluation of custom food control plans, regulations will formalise and clarify 
the evaluation process before evaluators recommend that such plans be approved by the 
MPI chief executive.   
 
Requirements (to be set out in a n otice) are also proposed to give food businesses clarity 
about when an amendment to a food control plan must be treated as significant 
amendment.  
 
Regulations relating to the physical boundaries within which a food business operates 
will provide assurance t hat food produced within those boundaries is safe.  
Alternative approaches  
The proposals for the registration of food control plans  are technical in nature  and deal 
mostly with requirements  to ensure these plans meet their intended purpose.   
 
We are interested to know how well you think the proposals will help achieve the 
identified objectives , or whether you think any of these could be achieved better in 
another  way. 
Regulations for evaluatio n of custom food control plans  
Certain aspects of the evaluatio n process (discussed further below)  such as onsite assessments 
of food businesses , aspects  of resolving deficiencies with custom food control plan s, and the  
content and endorsement of evaluation reports require regulations to be made.   
 
Under the Food Act 1981, food safety plans were not legally required to be evaluated . 
However, f ood safety plans  under the Food Act 1981  were effectively evaluated by the 
registration authority.   
 The proposed regulations formalise and clarify  the process employed by evaluat ors in order to 
recommend to registration authorities  that custom food control plans can be approved . These 
are discussed below . 
20 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
Requirement for an onsite assessment  
A regulation is proposed whereby evaluation of custom food control plans will require  an 
onsite assessment  of the food business . The regulation  would also  provide the MPI chief 
executive with a power to waive the requirement for an evaluator to carry out an onsite 
assessment  of:  
• a food business ; or  
• part of a  food business;  or 
• any type or clas s of business .  
 
It is proposed that the MPI chi ef executive may  grant a waiver if he or she considers that  the 
risk posed to human health is such that an onsite assessment is not necessary.   
 
Examples of where such waivers might apply are : for multi- site businesses , where there 
would be no additional benefit for an evaluator to visit every site, or for mobile premises where an on- site assessment may not require assessment at every site at which the mobile unit 
operates.  
 
What do you think?  
1. Do you support the proposal  whereby  evaluation of custom food control plans will 
require an onsite assessment of the food business ?  
2. Do you support the proposal that the MPI chief executive be given the power  to waive 
the requirement for an onsite assessment? If not, why  not? 
 
Resolving deficiencies in the food control plan  
Regulations are proposed whereby t he evaluator will be required to  provide feedback to the 
operator explaining areas where the custom food control plan  is deficient.  Where certain 
regulatory requireme nts have not been met , these must  be identified to the operator , and such 
instances  must be rectified by the operator before the evaluation is complete.   
A regulation is proposed to require that a food control plan must specify any validation 
information a s appropriate (in the absence of a regulation or notice that provides 
requirements).  Validation means a process by which evidence is obtained to demonstrate that 
food proposed to be sold will be safe . 
A regulation is also proposed for validation protocols.  An acceptable validation protocol  sets 
out the requirements on the food businesses, as specified by the evaluator, to show that a 
certain activity  is safe. It is a mechanism whereby  a business can be registered while it 
undertake s work to show the regulat or that the activity for which the validation protocol was 
issued, is also safe . 
A report on a validation protocol is required to  be acceptable to the evaluator for those 
processes that are not yet valid before the evaluator will recommend to the registrat ion 
authority that the business be registered.   
 
A regulation is therefore proposed to allow the evaluator, d uring the evaluation, to:  
• judge the food control plan to be complete and suitably validated; or  
• determine that a validation protocol is necessary  to enable additional data to be gathered ; 
and/or  
• return the food control plan to the operator for further work.  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 21  
What do you think?  
3. Do you agree with the proposal that food business operators will be required to 
validate certain processes and products before they will be allowed to use such 
processes or sell such products? If not, why not?  
4. Do you agree with the proposal that validation protocols are  employed as an 
instrument to enable additional data to be gathered before an evaluator recommend s 
that a bu siness is registered? 
 
The content of e valuation  reports  
Once a satisfactory evaluation of the food control plan is completed, the evaluator will issue 
the operator with an evaluation report confirming that the food control plan is valid in terms 
of prod ucing safe and suitable food.   
 
A regulation is proposed to require an  evaluation report to contain the following information : 
• the name of the evaluator ; 
• the name of the food business operator ;  
• the products to which the food control plan applies ;  
• a descr iption of activities carried out under the food control  plan;  
• documents that comprise the food control plan that were reviewed ;  
• an assessment of the validation process ; 
• the on- site assessment or the reason for deciding the on -site assessment was not necessary 
for undertaking the evaluation of an amendment  to a food control plan; and 
• names and reports of  any technical experts used to provide supporting documentation  and 
information about the competency  of technical experts . 
 
In addition, the evaluation rep ort will be required to provide clear statements that:  
• the outcome of the evaluation assessment is satisfactory;  
• the food control plan is valid or there is a n acceptable validation protocol;  and 
• the evaluator recommend s that  conditions for registration  should be placed  (if any  are 
considered to be required ). 
 
What do you think?  
5. Do you agree with the proposed content of evaluation reports, and consider it is an 
effective mechanism to provide assurance that food to be produced is safe and 
suitable?  
 
Endors ement of evaluation reports   
A regulation is proposed requiring endorsement by the evaluator of  the food control plan  
evaluation report and the food control plan  (or outline) documentation . 
 
An endorsement of an evaluation report and an endorsement of a fo od control plan outline is 
an undertaking by the evaluator that the report is as prepared by the evaluator and the food control plan is assessed by the evaluator.   
 
22 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
Endorsement  of evaluation reports and food control plan s or food control plan outline s by the 
evaluator is intended to provide greater confidence to MPI that the food control plan and 
evaluation report have not been modified since the evaluation.   
 
What do you think?  
6. Do you support endorsement by the evaluator of the evaluation report and the f ood 
control plan outline?  
 
A proposed notice to describe when an amendment to a food control plan must be 
treated as a significant  amendment  
Under section 405 of t he Food Act, the MPI chief executive may specify , by notice , what 
amendments to a food contr ol plan must be treated as significant amendment s (sections 45(5) 
and 46(6)) . If a change is significant, the operator must apply to the appropriate registration 
authority for the amended plan to be registered.  The registration authority may require the 
amended food control plan to be evaluated before registering the plan, or may consider the 
amendments to be so extensive as to constitu te a new food control plan.  
 
The following amendments are proposed  to be  specified as  significant amendments :  
• making major  alterations to the processing facilities or equipment which may impact on 
the safety and suitability of  the food;  
• relocating processing operations to a new physical address (except where this is already 
provided for mobile premises and vessels);  
• processin g food that is not covered by the food control plan , except :  
- where the process and food product and process are similar  to existing processes and 
food products ; and  
- a documented risk factor identification and hazard analysis has shown that all risk 
factor s associated with that food are already adequately addressed by the food control 
plan; 
• setting up a new process or process modification that is not covered by the food control 
plan, except:  
- where the process or process modification is similar to existing p rocesses; and  
- a documented risk factor identification and hazard analysis has shown that all risk factors associated with that process are already adequately addressed by the food 
control plan ; 
• making any other changes that introduce new risk factors or ad versely impact on existing 
risk factors;  
• merging two or more registered food control plans ; or 
• splitting a registered food control plan  into two or more food control plan s. 
 
What do you think?  
7. Do you agree with the proposals for when changes to a food con trol will be considered 
to be significant?  How will this proposal affect your business?  Is it a practical 
measure, or are the specifications proposed too broad or too narrow?  
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 23 Proposed regulations  relating to the ph ysical boundaries to which food control 
plans apply  
Registration authorities and verifiers require information about the size and layout of the 
premis es in which a food business operates to understand how activities undertaken on the 
premise might affect food safety.  Food businesses also sometimes share premis es with other 
businesses, or activities might be taking place on the site which need to be considered to 
understand how this might affect food safety.  
 It is proposed that f ood control plans will be required to contain information about the 
following topics before they can be registered, in addition to the information required by the Food Act:  
• a description of the physical boundaries of the site at which the business is  operating  and 
to which the food control plan applies (a diagram or a site  plan) ;  
• a description of activities undertaken within the physical boundaries to which the plan 
applies , including activities (and associated hazards) by any other person which could 
affect food safety ; and 
• where a person uses areas inside the physical bo undaries for any activity not covered by 
the food control plan (e.g. for activit ies under other legislation) , the food control plan 
must address the interfaces with this activity to ensure that the food safety is not 
compromised.  
 
What do you think?  
8. Do yo u consider that it is practical to require food businesses subject to food control 
plans to describe the physical boundaries of the site where they are operating?  Do you 
consider such a requirement overly onerous, or do you agree that it is necessary to 
achieve the safety and suitability of food?  
Proposed r egulations for registration under  national  programmes  
 
Key issues  
A number of operational matters relating to regist ering national programmes are left to 
regulations to prescribe.   
 
Regulations are prop osed to stipulate the duration of the  registration of food businesses, 
and in which circumstances food businesses must register with MPI instead of with the 
territorial authority where they are located.  
Objectives  
Registration regulations are aimed at p roviding confidence to the public that registration 
authorities (MPI and territorial authorities) are aware of the food businesses that operate 
legitimately, and so that compliance activities can be managed . The role and duties of a 
registration authority are given to the regulator that is best equipped to exercise those 
duties, and to ensure that the business es they are responsible for are meeting Food Act 
requirements.  
24 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
Alternative approaches  
The proposals for the registration of national programmes do not markedly  change the 
registration requirements for food businesses in place  under the Food Act 1981. The 
overwhelming majority of food businesses will still be required to register with the 
territorial authority in the district where they are located and  to pay an annual registration 
fee. 
A regulation  to provide for  the duration of registration  
Regulations are needed to prescribe the duration of registration.  At present food businesses 
are required to register before they commence trading , and annual renewal of registration is 
required.  
 
It is proposed that, f or all levels of national programme , the duration of registration of food 
businesses  is 12 months.  Registrations will therefore need  to be renewed annually.   
 
This requirement will enable MPI to fulf il its obligation under the  Food  Act to hold public  
register s for food businesses subject to national programmes,  and to be satisfied that all 
information is  accurate and complies with the requirements of the Food Act.   
 The proposal that businesses must renew their registration annually  is also driven by an  
estimated turnover of food businesses  of approximately 25 per cent annually.  In addition , 
food businesses change the scope of their activities frequently  as they develop.  Annual 
renewal of registration helps registration authorities to keep up -to-date information of the 
food businesses  operating in their area and across New  Zealand , and ensures the integrity of 
the public register.  
 
What do you think?  
9. Do you agree with the proposal that businesses rene w their registration annually? 
What impact would such an annual renewal have on your business?  
10. Do you consider that  the objectives of these proposals could be met in another way ? 
Regulations for t he appropriate registration authority for food businesses  subject 
to national programmes  
Food businesses subject to national programmes will be required to register with either the MPI chief executive or the relevant territorial authority , as determined by regulations.  
 
 A regulation is proposed that all businesse s subject to national programmes be required to 
register with the local territorial authority  responsible for the district where the business is 
located  (subject to the three categories of qualification discussed below) . The majority of 
business es subject to national programmes will therefore register with their local territorial 
authority, and there will be no change to the existing requirement under the Food Act 1981.  
What do you think?  
11. Do you agree that your food business should be registered with the territorial authority 
in whose district you are located instead of with MPI?  
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 25 There are three  qualifications to  the general requirement that food business es subject to 
national programmes register with the local territorial authority responsible for the d istrict 
where the business is located . These are:  
 
• Mobile  or vehicle- based food  businesses.  Even though such businesses may be operating 
across territorial authority boundaries , these  businesses would be required to register with 
the appropriate territoria l authority of their physical address or, if appropriate, the location 
of the food business, or its nominated home base . 
 
What do you think?  
12. If you are a mobile or vehicle -based business, do you agree that your business should 
register with the territoria l authority as proposed?  Does the proposal present any 
practical problems for your mobile or vehicle -based food business?  
 
 
• Multi -site food businesses . Multi- site businesses are those that operate at more than one 
site.  
 
If all the trading takes place wi thin one territorial authority area , the food businesses  could 
register all operations under one registration with that territorial authority .  
 
However if the trading takes place at sites in more than one territorial authority district , 
the business would  have the option to:  
- register each site individually with the appropriate registration authority; or  
- register all the sites under one registration with MPI.  
 This proposal is consistent with the requirements for food control plans in the Food Act  
(section  52) under which MPI is the registration authority for businesses operating in 
more than one  territorial authority district . 
 
What do you think?  
13. If your food business is a multi -site food business, would you elect to have all your 
sites registered with MP I under the same registration, or would you choose to register 
each part of your business separately with the local territorial authority?   
14. Does the way that your business is set up lend itself to registering each part of the 
business under the same regist ration?  
 
 
• Food businesses  registering  under industry programmes.  Businesses  in some food 
sectors are likely to be  subject to  systems for registration  as part of the industry  
programme  they operate under . These industry programmes set the ir own standards, and 
verify the ir business es according to thos e standards to satisfy  the requirements of a 
particular market.  
 
Because some of  these food businesses  are required to register under both an industry 
programme  and a national programme  established by the Food A ct (with MPI or a 
territorial authority) , they are subject to two  registration  requirements . 
 
26 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
Regulations are proposed that would enable MPI to accept applications for registration 
from a representative body  on behalf of food businesses registered with tha t industry . MPI 
would be the registration authority regardless of where the food businesses  are located.  
While food businesses  would still be required to be registered, such food businesses  are 
likely to  carry reduced fees  for an application for MPI regist ration . Under such an 
arrangement the representative body would be responsible for meeting any MPI 
registration fee or charge.  
 
It is proposed that MPI will accept the registration applications submitted by 
representative bod ies, provided that : 
- the repres entative body meets certain administrative criteria which will give confidence 
to MPI that the representative body has the capacity to provide up -to-date information 
of registered bu sinesess on a continual basis ; and 
- the information provided on behalf of bu sinesses meets  requirements for the content of 
an application for registration (section 83 ) so MPI can be assured that the public 
register of bu siness es it is required to keep is accurate.  
 
Even though a representative body would be registering a food bus iness that is subject to a 
national programme, it remains t he duty of the food business operator to ensure that the 
business is registered .  
 
What do you think?  
15. If your food business is part of an industry programme, do you consider the proposals 
for regi stering industry programmes to be workable, or would you rather register your 
business separately with your local registration authority?  
 
 
Verification requirements for food control plans and national 
programmes  
 
Key issues  
Food businesses need to be pe riodically “verified ” (audited) to determine whether they 
are managing food safety risks appropriately.  While the Food Act provides for food 
businesses to be verified, it does not prescribe a system for doing so.   
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 27  
Objectives  
The verification process is  intended to follow good auditing practices, including : a 
review of relevant documents and related records; confirming the scope of business 
activities; identifying operator understanding of food safety as it applies to food activities 
at the business; and  involving staff to identify how this is being applied at places that the 
business uses for food.  
 
The benefit of placing verification decisions in regulations is to:  
• make verifier decision -making transparent to food business operators;  
• make verifier deci sions consistent; and  
• assist compliance decisions.  
Alterna tive approaches  
It is proposed that well-performing food businesses will be verified less frequently than 
they were under the Food Act 1981.   
 
We would be interested to know how the proposals will  affect your businesses, and 
whether you consider there are other ways  for regulators to make sure that food 
businesses comply  with the requirements of the Food Act.  
 
The Food Act defines verification as including  the application of methods, procedures,  tests, 
and other checks to confirm ongoing:  
• compliance with the applicable requirements of the Food Act; 
• compliance of a food business with a risk -based measure;  
• applicability of a risk -based measure to the operations of a food business;  
• effectiveness of a risk -based measure.  
What does the Food Act require of food businesses  in relation to verification?  
The Food Act provides (section 50 (1)(f))  that the operator of a food business subject to a food 
control plan  or a national programme  (section 80(e)) must ensure that they are  verified by an 
appropriate recognised agency or recognised person.  
 
The Food Act  provides that regulations can be made prescribing verification requirements, 
including provisions that deal with the frequency, intensity and cost of ver ification  for food 
control plans  (section 43 (1)(c))  and national programmes  (section 76(1)(b )). The relevant 
notice making powers are in sections 406(1)(f) and (k).  
Proposed r egulations for the verification of food control plans and 
national programmes  
Regulations for the  frequency of verification  
It is proposed that  regulations set out the  frequencies for verification  of food control plans  and 
national programmes . The frequenc ies would be  determined by the type of food business and 
its associated risks.   
28 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
 
Verification is proposed to be performance based so that businesses  that are complying will 
be visited  by a verifier less frequently  than those that are not. In this way the Food Act 
transfers accountability to the operator to manage risk.  
 Increasing the frequency of verification means the verifier has evidence  that poorly 
performing  operator s are not meeting requirements.  This increased frequency would remain in 
place until a business was  deemed to be complying  appropriately  with the requirements of 
their food control plan or national programme .  
 
What do you think?  
16. Do you consider that a performance -based verification system, whereby verification 
frequencies are increased  for poor performers , is the best way to ensure that food 
business es meet Food Act requirements?  
 
Proposed verification frequencies for food control plans  
The proposed frequencies  for food control plans are set out in the table below:  
 
 
Table 3: Proposed verification frequencies for food control plans  
Risk -based 
measure  Initial 
verification of 
existing food 
businesses  Initial  
verification for 
a new business  Verification variation  
Maximum  
frequency  Minimum  
frequency  
Custom food 
control plans  Within 6 months 
of registration  Within 3 months 
of registration  3 mon ths 18 months  
Template food 
control plans  Within 1 year of 
registration  Within 1 month 
of registration  3 months  18 months  
 Initial verification  of existing food businesses : Existing  businesses are those that are 
operating by the time the regulations com e into force on 1 March 2016.   
 An initial verification of an existing business will ensure that businesses  have successfully 
made the transition to the requirements of the Food Act . Businesses subject to c ustom food 
control plans are proposed to be verifi ed within six  months of registration ( reflecting  their 
higher level of risk) and businesses subject to template food control plans within one year of registration . These proposed timeframes acknow ledge  that most existing food businesses will 
already have a  track record of producing safe and suitable food in line with the Food Hygiene 
Regulations, but leave enough time for food businesses to be able to demonstrate  how they 
are meeting new requirements.  
 
Initial v erification  of new food businesses : New food b usinesses  are those that come into 
operation after the regulations come into force on 1 March 2016.  Regulators are tasked with 
maintaining confidence in New  Zealand ’s food safety regime by ensuring that new food 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 29 businesses comply with basic food safety pri nciples and receive the required level of 
regulatory oversight either before or shortly after start -up. 
 
It is proposed that new businesses subject to template food control plan s will be expected to 
have their initial verification wi thin one month of regis tration. Businesses subject to a custom  
food control plan will require an initial verification within three  months of registration .  
The proposed verification timeframes for new businesses  will allow sufficient time for 
operators to implement the requireme nts under the Food Act and to have commenced record 
generation and collection to provide evidence to verifiers that they are fulfilling operating requirements. The slightly longer timeframe for businesses subject to custom food control 
plans reflects the h igher level of complexity of the plans to which such businesses are subject, 
the time it will take such businesses to implement new requirements , and the fact that their 
food control plans have been evaluated . 
 Verification v ariation: The minimum frequenc y of verification for businesses subject to  
food control plans is 18 months.  However , frequencies may be increased up to a maximum of 
three  months for these businesses if they are not complying . Where a food business is made 
subject to the maximum frequency  of verification, further compliance activities may be 
applied, with the result that businesses will need to be visited more frequently than every 
three months.  
 
Under  the Food Act 1981 most food businesses were required to be audited annually, so the 
proposal to have maximum frequencies every 18 months for those businesses that  show that 
they consistently perform  well will present a potential cost saving due to the reduced 
frequency.   
 
What do you think?  
17. Do you agree with the proposed frequencies for new and existing  business es subject to 
food control plans, and the minimum and maximum frequencies for performing and 
non-performing businesses?  
18. Do you consider any of the proposed frequencies should be changed? If so, why?  
 
 
30 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
 
Proposed frequencies for national programmes  
The proposed frequencies for verification of national programmes are set  in the table below:  
 
Table 4: Proposed verification frequencies for national programmes  
National 
programme level  Initial 
verification of 
existin g 
businesses  Initial  
verification for 
a new business  Verification variation  
Maximum  
frequency  Minimum  
frequency  
Level 3  Within 6 months 
of registration  Within 1 month 
of registration  3 months  2 years  
Level 2  Within 1 year of 
registration  Within 1 mon th 
of registration  3 months  3 years  
Level 1  Within 1 year of 
registration  Within 1 month 
of registration  As situations 
arise (see 
discussion below)   
 
 
Initial verification  of existing  businesses:  Existing  businesses are those that are operating by 
the ti me the regulations come into force on 1 March 2016.  Businesses subject to national 
programmes  are proposed to  be subject to an  initial  verification to ascertain whether they have 
successfully made the transition to the requirements of the Food Act .  
 
Natio nal programme Level 3  businesses will receive an initial verification within six  months  
of registration (reflecting the higher risk associated with these businesses), and businesses 
subject to national programme Levels 2 and 1 will receive an initial verif ication within one  
year of registration.  These proposed timeframes acknowledge  that most existing food 
businesses will already have a track record of producing safe and suitable food in line with the Food Hygiene R egulations, but leave enough time for food  businesses to be able to 
demonstrate  how they are meeting new requirements.  
Initial verification of new businesses : New businesses are those that come into operation 
after the regulations come into force on 1 March 2016.   
It is proposed that new businesse s subject to national programmes  will be required  to have 
their initial verification within one month of registration. The proposed verification 
timeframes for new businesses  will allow sufficient time for operators to have commenced 
record generation to p rovide evidence to verifiers that they are fulfilling operating 
requirements.  
 
Verification variation: Businesses subject to  national programme  Level 2 that are complying 
with requirements will be verified every three  years.  Businesses subject to national 
programme Level 3 that are complying with requirements will be verified every two  years.  
However , frequencies may be increased up to a maximum of three  months for businesses if 
they are not complying.   
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 31  
Frequency of veri fication of national programme L evel 1: No maximum and minimum 
frequencies are proposed for verification of Level 1 national programmes, apart from an 
initial verification visit within one month of registration for new businesses, or within one  
year of registration for existing  businesses.   
 
However , Level 1 businesses may be subject to subsequent verification if information  
indicate s this is necessary as a result of  recalls, increased sporadic illness,  adverse outcomes 
from  monitoring the food safety system ( by MPI ), through  routine systems audits , by 
benchmarking surveys , or any other indicator which points to potential food safety issues.  
 
What do you think?  
19. Do you agree with the proposed frequencies for new and existi ng business es subject to 
national programmes , and the minimum and maximu m frequencies for performing and 
non-performing businesses?  
20. Are there any aspects of the frequencies for national programmes which you don ’t 
agree with?  
21. Do you agree with the differentiation of frequencies between food control plans and 
national programme s? 
 
Regulations for the verification  process  for food control plans and national 
programmes  
It is proposed that  verification frequencies be adjusted in accordance with  the following 
criteria:  
• confidence in m anagement ;  
• food safety b ehaviour ;  
• the effectiv eness of process controls; and  
• control compliance h istory . 
 
Verification outcomes  will be put against these criteria to determine a performance- based 
verification result .  
 
The requirements  relating to verifier decisions  regarding the adjust ment of  verific ation  
frequencies  are proposed as follows . 
Performing a verification   
It is proposed that the following aspects of performing a verification  will be regulated .  
Verification scope  
Before each verification , the verifier will be required to advise the operat or of the food 
business being verified about  the scope of the verification. It may  not alway s be optimal  or 
necessary for a verifier to veri fy every aspect of a business.  However, the verifier is not 
restricted to the planned scope of the verification if the verifier see s the need to expand the 
scope during the verification  visit. 
32 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
Recommending that the food business operator  undertakes corrective action  
Within a reasonable period of  undertaking the  verification , the verifier will be required to  
inform the operator of :  
• any deficiencies found during the verification visit ;  
• the likely outcome of the verification visi t; and  
• when the next verification visit will take place.  
 
If the verifier detects non -compliances that the operator has failed to  either  ident ify or 
effectively  address, the verifier may recommend  that the operator undertakes  corrective action  
within a specified period of time .  
 In any subsequent visit t he verifier must confirm with the operator that the corrective actions 
have been addressed w ithin the agreed period of time.  All corrective actions will need to  be 
completed  satisfactorily . 
Assigning an outcome  
The verifier will be required to  designate the outcome as acceptable if the verifier is satisfied 
that: 
• the operator is complying with al l applicable regulatory requirements; or  
• if there have been any departures from regulatory requirements  that the operator ’s 
corrective actions have been, or are being, applied appropriately and are effective.  
 
The veri fier will be required to designate th e outcome as unacceptable if the verifier has 
determined that the operator is not complying with all applicable regulatory requirements  
relevant  to their operation , including where:  
• the operat or verification process repeatedly fails to identify deficiencies;  or 
• the operator has failed to identify or effectively address a problem or deficiency with the potential to cause a criticial non -compliance ; or 
• there are numerous non -compliances that collectively prevent the verifier from having 
confidence in the oper ation of the system being verified; or  
• the required records are absent, incomplete or have been altered to a degree that prevents 
the verifier from having confidence in the system being verified; or  
• the verifier determines that the risk -based measure is no  longer appropriate to the 
operation.  
 
After the verifier has designated the outcome of a verification visit as either acceptable or 
unacceptable,  the verifier  will be required to provide a written  report to the operator.  The 
report will be required to  include :  
• the outcome of the verification (whether it is an acceptable or un acceptable outcome);  
• any recommended corrective actions;  
• which (if any)  aspects of an unacceptable outcome has triggered an increase in verification 
frequency; and  
• when the next ver ification will be undertaken (note that this does not prevent unscheduled 
verification).  
 Following an unacceptable verification outcome the food business operator  will be required 
to: 
• agree a corrective action plan  with the verifier ;  
• in consultation with  the verifier, agree a period of time within which the follow -up actions 
will be completed; and  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 33 • send the plan to the verifier for his or her agreement within an agreed period of receiving 
the verification  report.  
 
What do you think?  
22. Do you agree with all  aspects of the process for verification set out above?  
23. Is it clear in which circumstances the verifier will specify either an acceptable or 
unacceptable verification outcome? Do you agree with these proposals? 
 
Regulations for varying the frequency of ve rification  
Following an unacceptable verification outcome,  the verifier  will be required to adjust the 
verification frequency  for a food business between the applicable minimum frequency  and the 
maximum frequency , or “step”.  
 
In response to ongoing accep table verification outcomes, the verifier  must place the food 
business on a lower  frequency  or step (resulting in longer interva ls between verification visits 
up to the minimum verification frequency) . 
 Adjustments between verification steps are shown in t he following table : 
 
 
Table 5: Adjustments between verification steps  
Verification 
step Verification frequency  
  Food control 
plans  National 
programme 
Level 3  National 
programme 
Level 2  
Step 5   
 
 
  Increasing frequency  
 
  
 
 
 
 
   18 months  2 years  3 years  
Step 4  
 12 months  18 months  2 years  
Step 3  
 9 months  12 months  12 months  
Step 2  
 6 months  6 months  6 months  
Step 1 
 3 months  3 months  3 months  
 
It is proposed that, f or business es subject to food control plans, ve rification frequencies will 
initially be 12 months (Step 4) – provided a business receives an acceptable verification 
outcome at its initial verification visit . If a business  subject to a food control plan  receives two 
34 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
consecutive acceptable verification o utcomes, they will transition to Step 5 (an 18 month 
frequency).   
 
It is proposed that , for businesses subject to national programmes , the verification frequency 
will commence at Step 5  – provided a business receives an acceptable verification outcome at 
its initial verification visit . 
 In our e xperience, the  vast majority of food businesses do not receive unacceptable 
verification outcomes. Where requirements are not fully met, departures from requirements are usually minor and can be rectified relatively easily. Therefore, t he regulations for varying 
the frequency of verification are only likely to apply to businesses that perform poorly on a 
number of levels.  
 
What do you think?  
24. Do you agree with the proposals for the verifier to adjust the frequencies o f 
verification for food businesses subject to food control plans and national 
programmes?   
25. Do you consider that adjusting the proposed frequencies as suggested in Table 5  will 
encourage businesses to comply with requirements ? 
 
 
Verification regulations fo r particular matters  
Right to request a reconsideration of a verification decision  
Following  a verification visit , where a business  is assigned an unacceptable outcome, 
regulations are proposed to give the operator of a food business  subject to either a food 
control plan or a national programme the right to request, within 21 days of the verification 
decision , a reconsideration of the verifier ’s decision.   
 An operator seeking a reconsideration must operate according to the frequency advised until a 
decisi on from the reconsideration process is given.  
Verification of multi -site businesses 
A multi -site business is one that operates at more than one site . 
 
It is proposed that t he initial verification of a multi -site business will be the same as for any 
other food business.  This is currently a standard audit/verification practice under the Animal 
Products Act 1999 and was a requirement for  multi -site businesses under the Food Act 1981.  
 It is proposed that criteria be prescribed  for variations in verification f requency and scope for 
multi- site businesses.
 If a business ’s registration applies to more than one premise or site 
dealing with  food, then:  
• each premise or site will need to  receive a full onsite initial verification assessment;  
• each premise or site may b e treated as part of the wider food business;  
• verification frequency may vary between each business, premise or site; and  
• verification scope may vary between each business, premise or site.  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 35 Requirements  to report to MPI  
It is proposed that r ecognised age ncies  or recognised persons  that operate a verification 
service must:  
• operate a system whereby verification reports and outcomes are recorded for performance 
monitoring purposes; and  
• make all verification information relating to food businesses, which is reasonably 
necessary, available to MPI.  
 The verifier will be required to  inform  the MPI chief executive of any  “critical non -
compliance ” as soon as possible , and include any recommendations  about the actions that the 
MPI chief executive should undertake . 
 A critical non -compliance  means any departure from a regulatory requirement that is 
reasonably likely to result in hazards in food.  Hazards are defined in the Food Act as a 
biological, chemical, or physical agent that:  
• is in food or has the potential to be in food, or is a condition of food, or has the potential to affect the condition of food; and 
• causes or could cause an adverse or injurious effect on human life or public health.  
Relationship between enforcement activities and verification  
A complaint m ay have been made to MPI or a territorial authority about a food bu siness, and 
the complaint may be found to be justified.  
 MPI or territorial authorities are steered by existing guidance and procedures in considering 
complaints.  The decision to investigat e will be based on a risk assessment of the impact and 
severity of the harm that may transpire if the complaint is not investigated.  The level and 
timeliness of an investigation into a complaint is based on a risk assessment of the impact and 
severity of t he harm that may transpire.   
 A regulation is proposed whereby  a business operating under a Level 1 national programme 
may be made subject to further verification visits as determined by the regulator  if a 
complaint is substantiated and results in a form o f compliance action by MPI or a territorial 
authority . It is proposed that s uch verification visits take place according to the schedule 
determined by the registration authority until such time as a food business :  
• shows itself to be compliant ;  
• achieves consistent acceptable verification outcomes ; and  
• no further verification visits are required.  
 Note that n on-compliance (i.e. non -compliance with legislative requirements either in the 
Food Act  or regulations) may not only trigger increased frequency of ve rification, but also 
enforcement activities. B etween verification visits a food business may be the subject of an 
investigation initiated through a food safety complaint, allegation of non -compliance or 
suspicion of contribution to food borne illness outbr eak. A food business may also be subject 
to compliance activities ( for example , systems audits, compliance sampling , surveys etc).  
Operator verification  
Operator verification means a process, undertaken by the food business  operator, to ensure 
that inter nal practices, procedures and activities comply with the applicable requirements of 
the Food Act.   
 
36 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
Regulations are proposed that will require food business operators to perform regular checks 
of places, facilities, equipment, people, processes and practic es to ensure that they operate as 
intended to maintain food safety and suitability . 
 
A risk -based measure will need to  specify (in the case of food control plans), or demonstrate 
(in the case of national programmes):  
• the activities performed to maintain th e safety and suitability of food and their frequency; 
and 
• any actions to be taken when all or part of the risk -based measure is not effective.  
 
What do you think?  
26. Do you agree with the proposed verification frequencies for business subject to food 
control  plans and national programmes?   
27. Do you agree with the way in which this document proposes that verification 
frequencies are varied if businesses do not achieve acceptable verification outcomes?  
28. Are there any aspects of  the proposals for verification that you consider should be 
amended? 
 
4.2.2 Food safety and suitability requirements for businesses subject to 
food control plans and national programmes  
Key issues  
Safety and suitability refers to the essential elements of the food safety system that need 
to be ma naged to ensure food is safe. The Food Act does not set out  the requirements 
that businesses have to meet i n order to ensure that food is safe and suitable.  These 
essential elements are left to regulation , as proposed  here.  
Objectives  
The framework estab lished by the Food Act aims to reduce the prescriptive nature of the 
food regime established by  regulations under  the Food Act 1981 by moving to an 
outcomes -based regulatory system.  Consequently,  these proposed regulations will 
generally not prescribe how food businesses should meet outcomes . Such prescription  
will only occur where there is a justification in a particular area where food safety can 
only be achieved by following processes or procedures which are known to minimise or 
remove risks related to s pecific food processes or activities.  
Alternative approaches  
We are interested in know ing how well you think the proposals will help achieve the se 
objectives, or whether you think any of these could be better achieved in another way . In 
particular, we ar e seeking your views on whether t he proposals leave enough room for 
businesses to determine how to meet the proposed outcomes , and whether you think 
more prescription is required in some areas . 
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 37 Regulations are proposed for safety and suitability that will set out the  essential elements of 
the food safety system  that need to be managed to ensure food is “safe and suitable ”. The 
Food Act provides for regulations to be made relating to the safety and suitability of food  and 
to good operating practice  (sectio n 43(1)(l)) and national programmes ( section 76  (1)(g) ). The 
Food Act also provides for notices to be made for the same purposes (section 406(1)(m) ). 
 
The meaning of safety and suitability  is defined in the Food Act as follows:  
 • Safety  means a condition in  which food, in terms of its intended use, is unlikely to cause 
or lead to illness or injury to human life or public health.  
• Suitability  means a condition in which the composition, labelling, identification, and 
condition  of the food are appropriate to foo d in terms of its intended use.  
 In addition , the Food Act provides for  regulations  and notices (section 405 and 406)  to be 
made setting out : 
• controls, restrictions, requirements, and prohibitions, including provisions about how a 
food sector must manage o r deal with risks that arise from trading in food ; 
• requir ements for persons to demonstrate competency, to undergo appropriate training, and 
the provision of training by operators for staff ; 
• requir ements for samples and tests to be carried out ; and  
• manag ement of risks to public health . 
 
Sections  405 and 406 enable the MPI chief executive to issue  notices  for broadly the same 
purposes.  
 
Section  383 enables regulations to be made setting standards in relation to food  that specify 
the criteria that all or any o f the following must meet to ensure that food is safe and suitable, 
including:  
• the sampling and testing of food to determine its safety or suitability ; 
• the production of food ; 
• the processing and handling of food ; 
• the selling of food ; 
• the importation of food;  
• the identification and labelling of food ; 
• the promotion and advertising of food ; 
• information about food ; 
• the genetic modification of food ; 
• the chemical status of food ; 
• the maximum amounts of contaminants or residues that may be present in food ; 
• the maxi mum or minimum amounts of additives or other substances that must or may be 
present in food ; 
• substances in food ; 
• the control or elimination of hazards from food ; and  
• any other matter that affects the safety or suitability of food . 
Regulations in relation t o food standards are covered in section 8 of this document.  
The reasons for setting requirements for s afety and suitability in regulation  
The reasons for setting safety and suitability requirements in regulation are to: 
• protect the consumer ; 
• achieve consis tency with other food legislation administered by MPI ;  
38 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
• give certainty and clarity for food businesses ;  
• give certainty and clarity for evaluators and verifiers ;  
• give certainty and clarity for regula tors and  provid e a basis and  ability on which to take 
action ; 
• achieve consistency with the a pplication of C odex8 principles  and alignment with 
international legislation  and best practice;  and  
• incorporate  the latest knowledge to ach ieve safe and suitable food .  
Proposed regulations for requirements about food safety and suitability  
Requirements  are proposed that cover the following aspects  of food businesses : 
• places, facilities, equipment and essential services ; 
• supporting systems ; 
• people ; 
• ingredients and other inputs ; 
• production, processing and handling;  
• finished products ; 
• documents, records and reports ;  
• corrective action ; and  
• sampling and testing . 
 
Some of the suggestions below include descriptions of where further requirements may be set.  
These are highlighted as “For separate consultation” and are included for information  only at 
this stage . Where such additional requirements are considered necessary , MPI will carry out 
targeted consultation on proposals separately with the affected persons or organisations .  
Regulations  that relate to places, facilities, eq uipment and essential services  
Regulation s are proposed  to require food business operators to ensure the places where food is 
produced, processed, handled and sold are suitable for th is purpose ; whether or not they set 
up, own or manage the place.  
 
“Place s” have been defined in the Food Act to include :  
• any premises, a building, a  temporary or permanent structure, a stall, a conveyance, a craft, 
a vehicle, a bulk cargo container; and  
• any land, water or other area where food is produced or may be present.  
 
“Production ”, in relation to anything used as food or from which food is derived, includes 
farming, raising, growing, harvesting, extracting, and gathering.  
 
The meaning given to “ processing and handling ” under the Food Act includes any one  or 
more of the  following:  
• preparing the food ; 
• manufacturing the food ; 
• packing the food ; 
• labelling the food ; 
• transporting the food ; 
• storing the food ; 
• displaying the food ; and  
• serving the food . 
8 International food safety standards are co -ordinate d through the Codex Alimentarius Commission ( codex alimentarius  is La tin for ‘food 
code ’). New  Zealand  is an active participant.  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 39                                                  
The purpose of the proposed re gulation s is to ensure that food places are fit for purpose and to 
manage risks relating to contamination  or deterioration to the extent to which the food 
becomes unsafe or unsuitable, or there are unacceptable residues in the food.   
 
Places  used for food are proposed to  be designed, constructed and lo cated so that they:  
• are appropriate for the type of food activities taking place;   
• help protect food from the risk of contamination;   
• enable hazards to be effectively controlled  or minimised, as appropriate, including the 
protection of food against cross -contamination between and during operations ; and  
• facilitate the effective implementation of supporting systems.  
 
Regulations for places used for food are proposed to include : 
• design and location  to ensure that such places are suitable with regard to : 
- their proximity to incompatible sites and land uses (e.g. spray drift, effluent or 
industrial discharges from neighbouring activities);  
- run-off, flood water, irrigation water, or other environmental contaminants that could 
introduce hazards; and  
- any prior use s that could result in contamination or unacceptable residues in the food ; 
• construction and finishes to ensure they are not a source of food contamination ; 
• effective maintenance, cleaning  and sanitising ; 
• pest control;  
• capacity and capability, including spa ce to carry out tasks with regard to food safety , and 
process flow to protect against cross contamination;  
• faciliti es for hand washing and drying, and appropriate amenities that are readily  
accessible ; and 
• storage for chemicals, cleaning materials and equi pment, clothing and personal 
belongings . 
 
Facilities, equipment  and essential services used for food will be required to be appropriate 
to enable hazards to be effectively controlled, including the protection of food against cross -
contamination . They would  have to  also be designed, constructed, located and installed to:  
• be of sanitary design and minimise contamination of food ; 
• meet the capability and capacity of the business ;  
• provide an environment  that maintains food safety  (e.g. it control s temperature,  remove s 
moisture, preven ts the build -up of mo ulds etc ); 
• be capable of being effectively maintained ; 
• be capable of being effectively cleaned, sanitised and sterilised, where needed ;  
• prevent harbourage of pests ;  
• minimise harbourage of pathogens ; and  
• provi de: 
- water which is fit for purpose;  
- sewage and wastewater systems, where relevant ; 
- storage for  food waste, rubbish and recyclable matter ; and 
- appropriate ventilation and sufficient lighting . 
 
40 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
 
For separate  consultation:   
Specific requirements for places,  facilities, equipment and essential services may be set where 
necessary.  The requirements may include issues such as:  
• limiting processing to certain areas (e.g. separation may be necessary for certain high risk, 
novel or ready -to-eat foods);  
• placing limi tations around the use of certain equipment for certain tasks (e.g. where there 
are both raw and ready -to-eat foods); and  
• requiring identification of equipment (including that used for cleaning, maintenance, 
handling and processing), where necessary to min imise cross- contamination of food ( e.g. 
with allergens ). 
Regulations that relate to w ater at places used for food 
Regulations are proposed for food businesses  to have an adequate supply of water of an 
appropriate quality for the purpose for which the wate r is to be used ; for example , irrigating  
crops, as an ingredient in food , as a processing aid, or for cleaning.  The business will also be 
required to ensure that the reticulation system is fit for purpose .  
 
General requirements for water w ould include:  
• that all water and water products are fit for purpose;  for example :  
- ice and steam;  
- re-used and re -circulated water;  
- water used at temporary or mobile food places;  
- water from particular sources or used for particular purposes;  
- at an appropriate temperature (where this is specified) ;  
• regular maintenance and checks on water supply and the reticulation and storage system, 
to ensure they operate as intended;  
• treatment of water that may not be fit for purpose (e.g. is not sourced from a town supply, or where  a council issue d a boil water notice), and effective monitoring of the treatment 
process, where necessary; and  
• keeping records where treatment, monitoring and testing of water are required.  
 
What do you think?  
29. Are these proposed requirements sufficient to m anage food safety and suitability as it 
applies to places, facilities, equipment and essential services? If not, please identify 
the additional requirements needed, and explain why . 
 
Regulations  that relate to supporting systems  
A regulation is proposed  to require all food businesses to have in place effective systems for:  
• cleaning and sanitising ;  
• maintenance of places , facilities and equipment ;  
• control of pests;   
• waste control; and  
• storage, identification and use of chemicals and other  maintenance compo unds . 
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 41 Documentation or records relating to the implementation and management of supporting 
systems will be required to be kept.  
Cleaning and sanitising  
A regulation is proposed  to ensure that effective and appropriate cleaning  and sanitising 
(where neces sary)  is carried out to:  
• remove food residues , dirt and harmful organisms, which may be a source of food 
contamination; and  
• prevent attraction of pests.  
 
The requirements are proposed to  cover:  
• the manner in which cleaning and sanitising (where necessary ) needs to be managed;  
• the use of appropriate cleaning and sanitising chemicals and equipment;  
• monitoring the suitability and effectiveness of the cleaning programme;  
• specific requirements, where appropriate, for:  
- cleaning frequencies or processes for par ticular food activities (such as allergen 
management and handling cooked foods after raw foods);  
- the type of cleaning and sanitising chemicals and equipment that can/can not be used ; 
- testing in certain circumstances, or in relation to a particular pathogen strategy ; e.g. 
environmental testing, or testing of product -contact surfaces; and  
• where necessary to demonstrate compliance, a documented procedure and records must be 
kept.  
Maintenance of places, facilities and equipment  used for food 
All places , faciliti es and equipment  will be required to be  kept in an appropriate st ate of repair 
and condition to:  
• facilitate clea ning and sanitising procedures;  
• function as intended ; and  
• prevent contamination of food, (e.g. from flaking plaste r, poorly maintained or defective 
equipment  or utensils) . 
 
Food business operators  will be required  to: 
• use equipment that is appropriate for tasks;  
• maintain, calibrate and operate measuring equipment (e.g. temperature probes, pressure 
gauges, pH meters), to provide accurate measurem ents about the conditions affecting the 
safety of food;  
• identify which measurements are considered to be critical for  determining the safety of  
particular foods or food processes;  
• ensure maintenance activities are not a source of contamination: and  
• where n ecessary , to demonstrate compliance, keep documented procedures  and records.   
 
For separate  consultation:   
Where necessary, technical details may be specified for measurement, calibration and 
maintenance of critical measuring equipment.   
Control of pests  
A regulation is proposed for  food business operators to have effective systems in place to : 
• control pests (e.g. rodents, insects, birds) in a way that does not result in contamination;  
42 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
• eliminate potential breeding sites ; and 
• prevent the build -up of food, water and organic waste material that may encourage pest 
harbourage and infestation . 
 
This is because pests are a source of contamination of the food, food -related accessories or 
any surfaces that are in contact with the food. The require ment  is proposed  that the food 
business regularly conduct s an inspection for pests , or evidence of pests , and takes  
appropriate corrective action where necessary.  
 
Where necessary to demonstrate compliance, a documented procedure and records will need 
to be kept.  
Waste cont rol 
A regulation is proposed for  food business es to  collect , store  and dispose  of waste in ways 
that prevent it from : 
• contaminating inputs, water supplies , equipment  and the processing environment;  
• attracting pests ; and  
• being mistaken for food . 
 
Waste will be required  to be disposed of hygienic ally, as it  is a potential source of 
contamination and attracts pests . 
 Where necessary to demonstrate compliance, a documented procedure and records will need 
to be kept.  
Storage, identification  and use of chemicals and maintenance compounds  
A regulation is proposed whereby chemicals and maintenance compounds (which are used for maintaining, repairing, servicing, cleaning or sanitising appliances or exposed surfaces or for 
pest control) will be required to be:  
• appropr iate for the task (e.g. they are safe to use with food or on surfaces with which food 
comes into contact);  
• stored, handled and used so they remain effective;  
• stored, handled and used in a manner that minimises the risk of contaminating inputs , 
food-related  accessories, or the water supply. Th is requirement would apply to all 
processes, inc luding transportation of food; and  
• appropriately labelled and not store d in containers that may cause them to be mistaken for 
food.  
 Where necessary to demonstrate complia nce, a documented procedure and records will need 
to be kept.  
 
What do you think?  
30. Are these proposed requirements sufficient to manage food safety and suitability as it 
applies to supporting systems? If not, please identify the additional requirements 
needed, and explain why.  
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 43 Regulations  that relate to people  
All people involved in the production, processing and handling of food  will be required  to 
follow good hygienic practices so they do not contaminate inputs  or food -related accessories  
or other items .  
 
This requirement  is necessary because people who do not maintain an appropriate degree of 
personal cleanliness, who have certain illnesses or conditions, or who behave inappropriately can contaminate food and transmit illness to consumers.  
 “People ” refers to anyone who may come  directly or indirectly into contact with food and 
includes contractors, tradespeople, suppliers , visitors  and others who have access to the places 
where food is produced, processed or handled .  
 The regulation will include  provi sions that relate to:  
• the control of contamination arising from a person ’s skin, hair, nails, and outer clothing;  
• the control of contamination arising from a person ’s personal effects (e.g. bags, watches 
and jewellery);  
• as far as practicable, the behaviou r of staff, visitors, contractors and other people while on 
site to ensure they do not cont aminate or adulterate the food.  
 
A regulation is  proposed for  food business operators to:  
• inform all people working at the business, including commercial visitors an d tradespeople, 
of their personal hygiene obligations ; 
• where necessary, require appropriate protective clothing or other personal protective 
equipment be worn ; and  
• keep records.  
 
Such a regulation is  proposed to apply when the food business operator:  
• becom es aware that a person is or may be suffering from , or carrying , certain illnesses that 
are likely to be transmitted through food;  and/or  
• knows or suspects that a food handler may be suffering from an infectious condition (e.g. 
has a weeping sore, or disch arge from the eyes, ears or nose)  that could contaminate food .  
 Where necessary to demonstrate compliance, a documented procedure and records will need 
to be kept.  
 
For separate  consultation:   
Further  requirements relevant to the food type and intended u se may be required; f or 
example:  
• food handlers who come into direct contact with exposed ready -to-eat food may have 
different requirements to those handling packaged food; and  
• access to high risk processing areas may require additional measures.  
 
 
44 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
 
What do you think?  
31. Are these proposed requirements sufficient to manage food safety and suitability as it 
applies to people?  
32. What requirements are necessary for people working with food who are suffering from 
illnesses that are likely to be transmitted throug h food?  
 
Regulations  that relate to ingredients and other inputs  
All food businesses  are proposed to be required  to take responsibility for ensuring that inputs 
including : 
• food; 
• ingredients and additives ; 
• processing aids ; 
• packaging ; and  
• other packaging -related accessories (e.g. moisture absorbers, gas for modified atmosphere 
packaging)  
are: 
• sourced from a reputable supplier ;  
• checked on receipt or before they are used to ensure that:  
- they appear to be safe and suitable for use; , and any hazard reasonably likely to be 
present is at an acceptable level (e.g. aflatoxin) ; 
- they are protected from contamination;  
- sufficient information is provided (i.e. on labels or accompanying documentation) to 
enable effective identification, storage and use;  
- they have been s tored, handled, and transported in a manner that minimises any 
potential contamination or deterioration; and  
- they are subject to inventory control, as appropriate.  
The proposed regulations will also set out the requirements in relation to goods that are 
rejected . 
 Where necessary to demonstrate compliance, a documented procedure and records will need 
to be kept.  
 
For separate  consultation:   
Specific requirements will outline any criteria that are critical to the safety and suitability of a 
particular input , for a particular use. For  example, horticultural packers may be required to 
obtain an assurance from the grower that the product has been tested for residue levels.  
 
Requirements for microbiological and chemical contaminants of foods are addressed under  
“Regulations that relate to finished products ” (page 50).  
 
Water: Requirements proposed for water used as an ingredient in food can be found under 
“Regulations  that relate to places, facilities, equipment and essential servi ces” (page 39). 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 45 Packaging  and related accessories  
The proposed regulations for  packaging and other food contact materials will require that:  
• packaging and related accessories  (e.g. gases , moisture absorbers) must , when 
manufac tured, be suitable for intended use, and remain so during subsequent storage and 
transport  e.g. not capable of imparting substances that may cause harm, distress or 
discomfort (such as heavy metal residues  or foreign matter );  
• packaging design and material s provide protection for  products to minimise 
contamination, prevent damage and enable proper labelling;  and 
• reusable packaging is suitably durable  and clean , and does not provide any misleading 
information (e.g. incorrect use-by dates on labels ). 
 
The com position and, where appropriate, the conditions of use of packaging will be required 
to comply with standards recognised as acceptable by MPI.  
 
The regulation will be outcomes  based and have the flexibility to accommodate developments 
in technology includi ng anti -microbial finishes and nanomaterials for food contact uses.  
Identification and traceability 
The ability to identify and trace the location of food is critical in identifying the location of 
potentially unsafe or unsuitable food and recalling this to prevent it from being consumed.  It 
is important that there is an ability to trace unsafe or unsuitable food rapidly through the food 
chain to help achieve this .  
 Consequently , food business  operators will be required to have and implement traceability  
systems.  These traceability  systems need to cover, where applicable, the process from inputs 
through to sale, so that: 
• food manufacturers are able to trace an input from supplier  through processing and 
dispatch to the next recipient;  
• the next person in the  food chain has enough information to enable them to handle, store, 
prepare, process and display (as appropriate) the finished product in an appropriate 
manner ; 
• a lot or batch can be easily identified and recalled if necessary ; and  
• all food businesses are able to respond in the event of a product recall.  
 
Where necessary to demonstrate compliance, a documented procedure and records will need 
to be kept.  
 
For separate  consultation:   
Specific requirements relating to identification systems will be specified : for example , for 
appropriate systems, monitoring procedures and records for the use of chemicals, agri -
chemicals and compost materials.   
 
Traceability requirements proposed by the Dairy Traceability Working Group  
 
MPI has recently received a report from t he Dairy Traceability Working Group ( a joint 
industry/MPI working group) on proposed regulatory requirements to strengthen traceability 
for the dairy sector, in light of the Government Inquiry into the W hey Protein Concentrate  
(WPC)  contamination incident of August 2013. MPI will be considering the report and what 
46 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
traceability requirements should be in place for the dairy sector and other food sectors in 2015.  
Progression and implementation of this work will include stakeholder consultation.  
 
While internat ional requirements for traceability vary between countries, generally food 
businesses are required to keep records on a “ one up, one down ” basis : that is, maintaining 
records of who food was procured from, where it is currently and who it was sold to. Simi lar 
requirements are currently in place in New  Zealand . 
 
At a high level, the Dairy Traceability Working Group has proposed the following traceability 
requirements for the dairy sector : 
• that operators of Risk Management Programmes under the Animal Products  Act 1999 ( or 
as applicable, Food Safety Programmes under the Food Act 1981) have and implement a 
traceability system that keeps records on a “ one up, one down ” basis at the lot or batch 
level ; 
• a requirement that traceability information be provided electr onically on demand to the 
MPI or independent verification agency as quickly as possible w ithin 24 hours or as 
specified , and in a standard data format that is directly accessible and intelligible ; 
• companies hold practical tests of traceability processes an d that these be independently 
verified where a product recall has not taken place in th e preceding 12 months ; and  
• that these traceability requirements are reviewed three years after they are implemented  or 
earlier should a significant traceability event ne gatively affect “Brand New  Zealand ”. 
 
 
What do you think?  
33. Are these proposed requirements sufficient to manage food safety and suitability as it 
applies to ingredients and other inputs? If not, please identify the additional 
requirements needed, and expl ain why.  
34. What current traceability systems does your food business operate?  Do you consider 
that implementing the proposed traceability requirements will be costly  to implement? 
If so, please provide an indication of the costs, and explain why.  
Regulation s that relate to production, processing and handling  
All food businesses will need to  have adequate control throughout their business for the 
consistent produc tion of  safe and suitable food. A  regulation  is proposed that  will set out 
minimum requirements for production, processing and handling, such as appropriate process 
control and corrective action s.  
 This regulation is necessary to ensure that businesses minimise the risk of contamination or 
deterioration of food on receipt and during production, proce ssing and handling, as 
applicable.  
 
To ensure food is safe and suitable, it is proposed that a regulation requires  food business  
operators to:  
• protect food from contamination (refer to proposals on regulations for  supporting 
systems) ; 
• effectively control f ood processing parameters;  
• regularly monitor that processing and handling practices operate as intended; and  
where appropriate:  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 47 • design and implement production, processing and handling practices;  
• supervise food processing and handling practices;  
• have syste ms in place to monitor specific food safety and suitability factors;  
• check finished products for food safety hazards ; 
• document procedures and keep records; and  
• take corrective action.  
Control of hazards  
Biological hazards : microbiological hazard control  
A regulation is proposed to  require that the food business operator takes all practicable 
measures to :  
• eliminate or control the level of any micro -organisms , particularly harmful pathogens, that 
may be present on the food for example  through processes such  as:  
- heat treatment ; 
- chilling and freezing ; 
- fermentation and acidification ; 
- drying and concentration ; 
- high pressure processing ; and  
• protect the food from the likelihood of contamination at any stage.   
 
This regulation is necessary because pathogenic micro -organisms may be present in food and 
can be transferred from one food to another (e.g. from raw to cooked food), either by direct contact between the foods or by contact with shared surfaces . 
 
For separate  consultation:   
Further r equirements about managi ng the level of pathogens in food may also be identified 
either:  
• proactively, as part of a strategic approach ; or  
• as a consequence of a food -borne event involving a particular organism.  
 
Where necessary, requirements would specify the type s of food, the p articular organisms of 
interest, and the level (if any) at which they might be permitted in the food.  
 
Biological hazards: t ime and temperature control  
In addition to the general requirements above, there will be a requirement that the temperature 
of the food is controlled effectively wherever it is critical to the food’s safety and /or 
suitability.  
When processing and handling food that will not undergo further pathogen control s, the time 
the food remains at temperatures that permit the growth of  pathogeni c micro -organisms  must 
be minimised.  
 To support innovation, these requirements will  provide  for equivalent alternatives  to be 
employed . 
 
This regulation is necessary to ensure that bacteria do not get a chance to multiply to 
dangerous levels or to form t oxins.   
48 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
 
For separate  consultation:   
Further requirements  setting out time and temperature requirements for particular foods or 
processes  may also be set, for example:   
• reheating ; 
• hot holding;   
• pasteurisation ; and   
• post-heat treatment cooling . 
 
 
Physical  and chemical hazard control  
Allergen s: Regulation will require that there is a system in place to ensure allergenic food is 
effectively separated from other foods, either physically or by time, with effective cleaning 
between processes and , where necessar y, sanitation.  
 
Physical:  The provisions will require that the operator takes all practicable measures to  
control physical hazards that are reasonably likely to occur ; e.g. foreign matter  (such as  glass , 
metal  or stones) . In manufacturing and processing, suitable detection or screening devices will 
be required  where appropriate.  
 Chemical: Requirements proposed for managing chemical hazards from cleaning chemicals , 
pest control chemicals  and maintenance compounds used in the business are addressed in 
“Regulations  that relate to supporting systems ” (page 41).  
 
Requirements proposed for managing chemical contaminants in ingredients and other inputs 
are addressed in “Regulations  that relate to finished products ” (page 50). 
Validation  
Validation is a process by which evidence is obtained to demonstrate that food will be safe.  
Food business o perator s can demonstrate to the registration authority that food will be safe by 
showing  that a regulatory limit  has been met.  Where there is no regulatory  limit relevant to a 
food safety hazard , the operator  has to identify a limit  that will address the hazard.   
 The requirement to validate  would typically apply  when an operator is  introducing a new 
cooking or proc essing step, or is applying a new technolog y (e.g. high pressure processing), 
or is developing novel pro ducts, processes and packaging.   
 
A regulation is proposed  to require the food business operator to:  
• identify the relevant critical, regulatory or opera tor-defined limits that need to be validated 
for each food (or food group), packaging and hazard combination;  and 
• obtain evidence to demonstrate that the process is eff ective at managing that hazard.  
 Where that evidence is not yet available, the operator will be required to develop a validation 
protocol  and submit it to a n evaluator.  
 
The validation protocol is likely to include:  
• types of evidence to be collected to d emonstrate limits  that ensure safety  have been met;  
• trial design,  implementation  and time frame;  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 49 • options for the management  of the food until the effectiveness of the plan has been 
demonstrated;  and 
• analysis and reporting of results . 
 
What do you think?  
35. Are these proposed requirements sufficient to manage food safety and suitability as it 
applies to production processing and handling? If not, please identify the additional 
requirements needed, and explain why.  
 
Regulations that relate to finished products   
A regulation is proposed to require that food is safe and suitable as appropriate for it s 
intended use, and is suitably packaged and identified for sale. The regulation  will require that 
the finished product meets:  
• regulatory or operator -defined requirements for biological, chemical, and physical hazards; 
and 
• the requirements for importing an d selling food.  
  
Requirements will be set,  where necessary , for: 
• finished product par ameters ; 
• monitoring products to identify that they meet requirements essential to achieve or 
maintain food safety or suitability (e.g. final pH);  
• check ing of finished pro ducts to ensure they meet safety and suitability requirements  (e.g. 
foreign matter, microbiological and/or chemical testing) ;  
• carrying out checks at sufficient frequency to verify that the food is safe or suitable;  
• keeping records to provide evidence tha t the finished product meets the requirements  for 
safety and suitability ; and  
• monitoring  to ensure consistency of approach and provision of information to the 
regulator for management of certain hazards.   
Composition 
Food composition requirements are cover ed by the Australia New  Zealand  Food Standards 
Code.  No further requirements are necessary at this stage.  
Labelling  
Labelling  standards are generally covered in the Australia New  Zealand  Food Standards 
Code. Additional requirements are proposed under the Food Act when:  
• food is not intended , or is not fit  for human consumption ; e.g. when  it is downgraded to 
pet food. In this case it must be clearly identified to ensure consumers are aware of this.  
The regulations  will also require that there is no  false or misleading representation of food 
concerning its:  
• source ; 
• characteristics  (e.g. its health benefits) ; 
• safety and suitability in relation to intended use ; 
• composition ; 
• ingredients or other constituents ; or 
• proportion of ingredients or other constituents . 
 
50 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
The above requirements are covered by the Fair Trading Act 1986 but they need to be 
reiterated in food safety legislation to ensure that r egulators have the right t o verify and 
enforce compliance.   
Identification and traceability  
The identification and tra ceability requirements given under “Regulations that relate to 
ingredients and other inputs : Identification and traceability ” (page 46) include requirements 
for finished product.   
Finished product parameters : microbiological r equirements 
Food must  comply with Food Standards Australia New  Zealand , Standard 1.6.1 –  
Microbiological Limits for Food , where it applies .  
A regulation is proposed to require that, where there is no microbiological standard for a 
particular food, the operator is required to provide evidence that the food is safe, including by 
undertaking sampling and testing of the product, if necessary . 
For separate  consultation:   
Sector or process -specific requirements setting microbiological levels or requirements at 
specified points in the food chain may be developed in certain circumstances (e.g. for high 
risk products or as a result of pathogen control strategies).   
Finished product parameters : chemical requirements  
Food must  comply with the applicable Food Standar ds Code requirements, the New  Zealand  
(Maximum Residue Limits of Agricultural Compounds) Food Standards 2014, and any 
specific chemical limits in  specific food standards.  
 
For separate  consultation:   
Requirements may be developed in certain circumstances (e.g. for high risk products) setting 
chemical levels to ensure that food is safe.  
 
Finished product parameters : physical requirements  
The Food  Act determines that food is unsuitable if it contains a chemical or biological agent, 
or other substance or thing that is foreign to the nature of the food  (section 12(5)) . 
Standards in relation to f oods  
Food standards made under the Food Act  1981 will  continue to apply  under the new regime.  
Food standards are discussed in section 8 of th is document.   
 
These include:  
• New  Zealand  Food (Supplemented Food) Standard 2010  
• Food (Uncooked Comminuted Fermented Meat) Standard 2008  
• New  Zealand  (Mandatory Fortification of Bread with Folic Acid) Food Standard 2007  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 51 • New  Zealand  (Bee Produ ct Warning Statements  – Dietary Supplements) Food Standards 
2002  
• Food (Tutin in Honey) Standard 20 10 and its 2011 amendment (currently under review) .  
 
Standards and sp ecifications made under other relevant legislation also apply where relevant ; 
for example, Animal Products (Raw Milk Products Specifications) Notice 2009.  It is expected 
that these standards will continue under the new regime.   
 
For separa te consultation:   
Further food standards may be developed as necessary to address food safety or suitability 
issues.  
 
What do you think?  
36. Are these requirements sufficient to manage food safety and suitability as it applies to 
finished products? If not, please identify the additional requirements needed, and 
explain why.  
 
Regulations  that relate to documents, records and reports  
Documentation outlines what the business will “do” to ensure safe and suitable food. Records 
keep note of what the business has  “done ” (refer to the “Reporting ” section below).  
Document  control  
The documents that must be  kept will differ depending on the risk- based measure that applies 
to the sector . Documents  will be required  to be:  
• legible;  
• complete;  
• accurate;  
• dated or mar ked to identify the version;  
• authorised prior to use, either directly or within the document control system, by:  
- the operator; or  
- the day -to-day manager of the programme; or  
- a person nominated to do so in the programme ’s document control system;  
• kept for  four years; and  
• readily accessible to any person with responsibilities under the programme.  
Record  keeping  
Accurate and complete records  must be available t o have confidence in the food supply , and 
show due diligence in the event of a food safety or suita bility issue arising.  
Records will need to  include:  
• the date (and where appropriate the time) of the activity; and  
• a description of the results of the activity; and  
• a means to identify the person or persons who performed the activity.  
 
Records will need to  be kept for four years.  
52 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
Reporting 
A regulation is proposed  requiring reports  to be made when  breaches of the Food Act occur, 
or emerging issues arise. This  reporting  will give the regulator confidence that the issue is 
being  addressed  and appropriate corr ective action is being  taken .  
 
A food business operator must notify either the MPI chief executive or the territorial authority  
of any :  
• breaches of requirements (e.g. critical non -compliances ); or 
• emerging, new or exotic biological hazards or new chemica l hazards that come to the 
operator ’s notice as soon as practical after their discovery.  
 
A regulation is proposed  to define breaches ( i.e. critical non -compliances ) that need to be 
reported by the operator to the regulator.  
 
What do you think?  
37. From your  perspective are these requirements sufficient to manage food safety and 
suitability as it applies to documents, records and reports? If not, please identify the 
additional requirements needed, and explain why.  
 
Regulations that relate to corrective actio n 
Food business operators will be required to have , and effectively implement , a system to 
prepare for, mitigate, and effectively deal with  non-complying food  (e.g. contains undeclared 
allergens) and the impact of emergencies (e.g. earthquakes) on food saf ety and suitability.  
 
The system must enable non- complying foods to be rapidly identified, controlled  and 
assessed.  The nature of non -complying products will need to  be determined by a suitably 
skilled person based on an assessment of facto rs such as:  
• product safety and suitability;  
• the quantity of product affected;  
• whether the product has been released for distribution or not; and  
• whether it can be reprocessed to a safe product or disposed of.  
 
A recall procedure will be required by all food businesses,  except those whose food is 
intended for immediate consumption. However, these business es may be part of another 
business ’s recall, so should be familiar with recall requirements and be prepared to respond to 
recalls initiated by others.   
 
The recall procedure will need to  include:  
• the criteria for deciding w hen a recall will be initiated;  
• how affected food or food -related accessories will be identified; and  
• how retrieval and management  of the relevant food will be carried out.  
 Food business operator s will be required  to report the recall  to the following : 
• the MPI c hief executive; and  
• the verifier or the verification agency.  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 53  
What do you think?  
38. From your perspective are these requirements sufficient to manage food safety and 
suitability as it applies to corrective action? If not, please identify the additional 
requirements needed, and explain why.  
 
Regulations that relate to sampling and testing  
Regulation s are proposed requiring operators to:  
• examine and/or sample and test any food, food inputs or food -related accessories to 
demonstrate or confirm whether food safety and suitability requirements are being met ; 
• take appropriate corrective action if, as a result of examination, sampling and testing, food 
is found to be unsafe or unsuitable for its intende d use;  and 
• keep records to demonstrate the appropriate steps have been taken.  
 This may be to confirm a process is working is as intended, the product meets microbiological 
or chemical specifications, or to identify where a process or practice intended to keep food safe or suitable has failed .
 
 
Specific requirements are proposed : 
• for sampling and testing in food activities/processes where there is a particular need to be 
addressed (e.g. the presence of Listeria  in a ready -to-eat product , tutin in honey, mar ine 
biotoxins in seafood ); 
• requiring testing in certain circumstances, or in relation to a  particular pathogen strategy 
(e.g. testing of product -contact surfaces for presence of Listeria  in areas used for post -
processed ready -to-eat meats) ; 
• requiring  appro priate corrective action  be taken  as a result of the examination, sampling or 
testing ; and 
• requiring exception reporting of the results to the regulator.   
 
What do you think?  
39. From your perspective are these requirements sufficient to manage food safety an d 
suitability as it applies to sampling and testing? If not, please identify the additional 
requirements needed, and explain why.  
40. Where or when do you think sampling and testing should be a requirement?  
 
Regulations that relate to competency and training   
It is proposed that regulation s be made to require food business operators to:  
• ensure that anyone working with food:  
- follows good operating practices ; and   
- has competency relevant to their role,  or is under direct supervision of a competent 
person ; and  
• take corrective action (e.g. re- training) when required to maintain food safety and 
suitability.  
 
54 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
Where necessary to demonstrate compliance, a documented procedure and records must be 
kept.  
 
For separate  consultation:   
Requirements will be set for food se ctors or processes where specific competencies are 
required, for example:  
 
Sectors  
• manufacturers of high risk foods (e.g. commercially sterilised foods, dairy products; meat, 
poultry or fish products; chilled ready -to-eat foods), and foods for vulnerable populations ;  
• within the horticulture sector e.g. composting, use of agrichemicals, hydroponics, 
harvesting, post -harvest treatments, water treatment . 
Processes:  
• heat treatment ;  
• reheating ready -to-eat foods, holding hot foods, cooling hot foods ; 
• fermentati on or acidification for preservation ; 
• hurdle technologies, e.g. smoking;  
• high pressure processing ; 
• environmental pathogen management, e.g. listeria, salmonella ; 
• novel processes and technologies (e.g. pulsed electric field) .  
 
 
 
What do you think?  
41. If thes e requirements are not sufficient to manage food safety and suitability as it 
applies to competency and training, please identify the additional requirements 
needed, and explain why.  
 
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 55 5 Recognised agencies, persons, and classes of 
persons  
 
Key issues  
The Food Act  provides that recognition may be granted to agencies and persons  if the 
applicant is considered to be a fit and proper person to carry out the functions for which 
recognition is sought . The term “fit and proper ” may include consideration of the  
applicant ’s competencies, qualifications, experience, and  their character and reputation.   
 
The Food Act also sets out the duties that apply to recognised agencies and recognised 
persons.  These duties define the high level performance expectatio ns that will apply to 
the agency or person in the course of carrying out their functions.  
 
However, the Food Act does  not provide any detail on many of the requirements of 
recognition.  
Objectives  
Regulations are necessary to clarify expectations and to help recognis ed agencies and 
persons to better undertake their duties. The objectives in establishing regulations are to:  
• identify requirements and competencies that will allow confirmation that agencies 
and individuals seeking recognition are “ fit and proper ”; 
• ensure that the skills and competencies of recognised agencies reflect the range of 
food preparation and activities and the associated levels of food safety risk; and  
• give transparency and consistency to the recognition process and provide more 
certainty for agen cies and persons about what is required of them if they want to be 
recognised.  
Alternative approaches  
Recognised agencies and persons will provide assurances about the safety and suitability 
of all food for sale in New Zealand . 
 
Many of the proposals in  this section are of a technical nature and deal with the 
management systems and/or competency requirements considered necessary for an 
agency or person to gain recognition.  
 
We would be interested to know how well you think the proposals will help to achi eve 
the identified objectives or whether you think these could be better achieved in a 
different way . 
56 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
5.1 What the Act says  
5.1.1 The roles of r ecognised agenc ies and recognised person s 
Under the Food Act, agencies, persons, and classes of persons may be recognised  to carry out 
functions and activities  in relation to risk -based food safety measures.  The Food Act also 
directly recognises territorial authorities as the agencies responsible for certain verification 
functions in their districts . 
The permissible function s and activities of a recognised agency, person, or class of persons 
are defined by the Food Act as including:  
• verification functions and activities in relation to risk -based measures (i.e. food cont rol 
plans, national programmes) ; 
• other verification funct ions and activities ; 
• the provision of independent evaluations of the validity of custom food control plans . 
 Except for territorial authorities recognised by the Food Act (see below), agencies, persons and classes of persons will be recognised by the MPI chief executive.  Recognised agencies 
and persons will be able to provide services to food businesses operating under any or all of the following:  
• a national programme ; 
• a food control plan issued on a n industry -generated template (section 40) ; 
• a food control plan on a  template issued by the MPI chief executive (section 39), relating 
to a business that does not operate entirely within the district of a single territorial 
authority, and/or does not sell food primarily directly to consumers ; and/or  
• a custom foo d control plan.  
 If a territorial authority wishes to provide services to these businesses it must apply for 
recognition, and demonstrate that it meets the requirements of recognition, in the same 
manner as any other recognised agency (refer to section 5.1.4).  
Statutory recognition of territorial authorities  
Under the Food Act (section 137) only the relevant district ’s territorial authority may 
“manage and carry out verification functions and activities” for food  businesses that:  
• operate under a template food control plan ; and 
• operate entirely within the district of the territorial authority ; and 
• sell food primarily directly to consumers.  
 
A territorial authority may contract only with another territorial authorit y to carry out these 
verification functions and activities.  
 
The MPI chief executive must review the operation of territorial authorities in this role as 
soon as practicable after the expiry of the Food Act’s introductory period (proposed as 
30 June 2019) and consider whether the provisions of section 137 should be retained, 
amended or repealed.  
5.1.2 Verification  
As noted earlier in this document  (section 4.2.2 Verification requirements for food control 
plans and national programmes) , verification is a process d esigned to confirm that a food 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 57 business operates in accordance with the requirements of its risk -based measure and with the 
applicable requirements of the Food Act. Verification therefore helps to ensure that food 
businesses produce, manufacture, process o r prepare safe and suitable food.  
 Businesses that undertake only food importing activities will not be subject to a risk -based 
measure but must still be verified.  Normal verification activity for food importers will focus 
on ensuring that the business co mplies with its relevant duties and requirements under  the 
Food Act.  
Identifying the verifier for your food business  
Food businesses that operate with a food control plan that is fully  based on a template issued 
by the MPI chief executive and that meet cer tain other requirements must have their business 
verified by their territorial authority.  
 
Other food businesses operating to risk -based measures, and food importers, will be able to 
choose a verifier from the public register that will be published on MPI ’s website.  
5.1.3 Evaluation 
The Food Act requires an application for registration of a food control plan that is not based on an official template or model  (that is , a custom food control plan)  to include a report of an 
independent evaluation of the validity of  the plan (unless that requirement is waived by the 
MPI chief executive).  (More information on the evaluation process and proposed regulations 
is set out in section 4.2.1 Registration requirements for food control plans and national programmes.)  
 Only an  agency or person so recognised by the MPI chief executive may undertake an 
independent evaluation.  
How does a food business choose an evaluator? 
Food businesses wis hing to operate under a custom food control plan  will be able to choose 
an evaluator from the  public register that will be published on MPI ’s website.   
5.1.4 Recognition of agencies, persons, and c lasses of persons  
The Food Act sets out the  processes through which an agency, person , or class of person s can 
be recognised to perform specified functions and activities . These are:  
• by application  (sections 135, 139, 141);  and 
• by the MPI chief executive without application  (sections 136,  140). 
 The MPI chief executive will grant recognition if satisfied that the applicant is “ fit and 
proper ” to carry out the specified functions and meets any other requirements of recognition.  
This will include confirming that the applicant meets the core requirements set in regulations 
(see section s 5.2.1 and 5.2.2 ) as well as considering other factors such as their character and 
reputation, and ability to maintain impartiality and independence.  
 
Not all agencies, persons, and classes of persons will be recognised to perform the same, or 
all, functions and activities.  The parameters of recognition for each party will be specifi ed in 
their notice of recognition and will depend on their demonstrated management or technical 
58 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
competencies, resources and the nature of the operations of the businesses they wish to 
evaluate or verify.  
 An individual may gain recognition to carry out cer tain functions and activities.  However, the 
chief executive may require ( section 139(2)(b) ) an individual who applies for recognition to 
be managed, employed, or engaged by a recognised agency as a condition of recognition.  It is 
possible for an individual  to be recognised both as a person and as an agency.  
 
The MPI chief executive may recognise certain government agencies, persons employed by a 
Public Service department or territorial authority, and classes of persons, without those parties 
needing to apply.  
Renewing  recognition  
The Food Act (section 150) provides for the MPI chief executive to specify the period of 
recognition.  Most recognised agencies and persons need to apply for renewal of their 
recognition at least one month before their recognition expires (section 151).   
The proposed requirements relating to the renewal of recognition are set out in section  5.2.8.  
Changing or suspending  recognition  
The MPI chief executive  may: 
• vary the conditions of recognition by writte n notice (section 147), after consulting the 
affected party ; and /or 
• suspend or withdraw recognition in certain circumstances (sections 158 -167).  
 The Food Act sets out the process for changing conditions of recognition and for suspending 
or withdrawing rec ognition. Therefore, t hese matters are not the subject of proposed 
regulations.  
Deemed recognition during the introductory  period  
The Food Act (section 435) provides that auditors who are approved to audit food safety 
programmes under section 8ZV of the Fo od Act 1981 are deemed to be recognised until either 
the expiry  of their current app ointment  or an earlier date nominated by the MPI chief 
executive.  The proposed t ransitional regulations pro vide that deemed recognition of approved 
auditors in auditing age ncies will end on the date of expiry of their current app ointment . 
 
The Food Act (section 436) also provides that agencies that manage auditors approved under 
section 8ZV of the Food Act 1981 are deemed to be recognised until a date nominated by the 
MPI ch ief executive.  The proposed t ransitional regulations pro vide that for territorial 
authorities this date is the end of the Food Act ’s introductory period (which is proposed as 
30 June 2019).  For all other agencies managing approved auditors the proposed dat e is 
30 June 2016.  
 
The proposals relating to deemed recognition are discussed in section 12 Transitional matters . 
Recognition under the Food Act for auditors approved under other legislation  
The Food Act (section 16) establishes principles to be applied w hen performing functions or 
duties, or exercising powers under the Food Act.  These principles include the need to 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 59 minimise compliance costs for food businesses, particularly those operating under a private or 
industry programme that achieves the purpose of  the Food Act.  
 A number of other sectors (e.g. health) have specific standards or industry programmes in 
place that operators must follow. Aspects of these standards or programmes may have 
interfaces with food legislation.  
 Compliance of operators with th eir applicable standards or industry programme is often 
audited by agencies or individuals who must also meet certain other requirements.  
 
To gain recognition as a verifier under the Food Act, auditors of other sectors ’ standards or 
industry programmes wil l be required to meet the same competency and related requirements 
as other recognised agencies and relevant to their role.  MPI will work with the relevant parties 
to identify where there are opportunities to link with existing requirements in order to minimise compliance costs.  
 Agencies and persons who are recognised under the Animal Products Act 1999 and/or the 
Wine Act 2003 must also gain recognition under the Food Act if they wish to provide 
verification or evaluation services to food businesses operat ing under risk -based measures.  
The proposals in this consultation document regarding management or competency requirements are generally consistent with the requirements under the other food legislation.  
5.2 Proposed regulations  
The Food Act provides that the following regulations may be made about recognised 
agencies, persons, and classes of persons : 
 
Table 6: Regulation -making powers in respect of recognised agencies, persons, and classes of 
persons under the Food Act  
Food Act referen ce Regulation -making provision  
Section 389(1)(a)  Prescribing requirements and procedures for the recognition and renewal 
of recognition of agencies, persons, and classes of persons  
Section 389(1)(b)  Prescribing competencies, qualifications, experience, o r other 
requirements that must be met: 
 in order for an agency, person, or class of persons to be recognised,  
by a recognised agency, person, or class of persons  
Section 389(1)(c)  Prescribing performance standards or other requirements that the 
recognised  agency, person or class of persons must meet when managing 
or carrying out their specified functions and activities under the Food Act  
Section 389(1)(d)  Prescribing any particulars that must be contained in the relevant public 
register  
 
Regulations are proposed to establish:  
• the competencies, qualifications and experience and related requirements expected of 
recognised agencies and persons ; 
60 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
• requirements and procedures for recognition; and  
• performance standards or other requirements that agencies, person s, and classes of 
persons recognised under the Food Act must meet in the course of carrying out their 
specified functions and activities.  
 Establishing these requirements in regulations will set a consistent national standard, give 
transparency to the reco gnition process , and provide more certainty for agencies and persons 
as to what is required of them if they want to be recognised.  
 
Regulations for recognised agencies, persons, and classes of persons will:  
• provide agencies and persons seeking recognition under the Food Act with a clear understanding of the requirements and procedures for the recognition and renewal of 
recognition ; 
• ensure that the skills and competencies required of recognised agencies and persons are appropriate and reflect the diverse ran ge of food preparation and service activities and the 
different levels of food safety risk associated with them ; 
• provide for transparency and national consistency for the recognition process ; 
• ensure that recognised agencies and persons are competent to per form the functions which 
they are recognised to perform; and  
• promote consumer  confidence in the safety of the food they eat.  
 
Differing functions of recognised agencies and recognised persons mean that differing 
management, competency, performance and related requirements are proposed for each 
group.  A recognised agency will be responsible for ensuring that its staff members hold any 
necessary technical and related competency requirements relevant to their area (or areas) of 
recognition.  A recognised person  will be required to demonstrate directly that they meet the 
specified requirement (for example , through holding a particular qualification).  
5.2.1 Proposed core requirements for recognised agencies  
A regulation is proposed to establish the core requirements that an agency must meet to demonstrate it  is “fit and proper ” to undertake the duties of a recognised agency under the 
Food Act (section 155).  The core requirements are set out below.  
Management of technical competencies  
Agencies must be able to:  
• manage the  agency ’s applicants  for recognition  (i.e. staff members applying to be 
recognised persons)  if applicable ; 
• ensure  that the agency ’s applicants for recognition are assessed against the competencies 
relevant to their proposed functions and activities ; 
• ensure  that key technical personnel are competent and able to co -ordinate their work with 
that of other recognised persons ; 
• manage their operations ; and  
• manage any cha nges in ownership or management.  
A documented Quality Management System (QMS)  
Agencies must hav e in place a documented Quality Management System that must  include 
the following:  
• management of the evaluation and/or verification service provided ; 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 61 • manag ement of staff including ensuring that only those staff with the appropriate technical 
competencies are assigned to a food premise ; 
• processes to manage workload ; 
• clear delegations of responsibility ; and  
• good review procedures . 
Management of potential conflicts of interest  
Agencies must have in place a system to manage potential conflicts of interest . The system  
must  include the following:  
• identification of risks ; and  
• a management plan for risks.  
  
Recognised agenci es will be required to demonstrate that they meet the core requirements to 
the extent appropriate to their level of recognition.  
5.2.2 Proposed  core  requir ements for recognised persons  
A regulation is proposed to establish the core requirements that a person must meet to help 
demonstrate that he or she  is “fit and proper ” to undertake the duties of a recognised person 
under the Food Act (section 156).  
Proposed requirements for persons ( verifi ers) 
The proposed core requirements for applicant verifiers are:  
• detailed knowledge of the relevant regulatory requirements (including the Food Act, Food 
Standards Code, and the relationship between risk -based measur es and other provisions 
for managing risks under the Food Act) ; 
• knowledge of the contents of, and requirements for, risk -based measures including the risk 
factors to be considered under those plans ; 
• knowledge of interfaces with other relevant legislation ( e.g. the Animal Products Act 
1999, Wine Act 2003) ; 
• detailed knowledge of good operating practice (e.g. management of hygiene, 
contamination, and pests) ; 
• knowledge of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) – identification and 
control of food s afety hazards that are reasonably likely to occur ; 
• general knowledge (e.g. knowledge of common products and processes), and technical knowledge of the industry or the sector for which activity endorsement is sought ; and  
• competency in performing audits . 
 Other requirements (e.g. specific technical competencies) may also apply to certain sectors or 
processes and may be set out in a notice (see section 5.2.3 for likely examples).  
Proposed requirements for persons (evaluators)  
The proposed core requirements for  applicant evaluators are:  
• detailed knowledge of the relevant regulatory requirements (including the Food Act, Food Standards Code, and the relationship between risk -based measures and other provisions 
for managing risks under the Food Act) ; 
• the contents o f food control plan s and the requirements on businesses operating under 
food control plans, including the risk factors to be considered under those plans ; 
62 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
• detailed knowledge of good operating practice (e.g. management of hygiene, 
contamination, and pests) ; 
• detailed knowledge of HACCP – identification and control of food safety hazards that are 
reasonably likely to occur ; 
• detailed knowledge (e.g. knowledge of common products and processes), and technical 
knowledge, of the industry or the sector for which act ivity endorsement is sought ; 
• the ability to recognise the need for and obtain additional technical input when required ; 
• knowledge of the design and construction of premises, facilities and processes ; and  
• competency in performing audits . 
 
Other requirements  (e.g. specific technical competencies) may also apply to certain sectors or 
processes and may be set out in a notice (see section 5.2.3 for likely examples).  
5.2.3 Possible sectors or processes where specific technical 
competency requirements may apply  
Examples  of the sectors and processes for which technical competencies are likely to be 
specified include:  
Sectors  
• manufacturing  of commercially sterilised food products (including aseptic processing and 
canning operations ); 
• manufacturing  of dairy products ; 
• manufa cturing  of food for vulnerable populations ;  
• manufacturing of meat, poultry or fish products  ; and  
• food importing . 
Processes  
• heat treatment (e.g. pasteurisation, extrusion, microwaving, water immersion, frying) ; 
• cooling of thermally processed (i.e. heat tr eated) products ; 
• processing chilled ready -to-eat foods (e.g. small goods, ready -to-eat meals, vegetable 
dips, seafood, pat é); 
• reheating ready -to-eat foods, holding hot foods, cooling hot foods ; 
• fermentation and a cidification for preservation ; 
• drying and co ncentration ; 
• refrigeration (chilling and freezing) ; 
• hurdle technologies (e.g. smoking) ; 
• high pressure processing ; 
• use of anti -microbial additives and processing aids (e.g. nitrates, nitrites, sulphites) ; 
• packaging technologies (e.g. vacuum packing, modifie d atmosphere packaging) ; 
• environmental pathogen management (e.g. listeria, salmonella) ; and  
• novel processes and technologies (e.g. pulsed electric field).  
Regulations about the Public Register  
The Food Act (section 389(1)(d) provides that regulations may be made to prescribe particulars about what must be contained in the public register of recognised agencies, 
persons and classes of persons.  Schedule 5 of the Food Act already contains detailed 
requirements in relation to this register.  Therefore, no regulations are proposed to be made at 
this time.  
  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 63  
What do you think?  
42. What else do you think should be included in the list of sectors or processes that may 
require specialist technical competencies?  What are the reasons for your views? 
43. Do you think verifiers  of food importing businesses should be required to meet the 
same core requirements as other verifiers?  What are the reasons for your views? 
44. What information do you think should be in the public register of recognised agencies, 
persons and classes of perso ns that is not already required by Schedule 5 of the Food 
Act?  
45.  Do you agree that regulations are necessary to set out the core requirements for 
recognised agencies and persons, or do you think there is a better way to meet the 
identified objectives?  What do you suggest instead and why?  
 
 
5.2.4 Proposed requirements for demonstration of the core 
requirements by agencies seeking and renewing  recognition  
It is proposed that:  
• agencies seeking (or renewing) recognition to manage and carry out the verification 
and/or  evaluation of businesses operating under the highest risk -based measure (custom 
food control plans) must hold accreditation to ISO 17020 ( see below ); and  
• agencies seeking (or renewing) recognition to manage and carry out all other verification 
functions a nd activities must demonstrate to the MPI chief executive that they meet the 
core requirements, to the extent relevant to their recognition (see below ). 
Why accreditation to ISO 17020 is proposed as a requirement for agencies wishing 
to evaluate and/or ver ify businesses operating to custom food control plans  
ISO 17020 is an international accreditation standard that sets requirements for inspection 
bodies that certify products, processes and services.  Accreditation to ISO 17020 includes 
assessment of processes, systems, resources (including staff competencies), agency independence, and processes for managing potential conflicts of interest.  
 Evaluation and verification of businesses operating to custom food control plans is identified 
as requiring demonstrati on of a higher level of competency by recognised agencies than will 
verification of food businesses operating under other types of food control plan or national programme.  This is because custom food control plans are likely to cover complex and/or 
unique operations, are tailored to the needs of each individual business, and have documented 
systems that will vary from operator to operator.  
 By comparison, food control plan templates are likely to cover large numbers of businesses 
within a range of food sect ors, meaning that a more standardised verification approach will be 
able to be taken.  In addition, template food control plans receive prior consideration or 
approval by the MPI chief executive and will only be released if the requirements are clearly 
docu mented.  
 The critical factors in proposing this regulation were the ability of the agency to:  
64 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
• apply technical knowledge and make a professional judgment about the effectiveness of 
the process being assessed and its ongoing appropriateness to meet regulato ry 
requirements ; 
• effectively manage the correction of non -compliance, including having a sound 
understanding of when it is necessary to alert the regulator to potential or actual problems ; 
• assess the ongoing competence of the business and its systems; and  
• maintain systems that provide ongoing assurance to the regulator.  
 
Other important considerations were:  
• ISO accreditation provides a robust, independent, assessment of an agency or person ’s 
processes, competencies and related requirements ; 
• the proposed req uirement is consistent with the requirements of some similar functions 
under the Animal Products Act and Wine Act ( see Table 7 ); 
• most third party auditing companies already have accreditation to ISO 17020 or perfor m 
to that standard ;  
• the proposal does not preclude the MPI chief executive from requiring additional specialist competencies, relevant to the sector or process for which recognition is sought ; 
and 
• assessment and accreditation to this standard is undertaken by two internationally recognised agencies – IANZ and JAS -ANZ – meaning agencies have some choice as to 
the body that might accredit them.    
 
However, accreditation to ISO 17020 may also present some possible disadvantages:  
• there are potentially higher compliance costs for new agencies seeking recognition if they 
do not already hold ISO 17020 accreditation ; 
• there is an ongoing cost for maintaining ISO accreditation ; 
• the standard may be seen as being too rigid – e.g. some companies may hold other 
accreditations that may be considered equivalent (or partially equivalent) ; and  
• it may be a disincentive for sole operators and small businesses looking to enter the market.  This could reduce the number of evaluators and verifiers, in turn impacting on 
service avai lability and potentially the cost for some businesses.  
5.2.5 Assessment against the core requirements by MPI for agencies 
and persons seeking recognition in respect of risk- based measures 
other than custom food control plans  
This proposal would require agencies and persons wishing to verify food businesses (other than those operating under a custom food control plan) to be assessed against the core 
requirements either directly by MPI, or possibly by a suitable party under contract to MPI.  
 
Key considerations in i dentifying this requirement are:  
• the specified requirements are considered appropriate to manage the level of risk generally expected to be associated with businesses operating to template food control plans and 
national programmes ; 
• the process for assessm ent against the core requirements is likely to be less “onerous ” than 
that for accreditation to an international standard ; 
• costs to recognised agencies and persons may be less than for accreditation to an 
international standard , with a consequent impact on  the level of costs which are passed on 
to food businesses ; 
• flexibility – allows agencies and persons to use accreditation to other international 
standards, current recognition under other food- related legislation, or equivalent 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 65 recognition in other sector s, as a means of demonstrating or partially demonstrating that 
they meet the core requirements ; 
• this does not preclude the MPI chief executive from requiring additional specialist 
competencies, relevant to the sector or process for which recognition is sou ght; and  
• it recognises that verification is not being undertaken for the purposes of export market 
assurance.  
 
Possible disadvantages of this requirement are:  
• the cost of full or surveillance assessment by MPI against the core requirements may not 
be signi ficantly less than accreditation to ISO 17020 ; and  
• recognition based fully  or partially on equivalence must still ensure that agencies and 
persons are skilled to perform verification in their nominated area of food safety.  
5.2.6 Comparison of the method of “ core requirement ” demonstration 
with similar roles under other food -related legislation administered 
by MPI  
Agencies and persons recognised under the Animal Products Act  or the Wine Act operate 
under a framework established through a combination of regulations  and notices.  
 
Table 7: Co re requirements of recognised agencies under food- related legislation administered 
by MPI  
Legislation or 
programme  Function or service  Core requirements  – Method of 
demonstration  
Animal Products Act  Dairy verifiers  ISO 17020 accreditation  
Dairy evaluators  ISO 17020 accreditation  
Non-dairy verifiers  ISO 17020 accreditation  
Non-dairy evaluators  Assessment against MPI requirements  
Wine Act  Verifiers  Currently – assessment against MPI 
requirements   
(interim arrangement  until 1 July 2017 )  
Evalu ators Currently – assessment against MPI 
requirements  
(interim arrangement  until 1 July 2017 ) 
Organic Official 
Assurance Programme 
framework standards  Verifiers  ISO 17020 accreditation  
 The requirements of expor t markets have a strong influence on the core requirements of 
agencies recognised under the Animal Products Act and Wine Act.  
66 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
5.2.7 Other (non -preferred) options for the demonstration of the core 
requirements by agencies seeking and renewing recognition  
Requirin g all agencies seeking recognition to hold accreditation to ISO 17020  
Consideration was given to requiring all agencies seeking recognition to hold accreditation to 
ISO 17020, regardless of the risk level of the food businesses they wished to verify.  This 
option had the advantages of promoting consumer confidence because all food safety assurances would be provided by an agency assessed by an independent accreditation body as 
competent to do so . This is appropriate for the risk -based regime as  it caters for  agencies and 
persons who use professional judgment rather than check compliance, and it promotes a high 
level of consistency in the national approach to recognition.  It is also consistent with current 
requirements under the Animal Products Act.  
 
The key d isadvantages of this option were that it would set a standard that may not 
necessarily be required for all verification activity, given that food control plans (other than custom food control plans) will be assessed and confirmed by the MPI chief executive before 
the food business begins operations. The requirements of accreditation could be disproportionate for smaller recognised agencies that  have smaller client bases among whom 
to spread costs, thus impacting on compliance costs for this group.  
 
The requ irement could also reduce the number of recognised agencies  and could therefore 
have an impact on verification service availability and choice (particularly i n more remote or 
rural areas).  
Requiring all agencies seeking recognition to be assessed against t he core 
requirements by M PI  
Requiring all agencies seeking recognition to be assessed against the core requirements by 
MPI had a number of advantages.  There would be no “ establishment ” fee as may exist for 
accreditation, and it is likely that the cost of assessment would be less than the cost of accreditation.  There would be flexibility to take account of other accreditations as partially 
equivalent.  
 
The main disadvantage  is the appropriateness of the role for MPI, particularly in respect of 
agencies veri fying high risk food businesses . While MPI holds ISO 17020 accreditation, it is 
not itself an internationally recognised accreditation body.  Also,  while  there is a perception 
that MPI assessment would cost less than external assessment , the actual differen ce may not 
be as significant as may be perceived.   
 
What do you think?  
46. Do you agree that accreditation to ISO 17020 should be mandatory for agencies 
wishing to be recognised to verify and/or evaluate food businesses operating under 
custom food control plans? What are the reasons for your view?  
47. Do you agree that agencies applying for recognition to verify food businesses 
operating under national programmes, or template food control plans ( other than those 
described under s ection 137 of the Food Act) should be required to demonstrate that 
they meet the core requirements set out in this document?  What are the reasons for 
your view?  
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 67 48. Is it appropriate that the MPI should itself assess the competencies of some agencies 
and persons who apply for recognition?  What  are the reasons for your view? 
49. Do you think that accreditations other than ISO 17020 should be able to be used to 
demonstrate full or partial compliance with  the core requirements?  What are these? 
Why do you think these alternatives  should be considered?  
 
5.2.8 Proposed requirements  for renewing recognition  
It is proposed that the requirements for the renewal of recognition will be:  
• confirmation that the agency continues to hold the relevant, independently- assessed 
accreditation or to demonstrate the core manag ement and other requirements relevant to 
its level of recognition ; 
• confirmation that the person continues to meet the requirements specified for their level of 
recognition ; 
• assessment of the performance of the recognised agency or person during their perio d of 
recognition ; 
• consideration of any changes to the “ fit and proper ” status of the recognised agency or 
person ; and 
• payment of any prescribed fee [note that the proposed fees regulations are discussed in section 7 Cost recovery  of this document].  
 
What d o you think?  
50. Do you agree that these are appropriate requirements for renewal of recognition by an 
agency or person?  What else do you think should be included?  What are the reasons 
for your views?  
 
5.2.9 Proposed p erformance standards and other requirements th at 
must be met by recognised agencies and persons who apply for 
recognition  
The Food Act (sections 155 and 156) sets out duties that define high level performance expectations of recognised agencies and recognised persons.  The core requirements proposed 
for all recognised agencies and persons (see section 5.2)  provide more detail as to how some 
of these expectations must be met.  
 
The table below sets out the proposals for regulations (section 389(1)(c)) to clarify the 
performanc e standards and other requirements of recognised agencies and persons that are 
over and above the core requirements.  
 Wherever practicable, these proposals are consistent with the requirements of similar 
functions under the Animal Products Act and the Wine Act. 
  
68 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
 
Table 8: Proposed performance requirements for recognised agencies and persons  
1. Recognised agencies  
Performance area  Proposed requirement/s  
Maintaining 
recognition  Must maintain the requirements applicable to the agenc y’s 
recognition  
Must renew recognition at the frequency determined by the MPI 
chief executive if they wish to continue to provide evaluation 
and/or verification services (unless recognition is of indefinite 
duration)  
Must undergo assessment (either by an external party or by MPI as 
appropriate), if required by the MPI chief executive , to confirm that 
the agency continues to meet the requirements applicable to its 
recognition  
Systems and processes  Must have documented systems and procedures that allow them to:  
• ensure they (and recognised persons under their management) 
comply with the requirements of the Food Act, including any 
regulations and notices, relevant to their specified functions and 
activities ; 
• ensure they implement the requirements of any re levant 
directions given by the MPI chief executive ; 
• ensure the reports and other relevant information arising from 
the performance of their specified functions and activities are 
communicated to the food businesses that are the subject of 
those activities ; 
• perform or direct effective and timely actions when non -
compliance is identified within the agency or within the food 
business being verified or evaluated;  
• perform or direct internal reviews of the technical competency 
and performance of recognised person s engaged by the 
recognised agency ; and  
• ensure all functions and activities for which the agency has 
responsibility are able to be completed as required under the 
Food Act  
Management of 
applications for 
recognised persons 
(only  agencies 
employing recognis ed 
persons ) Must have documented procedures to ensure:  
• the agency ’s applicants for recognition are assessed against the 
competencies relevant to the proposed functions and activities;  
• the agency is able to manage the application process  
Management of 
technical competencies  Must ensure that only persons competent and recognised to perform 
the specified functions and activities do so  
Must have systems and processes in place that allow the agency to 
co-ordinate the activities of recognised persons or other  technical 
persons it engages  
Must ensure that recognised persons engaged by the agency receive 
all relevant legal and technical requirements of the Food Act in a 
timely manner  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 69 Must inform MPI of the name of any new recognised person that 
joins the age ncy and the date of their joining  
Maintaining 
impartiality  Must have documented procedures to ensure that impartiality and 
independence is not compromised  
Records management  
 Must have documented procedures to ensure that records relating to 
its verifica tion and/or evaluation functions are:  
• retained for 4 years; and  
• retrievable within 24 hours upon request by the regulator or a 
Food Safety Officer  
Reporting  Recognised agencies must report to the regulator on changes in 
directorship, management or control  as soon as practicable  
Must advise the regulator in writing as soon as practicable:  
• if a recognised person ceases to be employed or engaged by the 
agency  
• if a recognised person employed or engaged by the agency has 
been found to not meet the requirements imposed by or under 
the Food Act 
• if any contractual arrangement between the agency and the 
operator of a risk -based measure for the provision of 
verification services has been terminated  
Must advise the regulator:  
• on the completion of verification, in cluding any follow -up 
activity, the outcome assigned to the verification visit and any 
changes to the verification frequency  
• in the event that the operator fails to undertake a corrective 
action within the specified  period of time  
Disputes management  Must have in place a process to manage disputes that may arise 
between the recognised agency and/or recognised persons engaged 
by that agency, and a food business or other affected party  
Must have in place a procedure for referring (to the regulator) 
issues  that cannot be resolved between the parties  
2. All recognised persons  
Performance area  Proposed requirement/s  
Maintaining 
recognition  
 Must maintain the competency and any other requirements 
applicable to his or her recognition  
Must renew recogniti on at the frequency determined by the MPI 
chief executive if they wish to continue to provide evaluation 
and/or verification services (unless recognition is of indefinite 
duration)  
Must take appropriate action in response to a critical non -
compliance  
Must follow up on non -compliances or corrective action requests  
Additional 
competencies  Must meet any specific technical competencies that may apply to 
risk-based measures, sectors and processes relevant to the person ’s 
area of recognition  
70 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
 
Accessing te chnical 
expertise – 
requirements of 
evaluators  Must obtain supporting reports from a technical expert with 
appropriate expertise, or another recognised person with 
appropriate recognition endorsement, for any aspect of the food 
control plan that is outside  their expertise  
Must use only competent technical experts and must be able to 
demonstrate that any technical expert from whom a supporting 
report is obtained is competent to provide that analysis and report  
Maintaining 
impartiality  A person recognised as both a verifier and an evaluator may not 
perform both functions on the same food control plan within a two -
year period  
Must work with their recognised agency (if applicable) to seek a 
workable solution if they cannot perform the specified functions 
and activities  
Maintaining 
confidentiality  Must maintain appropriate confidentiality relating to the operations 
and activities of food businesses with which they come into contact 
with through carrying out their specified functions and activities  
Reporting  – verifiers  Must report any uncorrected deficiency or non -compliance to the 
appropriate body as soon as practicable  
Must inform the MPI chief executive of any critical non -
compliance within 24 hours  of identifying that non -compliance and 
include any rec ommendations  
Must work with a Food Safety Officer as is necessary to provide 
information relating to the operations of a particular food business 
where critical non -compliance is detected  
Where a verification visit is assigned an unacceptable outcome, the 
recognised person must inform the operator of their right to request, 
within 21 days of the verification visit, that the Director -General 
review the verifier ’s decision  
Reporting – evaluators  
 The evaluation report must include information on:  
• the eva luator;  
• the food business operator;  
• the products to which the food control plan applies, description 
of activities carried out under the food control, documents that 
comprise the food control plan that were reviewed, an 
assessment of the validation proces s; 
• the on- site assessment or the reason for deciding the on -site 
assessment was not necessary for undertaking the evaluation of 
an amendment to a food control plan; and 
• names and reports of any technical experts used to provide 
supporting reports and infor mation about their competency  
The evaluation report must contain statements that:  
• the outcome of the evaluation assessment is satisfactory;  
• the food control plan is valid or there is a satisfactory validation 
protocol ; and 
• set out conditions for registr ation (if any)  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 71  
3. Additional requirements for recognised persons not subject to the 
management of a recognised agency  
Performance area  Proposed requirement/s  
Quality management 
system  Must:  
• establish and maintain an effective quality system, and 
docum ent all relevant parts of that system ; and 
• have documented procedures for storing and tracking all 
relevant records; and  
• have documented procedures for storing and tracking any 
correspondence with the regulator, food businesses, technical 
experts and other  businesses associated with the recognised 
person ’s specified functions and activities  
Records management  Must have auditable records and ensure that records and 
correspondence are:  
• retained for 4 years; and  
• are retrievable within 24 hours upon request by  the MPI chief 
executive  or a Food Safety Officer  
Maintaining 
confidentiality  Recognised persons who provide evaluation functions must have 
documented procedures for protecting the confidentiality of 
operators  
Maintaining 
impartiality  Must have document ed procedures to ensure that impartiality and 
independence is not compromised while carrying out specified 
functions and activities  
 
 
What do you think?  
51. Do you agree that these are appropriate performance requirements for agencies and 
persons?  What else do you think should be included?  Should anything be excluded?  
What are the reasons for your views? 
52. Do you agree that someone who has evaluated, or provided consultation or technical 
advice on the development of , a custom food control plan may not perform 
verification against that plan within a two year period?  What are the reasons for your 
views?  If you disagree, how can any potential conflicts of interest be managed? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
72 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
6 Approved documents, materials, facilities, or persons 
or classes of persons 
 
Key i ssues  
The Food Act 2014 allows the MPI chief executive to approve persons and classes of 
persons, and such things as facilities, documents and materials, if these are required for 
particular purposes and activities under the Food Act.  
Objectives  
Approva ls help to ensure that the facilities, documents and materials are appropriate, safe 
and suitable for their intended purpose, and that the persons providing services have the 
necessary competencies, training, qualifications and experience to do so.  Regulat ions 
will establish criteria to govern all approvals, and promote clarity and consistency in the 
approval process.  
Alternative approaches  
The Food Act requires that , before making an approval,  the MPI chief executive must 
take into account the criteria p rescribed in regulations, if these exist.  
 
Therefore, there is the  option not to create this regulation.  We are interested to know if 
you think that not having a regulation is a workable option.  
6.1 What the Act says  
6.1.1 Approvals  
The Food Act empowers the MPI c hief executive  to approve certain documents, materials, 
facilities, persons or classes of persons, if the approval is a requirement of the Food Act.  A 
“requirement ” of the Food Act includes requirements for approvals that are contained in 
regulations or in  notices.  
6.1.2 Documents, materials, or facilities that may be approved under the 
Food Act  
The Food Act allows for the use of approved documents, materials  or facilities  and gives 
examples of the kinds of approvals that may be made by the MPI chief executive (section 
291(3)) if required under the Food Act:  
• compounds ; 
• devices ; 
• documents ; 
• equipment ; 
• identification systems ; 
• laboratories ; 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 73 • methodologies ; 
• places ; 
• sampling techniques ; 
• security devices ; 
• systems ; and  
• techniques.  
 
The Food Act itself does not directly req uire the use of any of these things. This means that 
requirements for approvals need to be set out in regulations or in notices under the Food Act. 
 
Note that the approval provisions in section 291 of the Food Act do not cover the approval of 
food control plans or the appointment of recognised agencies and persons. These processes 
are provided for separately under the Food Act.  
6.1.3 Factors that must be considered before approvals are given  under 
section 291  
Section 291 of the Food Act requires that, before app roving a document, material, or facility, 
the MPI chief executive:  
• must be satisfied that the document, material, or facility is appropriate, safe, and suitable 
for a purpose for which a requirement of the  Food  Act may require it to be used; and  
• must take into account the criteria prescribed in re gulations made under section 386 if 
there are any such regulations.  
 
Similarly, before approving a person or class of persons, the MPI chief executive:  
• must be satisfied that the person or class of persons has the competencies, training, qualifications, and experience that are suitable for a purpose for which a requirement of this Act may require the person or class of person to be used; and  
• must take into account the criteria prescribed in regulations made under section 386, if there are any such regulations  (see section 6.2.1) .
  
 
The MPI chief executive  may issue  an approval subject to conditions.  For example, the 
Food Act states that in the case of an approved laboratory, a condition m ay include 
reporting requirements relating to certain test results (including specified contaminants in 
food).  
 
The MPI chief executive  gives approval by issuing a notice ( under section 405 ) which must 
state9: 
• any conditions subject to which the approval i s given; and  
• the date on which the approval ends.  
 
An approval must end within three years from the date of approval ( section 291(8) ). Before 
an approval ends, the MPI chief executive  may issue a new notice under section 405  
approving the document, materia l, or facility or the persons or class of person for a period 
of up to three years.  
 
The MPI chief executive  may suspend or withdraw an approval by issuing a notice ( under 
section 405 ).  
 
9Food Act 2014, s.291(10)  
74 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries                                                   
Approvals may be suspended or withdrawn under the same provisions as  those relating to a 
food control plan or national programme.  
6.2 Proposed regulations  
6.2.1 Criteria governing all approvals  
It is proposed that the following regulation about approved documents, materials or facilities 
or approved persons or classes of persons be  made under section 386(1) of the Food Act:  
• to set out the criteria that the MPI chief executive must take into account before approving 
documents, materials, facilities or persons or classes of person . 
 
In 2005, as part of consultation on the Domestic Foo d Review , MPI (then the New  Zealand  
Food Safety Authority)  consulted on the proposed criteria to govern all approvals and the 
approval system.  Most submitters considered it  essential that the approvals process should be 
consistent and equitable across  the food-related legislation administered by the Ministry.  
 
The following criteria were generally supported in submissions and are now proposed for 
incorporation into regulations under the Food Act. 
Criterion 1:  Improves credibility  and confidence  
The approval  provides or improves the credibility and confidence in the food supply because 
the approval reflects one or more of the following:  
• matters that relate directly to food safety and suitability;  
• standards that can more easily be met because of the approval;  
• process checks (such as testing) that are more comparable, reliable and defensible;   
• improved clarity of the competence of persons performing critical activities;  
• industry standardisation that relates directly to food safety or suitability;  
• consistency wit h international standards;  and 
• fostering continuous improvement.  
Criterion 2:  Improves efficiency  
The approval improves efficiency because:  
• the relevant approval will be applied widely and/or consistently;  and/or 
• standardisation will be increased.  
Criterio n 3: Improves clarity and transparency  
The approval is clear and delivers transparency because it:  
• ensures system accountability, and/or  
• improves industry understanding.  
 
What do you think?  
53. Do you agree that it is necessary to set out criteria for approv als in a regulation?  What 
are the reasons for your view? 
54. If you agree that  a regulation is necessary, do  the three proposed criteria cover the 
areas that should  be considered before an approval is made?  Should anything else be 
included?  If so, what and why? 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 75 55. Is there anything else that you think should only be used if it has been approved under 
the Food Act?  What and w hy? 
 
6.2.2 Limited range  of approvals confirmed by notic e 
It is proposed that the MPI chief executive will issue a notice confirming a limited rang e of 
approvals from either 1 March 2016, or any earlier date established by an Order in Council.  
  
The requirements for these approvals will be established in the following regulations:  
• laboratories – requirement established by regulations relating to imp orted foods . 
 
76 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
7 Cost recovery  
 
Note that the closing date and time for all responses to the cost recovery proposals is 5pm on 20 February 2015.  
 
Key issues  
 The Food Act 2014 requires the Minister and MPI chief executive to take all reasonable 
steps to ensu re that the direct and indirect costs of MPI in administering the Act that are 
not funded by the Crown are recovered.  
Objectives  
It is intended to identify services and activities that are undertaken by the Ministry that 
provide  a private or industry  good, and therefore are not Crown funded. Regulations are 
intended to:  
• identify services that are not C rown funded because they constitute a private or 
industry good;  
• establish appropriate charging mechanisms for cost recovery ; and  
• establish particular costs for these services.  
Alternative approaches  
This section identifies what MPI services should be subject to cost recovery when the 
Food Act comes into full effect, and the methods of cost recovery.  We are interested to 
know whether you think these proposal s meet the objectives identified above or if you 
have other suggestions . 
7.1 What the Act says  
7.1.1 General requirements under the Food Act and specific regulation -
making powers  
The Food Act (s ection  198) requires the Minister and MPI chief executive to take all 
reasonable steps to ensure that the direct and indirect costs of administering the Food Act that are not provided for by money funded by the Crown are recovered. That is, the Crown 
(taxpayer) funds, or partially funds, some functions, powers or services bu t others are to be 
paid for in whole or in part, by third parties (businesses, individuals) that use or benefit from these functions, powers or services.  
 The Food Act sets out the methods that can be used to recoup costs ( via fees and charges of 
various t ypes, levies , or combinations of fees, charges and levies). It p rovides for regulations 
to set and impose fees, charges and levies to recover costs for the activities and functions that 
are identified as appropriate for cost  recovery.  
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 77 MPI’s cost recovery process operates within the framework provided by legislation and 
government guidelines. It also takes into account  constitutional principles as set out in 
Parliament ’s Standing Orders and guidance received from reports of the Regulations Review 
Committee.  
 
The Food Act articulates the principles that must be applied in setting fees and charges to 
recover costs. In determining the most appropriate method of cost recovery and its level, the 
Minister and Director -General must have regard  to the following crit eria, as far as is 
reasonably practicable:  
• Equity  – funding for a particular function, power, or service, or a particular class of 
functions, powers, or services, should generally, and to the extent practicable, be sourced from the users or beneficiaries o f the relevant function, power, or service at a level 
commensurate with their use or benefit from the function, power or service.  
• Efficiency  – costs should generally be allocated and recovered in order to ensure that 
maximum benefits are delivered at minimum cost . 
• Justifiability  – costs should be collected only to meet the reasonable costs (including 
indirect costs) of the provision or exercise of the relevant function, power, or service.  
• Transparency  – costs should be identifiable and allocated as closely as practicable in 
relation to tangible service provision for the recovery period in which the service is provided.  
7.1.2 Government guidelines  
The Ministry has followed the guidelines in T he Treasury ’s Guidelines for Setting Charges in 
the Public Sector  (Treasur y guidelines)10 and the Office of the Auditor -General ’s Good 
Practice Guide Charging fees for public sector goods and services  (Auditor -General guide)11.  
Treasury guidelines  
The Treasury guidelines outline policy considerations such as who should be charged  a fee 
and whether a public entity should recover less than the full costs of providing a good or service.  
 The guidelines state that:  
• charges should, in general, be set at the full cost of providing the service, where full cost includes all overheads and non-cash (such as capital charges), measured in accrual 
accounting terms;  
• charges should not be excessive in relation to the costs incurred;  
• charges can be set to vary by the location where the service is provided or by the time at which the service is pr ovided but a balance needs to be struck between the gains from 
complex fee structures and the costs in terms of a loss of simplicity;  
• the process for setting charges should be clear and appropriate;  
• transaction costs in setting and collecting the charges s hould be kept as low as practicable;  
• appropriate consultation with those affected should be undertaken when setting and changing the charges;  
• there should be a robust basis for any charges; and  
• there should be fair treatment for taxpayers, beneficiaries of  the service and risk 
exacerbators.  
10 Guidelines for Setting Charges in the Public Sector , The Treasury, December 2002. 
http://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/guidance/finmgmt- reporting/charges  
11 Charging Fees for Public Sector Goods and Services . Good Practice Guide. Office of the Auditor -General, 
June 2008. http://www.oag.govt.nz/2008/charging-fees/   
78 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries                                                   
Auditor -General guide  
The Auditor -General guide directs public entities/government departments to apply three 
principles when setting fees for providing services to third parties:  
• Authority  – a legal authority to charge a fee for the services that a public entity is legally 
obliged to provide to third parties. The authority to charge for MPI ’s service provision is 
contained in the Food Act.  
• Efficiency – services should be provided to the desired level of quality from a g iven 
quantity of resources, thereby achieving value for money. For service provision to be 
efficient, the Ministry needs to have an adequate understanding of the costs (both direct 
and indirect) of providing third party services, and have appropriate syste ms in place to 
monitor costs.  
• Accountability  – ensuring that the Ministry ’s processes for identifying costs and setting 
fees are transparent. The Ministry achieves this through consulting affected parties on any proposed fee changes and by separate disclos ure of revenue and expenses for third party 
service provision through memorandum accounts.  
7.1.3 Economic good principles  
In economic terms, services can be characterised as public, industry , private or merit goods.  
Industry goods are also known as club goods. I n practice there is often no clear delineation 
between the categories , and a product or service can have elements of all four. A key issue 
then becomes the degree to which the practical considerations of how costly it is to charge the 
user of a service out weigh the benefits of charging.  
 
The following definitions have been adopted to help determine the most appropriate source of 
funding for services delivered to users:  
• Public good  – a good is considered public when excluding users from its benefits is eith er 
difficult or costly (it is non -excludable), and its use by one person does not detract from 
its use by another (it is non -rivalrous). In practice, pure public goods are rare. Many 
government -provided services share the characteristics of public goods to  some extent. 
There is a good case for recovering the costs of a public good from the community as a whole by general taxation (i.e. by the provision of government funding for delivery of 
these services to users).  
• Industry good  – in the case of an  industr y good, users can be excluded from the benefits 
of use at low cost (it is excludable, unlike a public good), but its use by one person does not detract from its use by another (it is non- rivalrous). The key difference is that the 
ability to exclude users i mplies that it is feasible to charge for use. Charging industry 
members can be an efficient way of recovering costs.  
• Private good  – users can be excluded from benefits at low cost, and its use by one person 
conflicts with use by another (i.e. it is both e xcludable and rivalrous). There is a strong 
case for recovering the costs of private goods from those who benefit directly from their provision.  
• Merit goods  – are goods desired by the community as a whole at higher rate of 
consumption than if they were sup plied at full cost.  Merit goods may involve a mixture of 
Crown and third party funding, and the loss in public benefits from charging at full cost has to be significant.  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 79 7.2 Proposed regulations  
7.2.1 Territorial authorities ’ fees and charges  
Territorial authorities  will set their own fees and charges for the registration, verification, 
compliance and monitoring activities that they carry out under the Food Act. These may differ 
from the proposed fees set out in this document, which are for functions and activities carried 
out by MPI.  
 However, the Food Act requires territorial authorities, when setting fees,   
• to have regard to the principles of cost recovery set out in the Food Act ;  
• to not recover more than the reasonable costs incurred; and  
• to undertake consultatio n in accordance with section 83 of the Local Government Act 
2002.  
 
It also provides that any increase in territorial authority fees cannot come into effect except at the beginning of the financial year ; i.e. fees cannot be increased part -way through a fin ancial 
year unless the persons, or their representatives, affected by the increase agree or substantially agree with the increase.  
 The Food Act provides (s ection 206) for regulations to be made that prescribe a methodology 
or framework for fee fixing to b e applied by a territorial authority in fixing any fees. It is not 
intended to establish such a methodology or framework as part of this round of regulation 
development. Territorial authorities have considerable experience in establishing fees and 
charges for cost recovery purposes. Their general compliance with legal requirements is 
reviewed through audit processes required under the Local Government Act.   
 
MPI will maintain an ongoing relationship with territorial authorities and has a capacity to 
review their performance in implementing the Food Act.  Should concerns arise about matters 
such as consistency of fees and charges , the need for regulations prescribing method will be 
considered further.  In the meantime , territorial authorities are able to draw o n the information 
on methods contained in this document to inform their own processes.  
 
What do you think?  
i. Do you feel that territorial authorities are able to develop cost recovery systems 
without an immediate requirement for regulations prescribing meth odologies to be 
used?  
 
7.2.2 Services provided by third parties  
Where services such as sampling and testing, or verification of food control plans are 
provided in a contestable market situation, they will be paid for by the person requesting the 
service, with t he price determined by negotiation between the parties under normal private 
contractual arrangements.  
7.2.3 Process for determining areas for cost recovery  
Services provided by MPI have been identified and assessed against the e conomic good 
principles outlined a bove to determine whether they should be treated as a public good (and 
80 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
therefore Crown funded) or as a private, industry or merit good (and therefore funded through 
cost recovery).  The services identified for cost recovery are listed in Table 11: Proposed fees 
and charges . 
 
MPI has focused on establishing fees and charges where it will directly provide services from 
1 March 2016.  Further analysis of services enabled  under the Food Act and their costs will be 
undertaken to ensure ap propriate funding systems, including cost recovery, are in place for 
the future.  
 On that basis t he service of maintaining and developing standards has been treated differently 
from the general process. This is a major function for MPI across its responsib ilities, with 
different legislative provisions for funding the activity ; for example, the Animal Products Act 
1999 makes provision for fees and charges to fund this activity in relation to dairy products.  
The Food Act 1981 makes no comparable provision and the service has been Crown funded 
to date.  We expect the further work on costs of establishing standards  and the appropriate 
mechanisms for collection of costs from sectors through , for example , levies or annual fees to 
have been completed by the beginnin g of the 2016/17 financial year.  
 
What do you think?  
ii. What, if any, issues do you think may arise from maintaining the status quo in relation 
to Crown funding for the development of standards?  
 
7.2.4 Basis of cost recovery  
Following the cost recovery  policies and guidelines outlined above, the basis for charging for 
MPI activities in respect of private goods is  as follows : 
• Direct and indirect costs will be calculated and recovered for:  
- the management costs of each of the business groups directly involved with i ndustry 
under the relevant Act;  
- MPI management and support services costs; and  
- MPI corporate overhead costs which include accommodation, equipment and 
communications.  
• Direct costs will be fully charged to the functions and activities to which they relate.  
Indirect costs will be apportioned across all activities to which the core functions of the relevant MPI Group contribute, on the basis of personnel (numbers), IT costs (e.g. 
numbers of work stations), or other cost drivers as appropriate.  
• Functions and a ctivities that can be divided into homogeneous units and where there is 
little variation in the cost of providing the unit of activity will be charged at an average 
cost (direct and indirect) per unit of output. For these functions, fixed fees and annual 
charges will be used to assist in minimising transaction costs and providing certainty over 
fees and charges.  
• Where there is a large variation in the cost of individual outputs  (for example, in the time 
taken to perform the function ), hourly rates will be u sed. 
• Where hourly rates are used, disbursements covering items such as (but not exclusively) travel, accommodation, and communication will be charged at cost.  
 Regulations will:  
• attach fees and charges to specific units of activity;  
• set fixed fees and char ges based on the average full and reasonable costs of carrying out 
the activity;  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 81 • set annual charges on the basis of the costs of performing the functions allocated amongst 
the persons that will be paying the charge;  
• set time -based charges on the basis of f ixed and variable costs (e.g. salaries and operating 
costs); and  
• set other charges (disbursements) on the basis of actual and reasonable costs incurred in 
carrying out the activity.  
7.2.5 Cost recovery method(s)  
Allowable cost recovery methods  
The Food Act provi des for the following methods of cost recovery:  
• fixed fees or charges;  
• fees or charges based on a scale or formula or at a rate determined on an hourly or other 
unit basis;  
• use of a formula or other method of calculation for fixing fees and charges;  
• the re covery by way of fee or charge of actual and reasonable costs expended in, or 
associated with, the performance of a service or function;  
• estimated fees or charges, or fees or charges based on estimated costs, paid before the 
provision of the service or fun ction, followed by reconciliation and an appropriate further 
payment or refund after provision of the service or function;  
• refundable or non -refundable deposits paid before provision of the service or performance 
of the function;  
• fees or charges imposed on  users of services or third parties;  
• levies;  
• any combination of the above.  
Criteria for selecting preferred option(s)  
In deciding on the appropriate charging method, the following criteria will be considered:  
• the amount charged to each payer should general ly be at a level commensurate with the 
benefit they receive from the provision of the activity, or the individual risk levels for each payer;  
• the charging mechanism should not undermine the policy intent by creating any perverse 
incentives; and  
• administra tive simplicity, taking into account: 
- the potential inefficiency of collecting small user charges (establishing cost recovery 
systems for invoicing and receiving payments may cost more than the amount to be 
collected);  and 
- the need to identify a chargeable unit and a unique payer.  
Proposed methods  
The options for establishing cost recovery have the following characteristics:  
• Fixed fee – may over -recover  or under -recover costs for time- based activities, and 
therefore create cross -subsidies.  However it would be simple to administer, minimise 
transaction costs and provide certainty for payers.  A fixed fee is likely to be appropriate 
for simple tasks that don ’t vary, such as listings.  
• Fixed fee plus hourly charge – includes a fixed component to cover costs commo n to 
every transaction (such as standardised administrative processing) and an hourly charge to 
82 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
reflect the individual effort required for each transaction. Such a costing regime is more 
complex to administer than a fixed fee only but not unduly so.  
• Levie s – these are used where costs cannot be attributed to individuals (separate 
beneficiaries are unable to be identified) because no specific goods or services are 
provided. This is not an appropriate cost recovery mechanism for private goods.  
 It is propose d to use mainly fixed fees and annual charges, as these are simpler to apply and 
therefore have a lower administrative cost : 
• Fixed fees will be based on an assessment of the standard, average time required to carry 
out the function or activity, multiplied by the set hourly rate . 
• Fixed fee plus hourly rate – where the time required for a task varies, the charge will be an 
initial application fee plus the actual time taken beyond the first hour at the set hourly rate.  
• Hourly rate plus actual expenses – where costs are incurred for activities carried out at the 
request of a business operator or other person, or as a result of an act or omission of a 
business operator or person, it is proposed that a charge will be incurred at the appropriate 
hourly rate plus th e costs of any actual and reasonable expenses incurred.   
 
What do you think?  
iii. Do you agree that fees and charges are generally the most appropriate systems for cost 
recovery for services provided under the Food Act?  Do you have any alternative 
suggestions?  
 
Calculation of costs  
Process 
The Audit Office has set out guidelines to be followed in establishing the cost of providing a 
service or undertaking an activity that is to be charged for. They involve the following steps:  
• identification of the chargeable outputs;  
• estimating the volume of these outputs to be produced during a period;  
• identification of the resources required to produce these outputs and the associated costs;  
and 
• calculation of cost for each unit of output.  
Includ ed costs  
Both direct and in direct costs need to be taken into account, and fees need to cover all the 
costs involved, in granting an approval, registration, or recognition, and monitoring of compliance including:  
 • providing the administrative systems and processes for assessment, r eview, cancellation 
and suspension ; 
• assessment of applications for new approvals or registrations, or exemptions ; 
• review, cancellation or suspension of existing approvals ;  
• maintenance of any associated public registers ; and  
• monitoring compliance with requ irements.  
Calculated fees  
The total direct and indirect costs of MPI ’s approval, recognition and registration functions 
have been built into an hourly rate as set out in the table below.  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 83  
Table 9: Factors for h ourly rate calculation  
Assessment char ges on hourly basis  
Where an assessment charge on an hourly basis is specified, that charge is determined as 
shown in Table 10 for each hour (or final part -hour) beyond the first hour spent on assessing 
the matter concerned .  
 
 
 
 
 
 
12 Full time equivalent  Chargeable costs (GST exclusive):  
 201X/1Y  
Personnel   
Operational    
Overheads   
Other Directorates   
Total  $ 
Number of employees (FTEs12):  
 
Billable Hours:  201X/1Y  
Working Year (Days)  Xxx 
Less:   
Statutory Holidays  X  
Annual Leave  X  
Sick leave  X  
Courses & Conferences  X  
Technical Training  X  
Net work days p.a.  Xxx 
Productivity assumption  xx% 
Annual Billable Hours per FTE  Xxxx  
Total Billable Hours   (xxx FTEs)  
Hourly Rate (GST excl)  $xxx.xx  
Hourly Rate (GST incl)  $xxx.xx  
84 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries                                                   
Table 10: Assessment charges on hourly basis  
Category  Proposed Fee ($) 
(GST excl usive ) 
(a) 
   
For each hour (excluding final part -hour) spent by an officer or 
employee of MPI   
 
 
For each 15 -minute block in final part -hour  
 
(b) 
   
For each hour (excluding final part -hour) spent by a person 
engaged by MPI to assess the matter concerned who is not an 
officer or employee of MPI   
 
 
For each 15 -minute block in final part -hour  
 
This rate has then been applied to particular functions on the basis of the estimated time 
required to undertake them. The resultant fees are shown in Table 11. 
  
Table 11: Proposed fees and charges   
 Service area  Type of fee  Fee (GST exclusive)  When fee payable and 
by whom  
 
 Registration  
1 Application for, 
assessment of, and 
registration or 
variation of custom 
food control plans  Application for 
registration fee  $348.75 per application 
plus $15 5.00 per hour 
in excess of 1 hour 
processing application  $348.75  payable by the 
applicant on application 
for registration or 
variation  and any 
remainder payable within 
20 working days of 
receipt of written 
demand for payment  
  Disbursements Actual cost   
2 Application for, 
assessment of, and 
registration or 
variati on of food 
control plans based 
on a template or 
model issued by the 
chief executive  Application for 
registration fee  $193.75 per application 
plus $15 5.00 per hour 
in excess of 1 hour 
processing application  $193.75 payable by the 
applicant on application 
for registration or 
variation and any 
remainder payable within 
20 working days of 
receipt of written 
demand for payment  
  Disbursements Actual cost   
3 Application for, 
assessment of, and 
registration or 
variation of 
registration of  
business subject to 
national 
programme 3 Application for 
registration fee  $116.25 per application 
plus $15 5.00 per hour 
in excess of 1 hour 
processing application  $116.25 payable by the 
applicant on application 
for registration or 
variation and any 
remainder payable within 
20 wor king days of 
receipt of written 
demand for payment  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 85  Service area  Type of fee  Fee (GST exclusive)  When fee payable and 
by whom  
 
  Disbursements Actual cost   
4 Application for, 
assessment of, and 
registration or 
variation of 
registration of 
business subject to 
national 
programme 2 Application for 
registration fee  $116.25 per appli cation 
plus $155 .00 per hour 
in excess of 1 hour 
processing application  $116.25 payable by the 
applicant on application 
for registration or 
variation and any 
remainder payable within 
20 working days of 
receipt of written 
demand for payment  
  Disbursements Actual cost   
5 Application for, 
evaluation of, and 
registration or 
variation of 
registration of 
national 
programme 1 Application for 
registration fee  $116.25 per application 
plus $15 5.00 per hour 
in excess of 1 hour 
processing application  $116.25 payable  by the 
applicant on application 
for registration or 
variation and any 
remainder payable within 
20 working days of 
receipt of written 
demand for payment  
  Disbursements Actual cost   
6 Application for, 
evaluation of, and 
registration or 
variation of 
regis tration of 
business as an 
importer of food Application for 
registration fee  $116.25 per application 
plus $15 5.00 per hour 
in excess of 1 hour 
processing application  $116.25 payable by the 
applicant on application 
for registration or 
variation and any 
remainder payable within 
20 working days of 
receipt of written 
demand for payment  
7 Application for, 
assessment of, and 
granting  of an 
exemption  Application for 
exemption  fee $348.75 per application 
plus $15 5.00 per hour 
in excess of 1 hour 
processing applicat ion $348.75 payable by the 
applicant on application 
for exemption  and any 
remainder payable within 
20 working days of 
receipt of written 
demand for payment  
  Disbursements Actual cost   
 Approvals  
8 Application for, 
assessment of, and 
approval or 
variati on of 
approval of 
laboratories  Application for 
approval fee  $193.75 per application 
plus $15 5.00 per hour 
in excess of 1 hour 
processing application  $193.75 payable by the 
applicant on application 
for approval or variation 
and any remainder 
payable within 20 
working days of receipt 
of written demand for 
payment  
  Disbursements Actual cost   
 Recognition  
9 Application for, 
assessment of, and 
recognition, 
variation, or Application for 
recognition fee  $193.75 per application 
plus $15 5.00 per hour 
in excess of 1 hour 
processing application  $193.75 payable by the 
applicant on application 
for recognition, variation 
or renewal  and any 
86 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
 Service area  Type of fee  Fee (GST exclusive)  When fee payable and 
by whom  
 
renewal of agency 
or person as a 
recognised agency 
or recognised 
person under 
Subpart 1 of Part 4 
of the Food Act 
2014  remainder p ayable within 
20 working days of 
receipt of written 
demand for payment  
  Disbursements Actual cost   
 Verification  
10 Verification 
inspection and 
audits  Verification , inspection 
or audit  fee $155.00 per hour  Payable by the operator 
of the business subje ct to 
verification , inspection  
or audit within 20 
working days of receipt 
of written demand for 
payment  
  Disbursements Actual cost   
 Compliance  
11 Issue of 
improvement 
notice, including 
development of the 
notice, by food 
safety officer  Fee for notice  $120.00 per notice plus 
$120.00 per hour for 
development in excess 
of 1 hour of 
development and issue  Payable by the operator 
of the business subject to 
improvement notice  
within 20 working days 
of receipt of written 
demand for payment  
  Disbursements Actual cost   
12  Application for 
review of issue of 
improvement notice  Application for review 
fee $155.00 per application 
plus $155 .00 per hour 
in excess of 1 hour 
processing application  $155.00 payable by the 
applicant  on making 
application for review 
and a ny remainder 
payable  within 20 
working days of receipt 
of written demand for 
payment  
13 Application for, 
compilation of, and 
issue of statement 
of compliance 
under section 290  Fee for statement  $155.00 per application 
plus $15 5.00 per hour 
in excess of 1  hour 
processing application  $155.00 payable by the 
applicant on making 
application for statement 
of compliance and any 
remainder  within 20 
working days of receipt 
of written demand for 
payment  
  Disbursements Actual cost   
14 Issue of food recall 
notice by chief 
executive  Fee for directed recall  $155.00 per notice plus 
$155.00 per hour for 
development in excess 
of 1 hour of 
development and issue  Payable by the operator 
of the business subject to 
the recall notice within 
20 working days of 
receipt of written 
demand for payment  
  Disbursements Actual cost   
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 87  Service area  Type of fee  Fee (GST exclusive)  When fee payable and 
by whom  
 
 Imported food  
15 Clearance of 
imported food  Fee for clearance  $120.00 per clearance 
permit plus $120 .00 
per hour for processing 
clearance Payable by the operator 
of the business 
responsible for the 
imported food  within 20 
working days of receipt 
of written demand for 
payment  
  Disbursements Actual cost   
16 Administration of 
imported food 
defined in 
Regulations made 
under the Act as 
being of increased 
regulatory interest  Administration  fee $120.00 per hour spent 
on administration  Payable by the operator 
of the business 
responsible for the 
imported food  within 20 
working days of receipt 
of written demand for 
payment  
  Disbursements Actual cost   
 
Note: all rates are exclusive of goods and services tax (GST).   
Disbursements  
Disbursements where relevant will be charged at actual cost.  
7.2.6 Monitoring and review of fees and charges  
The Food Act (s ection  202) requires that the Minister must review levels and methods of cost 
recovery at least once in every three year period.  As noted earlier , MPI intends to undertake a 
general review of the systems it uses for determining systems of cost recovery that is expected to have an impact on the nature of fees in 2016/17.  
 MPI is undertaking a general review of the basis for funding its services across all sectors , 
including whether services should be funded by the Crown or through cost recovery from third parties such as businesses and individuals.  It is proposed that existing arrangements for 
Crown funding for some servi ces, such as standard setting, should be integrated as far as 
possible with that review in order to minimise disruption to affected businesses.  
 MPI’s administration of the services for which it seeks cost recovery is subject to 
performance standards agreed with the Minister. An example of such a standard is the requirement that 85  percent of all applications for registrations are to be completed within 20 
working days.  
 
Where hourly rates are charged for services the delivery of those services is actively 
monitored.  This requires work to be completed within accepted time periods and any 
significant variation from those time periods will require explanation from the relevant personnel.  
 
88 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
What do you think?  
iv. Are there any methods  in addition  to management moni toring  you can suggest to 
make sure that  processes are delivered in a timely and cost -effective fashion ? 
 
7.2.7 Exemptions, waivers and refunds of fees and charges  
Regulations are proposed under s ection 208 of the Food Act that set out the circumstances in 
whic h an exemption, waiver or refund of fees, charges or levies may be made.  Those 
proposals are contained in section 10 Exemptions of this document.  
  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 89 8 Food standards  
 
Key issues  
 The safety and suitability of food can be affected by residue levels from agri cultural 
compounds that may have been involved in its production.  
Objectives  
To ensure that maximum residue l evels  in food are identified systematically and based 
on best available evidence, these regulations establish:  
• methods that must be used to deter mine residue levels ; 
• prohibitions on the sale of foods containing residues ; and  
• grounds for exemptions from residue level requirements.  
 
8.1 What the Act says  
Part 5 of t he Food Act addresses the establishment of food standards.  Provision is made for 
the adop tion of joint food standards in compliance with obligations under the Australia  
New  Zealand  Food Standards  Code  (also known as the joint Food Standards Code, or the 
Food Standards Code) .  
 
There is also provision in certain limited and exceptional circumst ances for food standards to 
be issued separately from those set out in the Food Standards Code. These arrangements are 
comparable to those that have operated under the jurisdiction of the Food Act 1981.  
8.1.1 Treatment of existing standards  
Section 383 of the Fo od Act provides for the making of regulations about standards in relation 
to food.  Section 421 of the Food Act (Pre -commencement standards) has the general effect of 
having existing adopted joint food standards and domestic food standards treated as if the y 
had been issued under the Food Act. This means that it is unnecessary to issue new 
regulations or notices to preserve the current food standards.  
8.1.2 Maximum residue limits  
The establishment of maximum residue limits (MRLs) in food is an exception to the 
maintenance of food standards in their current form.  
 
The Food Act 1981 empowered the Minister for  Food Safety to establish the maximum 
amounts of contaminants or residues permitted in foods. The Food Act 2014 (s ection 
406(1)(u)) changes that to empower the  MPI chief executive to issue notices setting 
specifications on maximum amounts of contaminants or residues that may be present in food.   
  
Section 383(4) also provides that regulations  setting standards in relation to food may be 
made that:  
• specify how re sidue l evels are to be determined for specifi ed foods;  
90 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
• prohibit the sale of any food containing residues of a substance that exceed limits  
specified by a notice under section 406(1)(u) , and;  
• provide for exemption s from specified requirements of the regul ations where the residues 
present in the food concerned are within allowable l imits specified in a notice under 
section 406(1)(u) and the food complies with any other requirements specified in the 
notice.  
8.2 Proposed regulations  
8.2.1 Scope of proposed regulations  
The proposed regulations relate to residue limits  for agricultural compounds .  
8.2.2 Matters to be considered before making regulations about 
maximum residue levels 
The Food Act 2014 specifies (s ection 383(6)) matters that the Minister must take into account 
before recommending the making of regulations.  These matters are as follows:  
• the need to protect public health ;  
• the desirability of avoiding unnecessary restrictions on trade;  
• the desirability of maintaining consistency between New  Zealand ’s food standards a nd 
any relevant standards, requirements, or recommended practices that apply or are accepted internationally;  
• New  Zealand ’s obligations under any relevant international, agreement, convention, 
protocol or treaty ; 
• the identifiable costs of the standards, wh o bears these costs, and the positive and negative 
effects on New  Zealand  consumers and food businesses ; 
• the most effective way of achieving the safety and suitability of food ; and  
• any other matter that the Minister considers relevant . 
8.2.3 Determining  standard s for maximum residue l evels 
Section 421(2)(a) of the Food Act  provides that a food standard is treated as if it had been 
issued as a domestic food standard under the Food Act  if it is issued under s ection 11C of the 
Food Act 1981.  The New  Zealand  (Maximum  Residue Limits of Agricultural Compounds) 
Food Standards 2014 were made under that provision and therefore retain their legal status.  
 
The maximum amounts of residue that may be present in food will be prescribed by notice 
issued by the MPI chief executiv e under sections  405 and 406(1)(u) of the Food Act.  Before a 
notice may be issued under section 405, the consultation requirements specified in s ection  380 
of the Food Act must be satisfied . That section requires matters such as adequate notice of 
proposal s, ensuring interested parties are informed and have sufficient time to make 
submissions and that adequate and appropriate consideration is given to submissions.  
 
 
 
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 91 8.2.4 Matters  proposed for inclusion i n regulations  
Criteria for maximum residue l evels  
The fol lowing  criteria are proposed for inclusion in the regulations.  These are derived, in the 
main, from the existing New  Zealand  (Maximum Residue Limits of Agricultural Compounds) 
Food Standards :  
• international best practice for establishing MRL s will be follo wed as far as practicable.  
• food commodities considered in the establishment of residue levels are consistent as far as 
is practicable with the Codex Standard and its amendments on Classification of Foods and 
Animal Feeds . 
• the portion of the commodity to wh ich the maximum residue level  applies should be 
consistent, as far as practicable, with the Codex Standard and its amendments on the 
portion of commodities to which Codex maximum residue limits apply and which is 
analys ed.  
• the MRL of any agricultural comp ound in relation to food applies regardless of any 
processing other than drying, dehydration or concentration.  Where the food has been 
dried, dehydated or concentrated the MRL of any agricultural compound must be determined with respect to the mass of the food after dilution or reconstitution, where 
appropriate.  
• the MRL of any agricultural compound present in a food consisting of one or more foods 
is to be calculated as the sum of the MRL specified for each food multiplied by the 
proportion  by mass of that food in the food product.   
 
What do you think?  
56. Are there any other criteria that should be considered in determining maximum 
residue levels ? 
 
Specifications required in notices issued by the MPI chief executive   
Regulations are proposed requiring notices  to specify the following:  
• the common name of the compound concerned ; 
• the compound’ s Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) r egistry number ; 
• the compound components that are to be considered in determining the maximum residue 
level ; 
• the food(s) to which the MRL  applies ; 
• the maximum residue limit for the compound in the relevant foods, established by 
summing the residue levels considered for each compound component ; and  
• any condition of approval, including any limit on the time period for which the MRL will 
apply . 
 
What do you think?  
57. Do notices specifying maximum residue l evels  need to provide other information than 
that identified for inclusion in regulations?  
 
 
92 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
Conditions of  sale for foods containing residue of agricultural compounds  
The following conditions of  sale are proposed for inclusion in the regulations:  
1. food containing residues of an agricultural compound is prohibited from sale except where 
it complies with the proposed regulations and any residue limits specified in a notice 
issued under section 406(1)(u).  
2. a person may sell a food containing residues of a particular agricultural compound not 
exceeding 0.1 mg/kg except where a maximum amount of residue for that compound is 
otherwise provided for in a notice issued under section 406(1)(u).  
3. a person may sell an imported food containing residues of an agricultural compound if 
that food:  
- complies with these regulations and any notice issued under section 406(1)(u) and 
subclause s (1) or (2) above; or  
- contains residues of agricultural compounds no greater tha n the MRLs specified 
for that food in the current editions or supplements in the Codex standards Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for Pesticides (CAC/MRL 1), Maximum 
Residue Limits for Veterinary Drugs in Food (CAC MRL 2), and Extraneous 
Maximum Residue Limit s (EMRLs) . 
 
What do you think?  
58. Are these conditions of sale for foods containing residue of agricultural compounds 
appropriate?  Are other conditions required?  
 
Exemptions  
Food containing residues of a specified substance may be exempt from the requiremen ts 
proposed above when the substance is used in accordance with a condition specified by notice issued under section 406(1)(u):  
• as an agricultural compound for the management of plants, or parts of plants, from which 
food is derived; or  
• as an agricultural compound for the management of plants to be fed to animals from 
which food is derived; or  
• as an agricultural compound for the management of animals that are intended for food, or 
from which the food is to be derived.  
 
What do you think?  
59. Are there any othe r circumstances where a food containing a residue of a specified 
substance should be exempt from the conditions of sale proposed for inclusion in 
regulations ? 
 
  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 93 9 Imported food 
 
Key issues  
As imported foods are produced overseas they have not necessarily been developed in a 
way that establishes they are safe and suitable by New  Zealand ’s standards.  The Food 
Act requires that food importers are registered , leaving regulations to establish more 
specific requirements.   
Objectives  
To assist in ensuring that food proposed for import is safe and suitable, regulations are 
proposed to establish:  
• general requirements of importers, including requirements for availability of 
information about food safety, origins and distribution;  
• requirements for verification of co mpliance with duties;  
• categorisation of food according to risk; and  
• clearance requirements for foods according to identified risk level.  
Alternative approaches  
The proposals for regulations concerning imported foods are generally based on 
requiring impo rters to be able to demonstrate safety and suitability when required, rather 
than specifying particular features  (such as specified documents ) that must be retained.  
We are interested in whether you think this approach will achieve the desired objectives  
or whether they could be achieved  by other means . 
 
9.1 What the Act says  
Food imported into New  Zealand  ranges from basic ingredients for cooking and processing, 
through to ready -to-eat retail products. Current food importers include small, family -based 
operat ors as well as the large companies and manufacturers.   
 
Section 106 of the Food Act requires f ood imported into New  Zealand  for the purpose of sale 
to be  safe and suitable . Importers of food are required to be registered and provision is made 
for regulatio ns to be made in a number of areas  concerning their management of imported 
food processes.  The Food Act also provides for the MPI chief executive to issue notices 
setting specifications or requirements concerning imported foods.  
9.2 Propos ed regulations  
The p roposed requirements , whether they are to be set out in regulations or notices , for 
imported food and food importers cover the following areas:  
 • fees associated with registration  of importers ; 
• general importer requirements;  
94 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
• verification requirements;   
• categorisation of imported food products by risk;  
• high regulatory interest foods; and  
• foods that require monitoring to determine what degree of risk they present.  
9.2.1 Registration requirements  
Under the Food (Importer Listing) Standard 2008 importers are required to be listed as an 
importer and provide information about themselves (such as their name, trading name, 
address, contact details and New  Zealand  Customs Service number). There are currently 
approximately 2,500 importers listed. Because there is no current requirement to update these 
listing s, the accuracy of the list is doubtful . 
New registrations  
Section 108 of the Food Act establishes that a person must not import food for the purpose of 
sale unless the person is a registered importer , or, if the person i s not a registered importer, the 
person is importing food through an agent who is a registered importer. This is in addition to 
registration of any risk -based measure that they may be operating under.  
 The Food Act sets the requirements for registration, i ncluding an effective duration of 
registration of 12 months after the date of registration.   
 
Regulations are proposed for the establishment of fees for registration with MPI . The 
proposed fees are set out in s ection 7 (Cost r ecovery)  of this document.  
Importers who are currently listed  
Under s ection 438 of the Food Act a person currently listed as an importer under the Food 
(Importer Listing) Standard issued under section 11C of the Food Act  1981 is deemed to be a 
registered importer until a date specified  by the MPI chief executive in a notice.  
 It is proposed that the MPI chief executive will issue such a notice (under s ection 438(2) of 
the Food Act ) requiring importers with this  deemed importer status to register by the first 
anniversary date after 1 Jul y 2016 of their listing  under the Food (Importer Listing) Standard . 
Their registration applications must also be lodged with MPI at least three months before registration is due.  
 This should give currently listed importers enough time to prepare their reg istration 
applications. It is also broadly consistent with requirements for importers registering for the 
first time under the Food Act 2014.  
 
What do you think?  
60. Does the proposed timeframe for importers with a deemed status to register appear 
appropriate to you?   
 
Requirements concerning applications for registration  
Section  113 of the Food Act requires  that an application for registration must:  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 95 • be made in writing to the chief executive in a form or manner specified by the chief 
executive by notice under  section 405; and  
• include the applicant ’s name, trading name, and business address (including the electronic 
address, if available); and  
• include the applicant ’s physical and electronic address for the purposes of section 
378(3)(a); and 
• be accompanied by th e prescribed fee (if any).  
 
The notice(s) specifying form or manner of an application for registration will be established 
separately from these regulations. There will be public consultation as part of their 
development.  
9.2.2 General requirements for register ed importers  
Appropriate gener al requirements relating to the activity of importing food are essential  to the 
effective risk management of this  food.   
 
The proposed gener al requirements for registered importers will apply to all registered 
importers of fo od imported for the purposes of sale whether or not the importer is subject to 
any other risk -based measure.  
The proposed gener al requirements for registered importers will apply from the sourcing of 
product in the exporting country through storage and tr ansport during the product ’s journey , 
until the product is given clearance into the domestic market .  
General requirements included in proposed regulations  
The existing Food (Importer General Requirements) Standard will be revoked as part of the 
process of  establishing regulations under the Food Act .  
 The proposed regulations will establish general requirements for registered food importers 
that will cover important  areas of pre and post -border management concerning imported 
foods:  
• sourcing information req uirements for all food imported for sale;  
• product identification requirements for all food imported for sale;  
• traceability requirements for all food imported for sale;  
• storage and transport requirements for all food imported for sale; and  
• requirements for managing non- compliance , including procedures for recall,  for all food 
imported for sale.  
Requirements for r ecord  keeping   
Record keeping requirements  will ensure that  information is available on how the safety and 
suitability of imported food is managed.  
Proposed regulation s would allow for importers to have access to, rather than keep all 
relevant documentation or information.  This allows flexibility for importers to u se or access  
information held in different locations  and web- based information from othe r parties, such as 
private standard certification.  Guidance will be provided to importers on ways to demonstrate 
compliance with these requirements.   
 Proposed regulations  would  require that registered importers must obtain  and have ready 
access to : 
96 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
• precis e identification of the imported food ( for example,  its brand name, description of the 
food, and details of its manufacturer or packer) ; 
• the quantity of food imported ( for example, the number of packages and the size of each 
package);  
• lot identification ( such as batch number) ; 
• information that enables food safety and suitability to be verified;  
• a list of suppliers , including contact details,  from whom the food has been  sourced ; and  
• documentation that:  
- establishes the connection between the named supplier and the food concerned;  
- enable s traceability back to the supplier;  
- enables traceability  forward to the next commercial purchaser; and  
- identifies the location of the food at all times while the food is under the importer ’s 
control.  
 
What do you think?  
61. Are the proposed information requirements appropriate in relation to the safety and 
suitability of imported food?  Are there matters included that you think are not 
necessary or are there further matters that you think should be included? 
 
 
It is proposed that  registered importers must have access  to the above information for four 
years. This length of time aligns with current practice and with other requirements in the Food Act. 
 If an import document  is presented  in a foreign language to a food safety officer , the officer 
may require the person who presented the document to supply an English translation of the document . The translation would need to be done by a person that the officer considered 
competent  and at the expense of  the person who presented it. The  requirement for 
documentation to be in English aligns with current practice and with the requirement s 
specified  in the Customs and Excise Act 1996.  
Requirements for storage and transport of all food imported for sale  
The proposed regulations will require registered importers to take all reasonable steps to 
ensure that the imported food (both before arrival at the border and at the border) is stored, transported, and handled in a manner that will:  
 • maintain food as safe  and suitable , taking account of the type of food concerned and any 
applicable storage instructions;  
• prevent deterioration;  and 
• prevent contamination . 
 
What do you think?  
62. Are all the key requirements concerning storage and transport requirements of 
imported food included in the proposed regulations?  
 
 MPI will develop guidance material for importers on demonstrat ing compliance with 
requirements.  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 97 Requirements for managing imported food requiring clearance that is not cleared 
for sale  
In order to ensure that food that requires clearance for sale but which does not receive 
clearance is managed , the proposed regulations will require appropriately r egistered importers 
to: 
• have a procedure in place that ensures any imported food requiring clearance that is not 
cleared is identified and retained ; that is, witheld from distribution until clearance or 
direction from a Food Safety Officer; and  
• keep sufficient evidence of management of not cleared product to enable compliance with 
any required actions in relation to the management of that food . 
 
What d o you think?  
63. Is more detail needed on the directions a Food Safety Officer can give about imported 
food that requires clearance (for example destruction or re- export of the food 
concerned)? 
 
9.2.3 Verification requirements for food importers  
What the Food Act  require s 
Section 388  of the Food Act allows for regulations to prescribe verification requirements in 
relation to importers including the frequency, intensity and cost of verification, as well as 
allowing verifiers to carry out their role.  Verification in  this context concerns compliance with 
the applicable requirements of the Food Act.  
 
The proposed regulations would provide that food importers, including importation agents, 
will be subject to verification to ensure compliance with:  
• duties as set out in section 111 of the Food Act; 
• general requirements that apply to imported foods as set out in regulations made under 
section 387 of the Food Act  (the proposed content is outlined earlier in this document ); 
and 
• different requirements for different categories of food, based on criteria, descriptions, food 
groups, import pathways, origins, risks or types made under section 387 of the Food Act  
(the proposed content is outlined earlier in this document ).  
 
Based on the overall risk presented by imported food and p roposed management of the risk 
through categorisation, no routine verification is proposed for food importers ’ compliance 
with general requirements.  However, importers may be subject to verification if information  
indicated this was necessary as a result o f adverse outcomes from  monitoring the food safety 
system (by MPI ), or through  routine systems audits, or by  benchmarking surveys.  
 If MPI takes  compliance action, one of the consequences may be that an importer is made 
subject to verification visits.  Such  verification will then take place according  to the schedule 
determined by the registration authority, until such time as an importer shows itself to be 
compliant, achieves consistent acceptable verification outcomes, and no further verification 
visits are  required.  
 
98 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
What do you think?  
64. Do these proposals for verification of importers raise any concerns for you?  For 
example, do they under -represent the risk presented by these foods?  Should there be a 
more proactive system of verification (recognising that, if cleared, foods will become 
subject to relevant risk based measures when traded in the domestic market)?  
 
Relationship with the Animal Products Act and Wine Act  
Neither the Animal Products Act 1999 nor the Wine Act 2003 cover the activity of food 
import ation.  Therefore, the activities that are covered by a risk management programme or 
wine standards management plan would not cover an operator ’s import activities. W here an 
animal product business or wine business imports food, the activity of food importa tion would 
be regulated under the Food Act .  
Verification competencies  
Verifiers involved in verifying importers ’ compliance with their legal duties and requirements 
will need to demonstrate competency to undertake such verification. Competency 
requiremen ts for verifiers are addressed in section 5 of this document.  
Potential costs of verification  
Verification will be undertaken by independent third party businesses. The costs of verification will depend on the charges made to importers by the providers of verification 
services.  
9.2.4 Categorisation of imported foods based on risk  
To improve the safety and suitability of imported food, it is proposed that regulations 
establish categories of imported food and requirements in relation to food in a particular 
catego ry. Import categorisation and border interventions will be  risk-based (targeted) . Where 
required, it is proposed that sampling and testing activities are undertaken .  
 
The fundamental approach to categorisation is not new, as the Food (Prescribed Foods) 
Standard 2007 provides a mechanism for identifying  high risk imported food.  The proposed 
categorisation system has more robust criteria for better targeting of imported foods in order 
to reduce unnecessary intervention at the border while improving the overa ll risk management 
of imported food.  
  
Setting different requirements for different imported food categories reflects a risk -based 
process for managing the risks associated with foods. The proposed regulations provide for 
systematic identification of the level of risk presented by food proposed for import and 
accordingly how they should be managed in the importation process.  
 
The regulatory interest in any imported food will be determined by:  
• the risks associated with that food; and  
• any emerging issues as sociated with that food.  
 
Regulations proposed will specify:  
• the process for categorisation of food;  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 99 • requirements applicable to food according to the level of risk presented, including 
clearance requirements;  and 
• requirements applicable to imported food o f uncertain status . 
 
What do you think?  
65. Are there other matters concerning the  categorisation of imported foods that you think 
should be included in the regulations?  
 
Regulations specifying the process of categorising  imported food s based on risk  
The pro posed regulations will set the following three categories of imported food :  
• of high regulatory interest because it is a high -risk food or, although otherwise defined as 
a low risk food, the food safety controls at the origin of the food do not deliver the  same 
or equivalent level of protection to ensure New  Zealand  standards has been met regarding 
its known risk to safety . This is comparable to existing provisions for prescribed foods.  
• of low regulatory interest because it has not been identified as a food  of high regulatory 
interest ; and  
• of increased  regulatory interest because of uncertainties or concerns about the food ’s 
known risk to safety . 
 
What do you think?  
66. Do the categories proposed for imported foods appear appropriate to you?  If not, do 
you have  other suggestions for how the y should be categorised? 
 
 In order to assign an imported food to one of the three categories, regulations would require 
the MPI chief executive to have regard to the following matters : 
• any hazards in the food that may raise a food safety concern ; 
• the likelihood of any such hazards to cause food safety concern ; 
• the severity of any potential effects on human health;  
• the knowledge of and the confidence in the exporting country’ s regulatory system;  
• how hazards present in the fo od are managed in the exporting country; and  
• other factors that the MPI chief executive deems necessary for the effective management 
of risks associated with imported food . 
 
What do you think?  
67. Are there other matters you think the MPI chief executive shou ld consider in 
categorising imported food other than those identified? 
 
 Regulations would require the MPI chief executive to prepare a categorisation report  for food 
that requires clearance under section 109.  The categorisation report will  identif y the risk level 
attributed to the food concerned .  
100 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
Regulations relating  to high regulatory interest food  
The proposed r egulations would require that only high regulatory interest food w ould be 
subject to clearance under section 109 of the Food Act . Low regulato ry interest foods will not 
require clearance under section 109.  Where clearance is required registered importers will be 
required to pay a fee for that service.  The details of that fee are set out in section 7 Cost 
recovery of this document ( in Table 11). 
 
Requirements for the clearance of high regulatory interest food will provide for consideration 
of one or more of the following:  
• pre-clearance arrangements with exporting countries providing particular assurances ; 
• the assurance pr ovided by exporters ’ control systems ;assurances to be provided by 
importers ’ control systems and compliance ; and  
• the results of sampling and testing of high regulatory interest food that may be required by a Food Safety Officer .  
 
What do you think?  
68. Are t here any other  matters you think should be considered regarding the clearance of 
high regulatory interest imported food?  
 
Regulations relating to imported food where there are uncertainties or concerns 
about its k nown risk to safety  
The proposed r egulatio ns would  establish a category of imported food of increased regulatory 
interest. This would cover food which might otherwise be of high or low regulatory interest 
but about which there are uncertainties about safety and suitability.   
The regulations w ould set requirements to:  
• respond to emerging issues relating to imported foods for which there may not be 
sufficient information to set long term requirements;  
• apply any additional measures necessary to ensure that food that may pose an unacceptable risk (fo od safety or suitability) and/or does not comply with New  Zealand  
food legislationis not imported and/or sold in New  Zealand ;  
• gather information (test results, importer assurances) that will be used (along with other information collected by MPI) to evalu ate the particular hazards and food safety risks and 
inform risk management decisions; and  
• manage the issue until the problem is resolved, either in the interim or longer term.  
 Foods may need to be identified as being of increased regulatory interest at short notice 
depending on the nature of the food safety hazard identified.  
 
The foods to be included in this  category will be identified by a notice issued by the MPI 
chief executive under s ection  405 of the Food Act.  Foods identified as being of increase d 
regulatory interest will be subject to additional requirements . These requirements will be 
specified in the chief executive ’s notice and may occur  whether or not the food otherwise 
requires clearance, depending on the best way of managing the risk . 
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 101 Any notice identifying a food as being of increased regulatory interest will be requ ired to 
include a date  by which a review of the food ’s status will be undertaken . The result of the 
review may include a further specified period for review.  
 
What do you thin k? 
69. Is other information required to give greater clarity to the category of imported  food of 
increased regulatory interest and how it will be managed?   
70. If so, what information?  
 
 
  
102 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
10 Exemptions  
 
Key issues  
The Food Act allows for regulations to be made ex empting food business from 
requirements.  While a number of Food Act provisions allow for exemptions, the only 
proposal at this stage is to set the circumstances under which food business may be 
exempt from a fee, levy or charge.  
Objectives  
The objective of exemptions is to acknowledge that there are instances where applying 
the requirements of the Food Act flexibly to food business achieves better results, and 
that the purposes of the Food Act can still be met despite a particular exemption being 
provided . 
Alternative approaches  
The proposals for exemptions are limited .  
 
We are interested in your views on  what options for further exemptions should  be 
explored, the reasons for any such exemptions  and, if these exemptions were made, how 
the purposes of th e Food Act c ould still be met . 
 
10.1 What the Act says  
The Food Act contains  provisions for regulations to be made about exemptions as set out in 
the table below:  
 
Table 12: Regulation -making powers about exemptions in the Food Act  
Subj ect Power to make 
regulations  
To provide for the general exemptions in section 31  not to  apply  Section 32 
Exemption from the Food Act generally  Section 343 
Exemptions of food that is to be exported  Section 345 
Exemptions from fees, charges or levies  Section 208  
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 103 10.2 Propos ed regulations  
10.2.1  Regulations that provide for exemptions in section 31 not to 
apply  
Under section 31 of the Food Act, businesses that trade in food to raise money for charitable, 
benevolent, philanthropic or cultural purposes will be exempt ed from the requirement to 
operate under a food control plan or national programme. The proviso, as set out in section 31, 
is that the fund -raising activity is not carried out on more than 20 occasions in any calendar 
year.  
 
However, u nder section  32 there  is a power to make regulations whereby the exemption 
provided for businesses in section 31 would not apply.  Such an “ exemption of an exemption ” 
could be applied to:  
• any food or any one or more classes or descriptions of food; 
• one or more classes or descri ptions of persons who trade in food;  
• any classes or descriptions of operations  or places in relation to any trade in food; and  
• any combination of the three bullet points above.  
 Under section 14 a person who trades in food must still ensure that the food i s safe and 
suitable as defined in the Food Act, even if they are not required to operate under a risk -based 
measure.   
 The question is  whether there are any foods that we consider should be “ unexempted”  from 
the Food Act ’s requirements even if the food is bring sold to raise money for charitable, 
benevolent, philanthropic or cultural purposes .  
 
However, at this stage MPI is not proposing  to make any regulations that would exclude any 
of food, persons, or operations from the general exemption in section 31.   
 
What do you think?  
71. Do you consider that there are any sound reasons, or instances worth investigating, to 
exclude any food, persons, or operations from the general exemption for businesses 
trading for charitable, benevolent, philanthropic or cultural p urposes?  
10.2.2  General exemptions from the Food Act  
Under section 343 regulations can be made to exempt the following  from ap plication of any 
or all of the requirements of the Food Act:  
• any food or any one or more classes or descriptions of food;  
• any one or mor e classes or descriptions of persons who trade in food;  and 
• any classes or descriptions  of operations or places in relation to any trade in food.  
 For the sake of reference and completeness, please note that Schedule 3 of the Food Act sets 
out the food sec tors that are not required to operate under a food control plan or national 
programme.  
 
MPI is still considering whether any exemptions under section 343 of the Food Act are 
required at this stage .  
104 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
 
Section 344 provides that the Minister must be satisfied  that one or more of the following 
applies before recommending an exemption:  
• the risk to public health of providing the exemption is negligible; or  
• there are other sufficient safeguards under th e Food Act  to minimise any risk to public 
health in providing the exemption; or  
• there are requirements in another enactment or there are other means that deal with the 
matter to be exempted besides the applicable requirement of this Act .  
 At present, MPI considers that there are no grounds under section 344 to recom mend such an 
exemption and to make regulations under this provision.  
 
What do you think?  
72. Do you consider that there are any sound reasons, or instances worth investigating, to 
exclude any food, persons, or operations from any requirements of the Food Act?  
Identify whether you consider there are any specific instances to investigate.  
10.2.3  Exemptions of food that is to be exported  
Under section  345 regulations can be made exempting food that is to be exported from the 
requirements of all or any of the following:  
• adopted joint food standards or domestic food standards for  food intended for export to 
any destination other than Australia;  
• regulations made under section 383  (regulations about standards in relation to food)  for 
food intended for export to any destinat ion; and  
• notices made under section 405 for food intended for export to any destination . 
 
An exemption may apply to:  
• exports to any destination; or  
• exports to specified destinations; or  
• exports to any destination other than specified destinations . 
 Should the Minister decide  to recommend regulations to exempt food that is to be exported 
from having to meet the requirements listed in section 345  (set out above) , the Minister must 
be satisfied that : 
• the exemption is necessary or desirable to facilitate access  to an overseas market or to 
overseas markets; and  
• he or she has taken into account the requirements of the overseas market or overseas 
markets to which the food is to be exported; and  
• in the case of regulations that would grant an exemption for food inten ded for export to 
Australia, the appropriate Australian authority has been consulted; and  
• if appropriate, the risks in relation to the safety and suitability of the food are managed by an applicable risk management programme or regulated control scheme und er the Animal 
Products Act 1999 or any other applicable risk- based measure; and  
• there has been appropriate consultation on the regulations in accordance with section 379.  
 
At this stage we are not proposing any such regulations . 
 
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 105 What do you think?  
73. Do yo u consider there are instances where exemptions for certain food exports should 
be considered?   
74. How would any such exemptions fit in with the Minister ’s discretion as provided for 
in the Food Act under section 345?  
10.2.4  Exemption from f ees, charges or levies  
Section 208 provides that regulations  may be made that would provide for “ exemptions from, 
or waivers or refunds of, any fee, charge, or levy payable under this subpart, in whole or in 
part, in any class of case” . Such regulations  would authorise the MPI ch ief executive  or the 
chief executive of a territorial a uthority to grant an exemption, waiver , or refund . 
 
A regulation is proposed  to authorise the MPI chief executive or the chief executive of a 
territorial authority to grant an exemption, waiver, or ref und of a fee, charge or levy . The 
Food Act requires that if such a regulation is made, it must set out the circumstances in which 
an exemption, waiver or refund may be granted.  The circumstances proposed are:  
• if the amount of the charge is less than the re asonable cost of recovering the fee, charge, 
or levy;  
• in the case of an administrative error  on the part of the Ministry or the territorial authority 
as the case may be ;  
• if the chief executive  of MPI or a territorial authority considers, in any particular case, that 
it would be unreasonable or unfair to require the payment of the whole of any fee 
prescribed ; or 
• if the chief executive of MPI or a territorial authority considers that efficiencies can be made by, for example, batching services, resulting in lower costs.  
  
It is also proposed that this particular regulation  will expire five years after commencement . 
 
What do you think?  
75. Do you agree with the circumstances proposed that would provide for the MPI chief 
executive or  the chief executive of  a terri torial authority to grant exemptions, waivers 
or refunds of a fee charge or levy?  
76. Do you consider that there are grounds for considering additional circumstances to be 
considered relating to certain services or activities?  If so, what do you consider thos e 
grounds to be?   
 
106 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
11 Infringement offences  
Key issues  
The Food Act provides for  regulations to specify infringement offences and fees.   
Objectives  
Infringement regulations identify which offences, if any, are suitable as infringement 
offences.  Proposals  identify breaches of the Food Act that are considered comparatively 
minor, and that warrant more than a warning, but less than the full sanction of criminal 
law.  
 
An infringement scheme holds people accountable for their actions , promote s a sense of 
respo nsibility , and educates  people about unacceptable conduct.  It encourag es 
compliance with the law by imposing a set financial penalty fo r relatively minor 
breaches of the law . 
 
The Food Act provides for a new food safety regime and a three- year period for 
businesses to make the transition into th is regime. We have c onsider ed infringement 
offences that are necessary as a compliance tool from the commencement of the Food 
Act.  
Alternative approaches  
Proposals for infringements relate to the joint Food Standa rds Code – these are technical 
in nature  – and the requirement to register under the Food Act.   
 
We are interested to know how well you think the proposals will achieve the identified 
objectives or whether other options should be considered.  
11.1 What the Act says  
Infringement offences are offences which may be dealt with by way of a fixed financial 
penalty, served by an infringement notice.  A person who commits an infringement offence 
must pay the fee but does not receive a criminal conviction. The objective of an infringement scheme is to change behaviours to reduce harm caused by relatively minor offending.  
 
The use of the infringement notice procedure is stated by the Legislation Advisory Committee 
as best suited for those offences that:  
• are committed in large numbers ; 
• involve misconduct that is generally regarded as being of comparatively minor concern by 
the general public;  
• involve acts or omissions that  involve straightforward issues of fact ; and 
• are strict or absolute liability offences . 
 
The Ministry  of Justice ’s Guidelines for New Infringement Schemes state that infringement 
offence schemes are suitable for addressing comparatively minor breaches of the law, which warrant more than a warning, but less than the full sanction of criminal law.  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 107  
As food  regulators we seek to adopt a graduated and proportionate approach to addressing 
non-compliance by food businesses. This approach is supported by the VADE (Voluntary, 
Assisted, Directed and Enforced) model. VADE provides a framework for regulators to 
evaluate the behaviours of those they regulate and match an appropriate intervention to the 
level of non- compliance, with a focus on the earliest intervention to avoid the risks associated 
with non compliance.   
 Critical to the success of this approach is an appropriate range of tools for addressing a range 
of behaviours and non -compliances. The Food Act provides for a new range of enforcement 
tools, including infringement notices, to enable a more graduated approach.  
 
The diagram below presents where these new  tools may be applied to address the range of 
behaviours to achieve the desired behaviour change and compliance.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
Voluntary compliance  interventions are focussed on the regulator clearly communicating 
expectations and oblig ations to ensure that it is easy for those that they are regulating to 
understand what they must do, and why they must do it.  
 
Assisted compliance  interventions are focussed on monitoring activities that rei nforce 
obligations  – this is through verification and systems audit.  This is also where we gather Compliance Operational Delivery Model  
VADE – Voluntary, Assisted, Directed , Enforced  
Use of full force of the law  – Prosecution  
Deter by  detection – Infringements, 
Improvement Notices, Compliance 
Orders, Recall, Seizures, Restricting 
Use, Closure, Registration 
Suspension or Revocations  
Verification , 
System Audit  
Providing Education 
Advice and Guidance  Criminal intent and illegal activity  
Propensity to offend  
Attempting to comply  
Voluntarily comply  Attitude to compliance (behaviour)  Compliance strategy (intervention)  
DIRECTED  
ASSISTED  
VOLUNTARY  ENFORCED  
108 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
information that is assessed and fed back to our stakeholders and used to inform where our 
regulatory effort is best placed.  
 Directed compliance is about managing non- compliance with a range of intervention s to 
encourage a desired behaviour change.  Interventions here require some power under 
legislation so are issued by Food Safety Officers.  The Food Act provides a range of tools 
from minor to serious enabling a graduated and proportionate approach.  New comp liance 
tools include infringements, improvement notices and compliance orders . 
 Enforced compliance is where regulators are required to use the full force of the law as a 
consequence of no noticeable behavioural change despite Voluntary, Assisted and Directed interventions, or where lesser intervention is inappropriate.  
11.1.1  What regulation -making powers does the Food Act provide?  
Section 391 of the Food Act provides that regulations may be made for the following 
purposes:  
• stating which offences in the Food Act are infringement offences ; 
• prescribing infringement offences  for the breach or failure to comply with any specified 
requirements or conditions referred to in section 243 or 244;  
• prescribing infringement notices, infringement reminder notices, and infringe ment forms of any  
other kind ; and 
• prescribing the amount, up to $1,000, of an infringement fee that is payable for an infringement  
offence, including different fees for a first offence, a second offence, and subsequent offences.  
11.2 Propos ed regulations   
Infringement offences are proposed in relation to importing food as a registered importer, 
registration of food control plans and national programmes, and some joint Food Standard s 
Code requirements.  These are discussed below.  
11.2.1  Offences under the Food Act  
Proposals for specific Food Act offences to be prescribed as infringement offences were 
assessed under the Legislative Advisory Committee and Ministry of Justice guidelines.  The 
following sections are recommended as infringement offences as a result of this process:  
• Section 234 (1)(c) provides that a  person commits an offence if the person breaches or 
fails to comp ly with section 108 (se t out below).  For this offence we propose an 
infringement fee of $450.  
 
Section 108: Restriction on importation of food for purpose of sale   
(1) A person must not import any food for the purpose of sale unless — 
a) the person is a registered importer; or  
b) if the person is not a registered importer, the person is importing the food through 
an agent who is a registered importer.  
(2) The impo rtation of food in a quantity that is more than that which a reasonable 
person would consider to be reasonably required for the purpose of personal 
consumption must, unless the contrary is proved, be treated as an importation of the 
food for the purpose of  sale. 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 109  
• Section 240(2) provides that a person commits an offence if the person breaches or fails to 
carry out a duty specified in section 48 (food control plans must be registered) or section 
79 (food businesses subject to national programme must be regis tered) . For this offence 
we propose an infringement fee of $450.  
 
What do you think?  
77. Do you agree that sections 234 (1)(c) and 240(2) offences should be prescribed  as 
infringement offences?  
78. Do you agree with the proposed infringement fee s? 
 
11.2.2  Food Standard s Code  
Requirements under the joint Food Standards Code were assessed for their suitability under 
this infringement scheme. Excluded from the scheme were food safety related requirements with high public health risk that are managed with alternate complia nce tools, transitional 
standards, and standards that are otherwise in transition or under review.  
 
The requirements were then assessed against the Legislative Advisory Committee and 
Ministry of Justice guidelines for infringement schemes , taking into cons ideration matters 
such as  MPI complaint and investigation data and compositional surveys; consideration of 
whether the breach would be better managed by an alternative enforcement tool; and whether 
there was a clear interpretation of the requirement using the working knowledge at MPI.  
 
The requirements were then assessed to determine the appropriate level of infringement fee:   
 
• High:  requirements that relate to food safety and a breach of which would have a high 
probability of causing a food safety outcome.  For these offences we propose an 
infringement fee of $650.  
• Medium : requirements that relate to food safety/public health and a breach of which 
could contribute to an adverse food safety or public health outcome.  For these offences we 
propose an infringeme nt fee of $450.  
• Low : requirements that relate to general information . For these offences we propose an 
infringement fee of $300.  
 The schedule at Appendix 1 sets out the proposed infringement scheme for the  joint Food  
Standards Code.  
 
What do you think?  
79. Do you agree with the requirements identified and the associated infringement fee in 
the proposed infringement scheme for the Australia New  Zealand  Food Standards 
Code?  
 
110 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
11.2.3  Infringement offences not currently proposed 
Infringement  offences relating to food s afety and suitability requirements may be appropriate. 
However , these requirements are still being developed a nd are included in  the propos ed 
regulations for national programmes and food control plans.  
 
Once the Food Act regulations are in force and the au thorised transition period for each food 
sector has ended , we will consider whether any further infringement offences are required . 
This will provide enough time for businesses to understand the requirements of the new 
system.  It will also allow time for the range of new tools available from commencement, such 
as improvement notices, to bed in. We can then consider whether they provide the necessary 
graduated approach before any expan sion of the infringement scheme.  
 
What do you think?  
80. Are there infringeme nt offences that you consider should be in place for 
commencement of the Food Act that are not currently proposed? 
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 111 12 Transitional matters  
 
Key issues  
The Food Act states there will be a three -year introductory period. This provides  a 
smooth  transition for  regulators , existing food businesses  and verifiers (auditors)  into the 
new regime.  A transition schedule and any steps a food business needs to take to 
transition will be outlined in regulation.   
 
All food businesses that start up on or after 1 March 2016 must operate immediately 
under the new regime.  
Objectives  
The proposed regulations will provide a schedule that allows for an effective and 
efficient transition into the new food safety system.  We propose that the i ntroductory 
period begins 1 March 2016 and ends 30 June  2019.  This is longer than three years to 
better align with common financial and planning cycles . Requirements will also clarify 
the deemed recognition of an auditor.  
Alternative approaches  
The proposals in this section deal with primar ily with timeframes.  There are two options 
for businesses that are participating in the voluntary implementation programme . 
 
We would be interested to know how well you think the proposals , including the 
schedule,  will support transition , or whether the objectives can be achieved in a different 
way. 
 
12.1 What the Act says  
 
The Food Act regulations will be in force by 1 March 2016, but there will be an introductory 
period  of three years  for all existing businesses to allow them to transition to the new regime.  
 
Each food sector will have an authorised period  during the introductory period to make the 
transition from the requirements of the Food Act 1981 to the new requirements of the Food Act 2014.  The authorised period  for each food sector  to make this transition  will end on a date 
specified in  regulations.  
 
A food business that is subject to the Food Hygiene Regulations 1974 on 29 February 2016 
will continue to be subject to these regulations until the end of the ir authorised transition 
period . 
 A food safety p rogramme under the Food Act 1981 that is current on 29 February 2016 is 
deemed to be a food control plan under t he Food Act  until the end of the authorised period for 
the food sector that the food business is in.  
112 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
 
At the end of the authorised transition period, the food business must operate under the 
applicable risk -based measure for its food sector , unless the food business is wholly within 
one or more of the food sectors specified in Schedule 3. Alternatively, it may choose to 
operate under a food contr ol plan, if a food control plan is not the applicable risk -based 
measure for its food sector.  
 A food business that is not in existence immediately before the commencement date  and that 
only starts to operate on or after that date , must operate under the applicable risk -based 
measure  (if any) for its food sector. Alternatively, it may choose to operate under a food 
control plan, if a food control plan is not the applicable risk -based measure for its food sector.  
 
By the end of the Food Act’s introductory pe riod, every food business must be operating 
under the  applicable  risk-based measure (if any), unless an exemption under the Food Act  
applies to th at business.  
12.1.1  Regulation -making powers about the authorised transition period   
Part 5 subpart 7 of the Food Act  sets out pre -commencement and transitional requirements 
that may be set in regulation and, if required, be supported by notices issued by the MPI chief 
executive.  These regulation -making powers:  
• specify the end date of the authorised transition period ; 
• extend the end date of the authorised transition period for a food sector to any date up to 
the end of the Food Act ’s introductory period;  
• specify the steps that the food businesses must take to ensure that they are subject to the applicable risk -based measu re by the end date; and   
• specify any other steps that may be necessary or desirable for the transition of food businesses to operating under applicable risk- based measures.  
 Regulations may also be made to revoke the Food Hygiene Regulations 1974, Food (Safety) 
Regulations  2002 and Dietary Supplements Regulations 1985 before the end of the Food 
Act’s introductory period. No regulations are currently proposed to do this.  
12.2 Proposed regulations  
A transition schedule for food sectors is proposed . During this ti me each food sector will 
become subject to the new Act and the regulations and notices made under it. Each food 
sector will have an authorised period during which to  make the transition from requirements 
of the Food Act 1981 (and the Food Hygiene Regulatio ns 1974) to the new requirements of 
the Food Act 2014 . It is proposed that the commencement of th e authorised  period for all 
businesses  is fixed by regulation as  the commencement date of the Food Act (1 March 2016) .  
12.2.1  Regulations for the authorised transiti on period for each food 
sector  
Existing businesses required to operate under a risk based measure under the Food Act must 
have registered to do so before the end date of the authorised transition period for their food 
sector. To ensure registration is comp leted in time, we propose  that applications must be 
received at least three months  before each authorised transition period  ends.  
 The Food Act requires an evaluation of a food control plan that is not based on a template 
issued by the MPI chief executive. The MPI chief executive can waive this requirement 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 113 (Section 405 (1)(b)).  It may be appropriate that an evaluation is not required for food control 
plans registered by food business es that  were operating with a current food safety programme 
on 29 February  2016, provided that the registered food control plan reflects a similar scope of 
activities to that in the food safety programme.  
 
Food businesses with  activities that fall into more than one sector will need to transition in the 
earliest applicable autho rised transition period.  
Businesses participating in the voluntary implementation programme   
Food businesses that operate with a food safety programme under the voluntary 
implementation programme (restaurants cafes and caterers) may continue to do so until  the 
end of the authorised transition period for their sector.  MPI will make sure that information is 
available to businesses that identif ies any differences between their current food safety 
programme and a template issued by the MPI chief executive.  
 
It has been proposed and supported in previous consultation (refer to section 12.2.2) that these 
businesses are subject to early transition  in the first and second period outlined in Table 13. 
An alternative approach that would recog nise that some of these businesses have now been 
participating in th e voluntary implementation  programme for several years  would be to 
schedule these businesses later in the introductory period. This option may also help spread 
the workload for territorial  authorities  during transition . 
 
There will be businesses in other sectors that will have voluntarily taken a risk -based 
approach under the Food Act 1981. If an option was made available to businesses operating under the voluntary implementation programme , we would be interested in your view on 
whether  a similar option should be offered to all businesses operating with an approved food 
safety programme . 
 The proposed transition schedule  for existing businesses  is outlined in the following table . 
 
Table 13: Proposed transition schedule  
Risk -based tool  1 March 2016 – 30 
June 201713 1 July 2017 – 30 
June 201814 1 July 2018 – 30 June 
201915 
 
Individually 
developed F ood 
control 
programmes 
(FCPs) Manufacturers of food 
for vulnerable 
populati ons Manufacturers of 
commercially 
sterilised food 
products  Manufacturers of 
vegetable protein and 
other protein products  
Individually 
developed FCPs  Manufacturers of fresh 
ready -to-eat salads  Manufacturers of 
meat, poultry or fish 
products  - 
Individuall y 
developed FCPs  Manufacturers of non -
shelf stable sauces, 
spreads, dips, soups, 
broths, gravies or 
dressings  Manufacturers of dairy 
products  - 
Individually - Manufacturers of - 
13 Application for registration to be received no later than 1 April 2017  
14 Application for registration to be received no later than 1 April 2018 
15 Application for registration to be receiv ed no later than 1 April 2019 
114 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries                                                   
Risk -based tool  1 March 2016 – 30 
June 201713 1 July 2017 – 30 
June 201814 1 July 2018 – 30 June 
201915 
developed FCPs  processed egg 
products  
Individually 
developed FCPs  - Manufac turers of 
meals and prepared 
food - 
Individually 
developed FCPs  - Wholesale bakers  - 
Importer 
registration only  Listed importers 
deemed until 
anniversary date of 
listing    
 
Template FCPs  Food service sector 
general -on licence  Food retailers that 
prepa re or 
manufacture and sell 
food – including retail 
butchers, fishmongers, 
delis, supermarkets   
Template FCPs   Food service sector 
general - no on licence   
 
National 
programme ( NP) 
3  Processors of herbs or 
spices  Processors of grain  
NP3  Retailers that handle 
food (but do not 
prepare or 
manufacture food)  Manufacturers of oils 
and fats for human 
consumption 
NP3  Manufacturers of food 
additives, processing 
aids, vitamins, 
minerals and other 
nutrients intende d to 
be added to food  Manufacturers of dry 
mix p owders  
NP3  Manufacturers of non 
alcoholic beverages  Brewers, distillers, 
manufacturers of 
vinegar, alcoholic 
beverages or malt 
extract  
 
NP2 Food service to pre -
school children 
(including children 
under 5 years) in a 
centre -based setting  Retailers of 
manufacturer 
packaged chilled and 
frozen food (excluding 
ice cream and iced 
confectionery)  Manufacturers of shelf -
stable grain -based  
products  
NP2 Processors of nuts or 
seeds  Manufacturers of 
confectio nery Manufacturers of crisps, 
popcorn, pretzels, soy 
crisps or similar snack 
products  
NP2 - Bakeries that prepare 
or manufacture bread Manufacturers of 
dried/dehydrated fruit or 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 115 Risk -based tool  1 March 2016 – 30 
June 201713 1 July 2017 – 30 
June 201814 1 July 2018 – 30 June 
201915 
or bread -derived 
products only  vegetables  
NP2 - - Manufacturers of water 
based products 
including ice, iced 
confectionery and 
desser ts 
NP2 - - Manufacturers of shelf -
stable condiments 
(including sauces, 
spreads and preserves ) 
NP2 - - Manufacturers of frozen 
fruit and vegetables  
 
NP1 - - Retailers of hot 
beverages and shelf -
stable manufacturer 
packaged foods only  
NP1 - - Extracto rs and packers 
of honey  
NP1 - - Manufacturers of sugar 
or related products  
NP1 - - Transporters or 
distributors of food 
products  
NP1 - - Producers of 
horticultural food and 
horticultural packing 
operations (packhouses ) 
NP1 - - Retailers of 
manufacturer  packaged 
ice cream and iced 
confectionery  
 
Total no. of food 
businesses 
(approximate)*  9365 17,220  19,285 
 
* The number provides an estimate of the total number of food businesses in each sector, based on 
existing data available to MPI . 
 
 
What do you think?  
81. Do you agree with the proposed transition schedule in the table? Why or why not?  
82. In your view, should businesses participating in the voluntary implementation 
programme transition  with their sectors  in the first and second authorised transition 
periods or the third period?  What is the reason for your view?  
83. Do you think a similar option should be offered to all businesses operating with an 
approved food programme? Why or why not?  
 
116 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
12.2.2  Rationale for the transition schedule  
Consultation16 and analysis from  the original transition schedule identified a number of 
factors for consideration during the revision process. There were two main themes:  
• the division of workload for regulators and verifiers; and  
• managing industry expectations.  
Division of workload for  regulators and verifiers ( territorial authoritie s, MPI and 
verifiers)  
Considerations included:  
• the need to spread the workload during the introductory period  for territorial authorities , 
who will be responsible for registering and verifying food businesse s operating under 
template food control plan s;  
• the need to have a balanced volume of food businesses for each, and throughout each, of the transition years to ensure that the demand for evaluation, registration, support  and 
verification can be met ; 
• the ne ed to provid e the capacity to allow for the registration and verification of newly 
established businesses to be regulated under the new food regulatory system ;  
• placing businesses under national programmes towards the end of the transition time frame to allow sufficient time for communications with these sectors ; and  
• the recognition that there are some sectors for which MPI has low regulatory oversigh t, 
and pl acing them towards the end of the introductory period would  allow MPI more time 
to liaise with thes e sectors.  
Managing industry expectations  
Considerations included:  
• taking into account previous consultation on transition schedules to ensure that the revised transition schedule does not provide surprises – such as moving a business anticipating 
transition in year 3 into year 1 ;  
• for food businesses with existing food safety programmes (including voluntary 
implementation programme  participants) noting that transition is unlik ely to require any 
significant changes ;  
• acknowledging that as  a national program me is a new regulatory measure there  needs to 
be sufficient time for businesses subject to national programmes to understand the 
requirements of the new system ;  
• allow ing time for businesses to register under the new system at the time they are next due 
to register to avoid additional registration costs ; and  
• ensur ing that higher risk businesses (subject to food control plans) are integrated into the 
system at an early stage of transition . 
16 Public consultation on transition has previously occurred in 2006, 2007 and 2009.  
2006 document: Domestic Food Review  – Discussion Paper 9  – Transition Policy and Related Implementation  
2007 document: Domestic Food Review  – Policy and Related Implementation Position Paper  
2009 document: Domestic Food Review: Transition and implementation discussion paper NZFSA (now MPI) 
discussion document no.12/09  Documents are available  at: 
www.foodsafety.govt.nz/elibrary/industry/domestic -food-review -discussion -
doc/index.htm   
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 117                                                 12.2.3  Introductory period 
The Food Act ’s introductory period lasts for thre e years from the appointed date, unless 
extended to a date up to two years later by regulations made under that Act.  
 
It is proposed that the appointed date is fixed by regulation as the Food Act commencement 
date of 1 March 2016.  Three years from that dat e would be 28 February 2019, and each 
transition year would therefore be from  1 March to 28 February.  However, this does not 
readily align with generally accepted financial and planning cycles.   
The r egulatory o ptions  for aligning the introductory period with the accepted financial and 
planning cycles are either  to: 
• take no action; or  
• extend the  introductory period to 30 June 2019 and have 30 June to 1 July  authorised 
transition periods . 
 
Accordingly, the proposed r egulations extend the introductory period to 30 June 2019 to align 
with financial cycles  and make the first authorised transition period 16 months long.  
 
The three proposed authorised transition periods are:  
• first authorised transition period  1 March 2016 – 30 June 2017 ;  
• second authorised transi tion period 1 July 2017 – 30 June 2018 ; and  
• third authorised transition  period  1 July 2018 – 30 June 2019.  
 
What do you think?  
84. Do you support extending the introductory period to 30 June 2019 to align more 
closely with common financial and planning cycle s?  
12.2.4  Transitional provisions – deemed recognition of auditors of Food 
Safety Programmes approved under the Food Act 1981  
Under the Food Act  (section 435) , auditors who are currently approved under section 8ZV of 
the Food Act 1981  to audit businesses operat ing under food safety programmes are deemed  to 
be recognised until the earlier of expiry  of their current appointment or a date nominated by 
the MPI chief executive in a notice.  
 
Under the Food Act  (section 436) , agencies managing the auditors described ab ove are 
deemed to be recognised until a date nominated by the MPI chief executive in a notice.  
 
This provision affects several third party auditing agencies, most territorial authorities and 
“approved ” staff members in both.  
Notice- making powers  
Under sect ion 437, the MPI chief executive may issue notices applying to approved auditors 
and auditing agencies that specify:  
• certain conditions that apply during the period of deemed recognition;  
• the management standards the agency must meet ; 
• the functions that th e agency or auditor must or must not carry out ; 
• the competency standards that the auditor must meet ;  
• the training that the auditor must do . 
118 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
Impact  
The deeming provisions allow approved auditors and auditing agencies to provide services to:  
• food businesses  while they make the transition from operating under food safety 
programmes to operating to food control plans under the Food Act ; and  
• certain new food businesses t hat register under the Food Act from 1  March 2016.  
 
When their deemed recogniti on expires, a gencies and auditors  who wish to continue to 
manage and provide services s uch as evaluation and verification under the Food Act will need 
to gain recognition under the relevant section of that Act.  
The proposal  
It is proposed that notices will be issued fo r auditing agencies and for auditors.  The notice 
will clarify that  existing management standards (for agencies) and competency requirements 
(for auditors), as set out in the document published by MPI in October 2014 ( Criteria for 
approval of food safety pr ogramme auditors ) will continue to apply  while they operate under 
deemed recognition.  
 
Table 14: Proposals for contents of a notice issued under section 437(3) of the Food Act 2014 
about approved auditors and agencies  
Person  Functio ns able to be 
performed under 
deemed recognition  Management standards, 
competency standards and/or 
training  Proposed expiry 
date of deemed 
recognition  
Approved 
auditors in 
auditing 
agencies  May operate in the 
class/es of operation 
specified in their 
approval under 
section 8ZV of the Food 
Act 1981.  
May provide evaluation 
functions if  their 
managing agency holds  
accreditation to ISO 
17020 Must continue to meet the criteria that 
apply to their approval under s ection 
8ZV of Food Act 1981 as set out in the 
docu ment “Criteria for approval of 
food safety programme auditors” and 
including criteria relating to:  
independence and impartiality, 
organisation and management, audit 
methods and procedures, handling 
samples, audit records, audit report 
contents, monthly rep orting 
requirements and handling complaints 
and appeals  Expiry of approval  
under s.8ZV of 
Food Act 1981 
Auditing 
agencies  May operate in the 
class/es of operation for 
which auditors under 
their management have 
approval under 
section 8ZV of the Food 
Act 19 81. 
May include evaluation 
functions if agency 
holds accreditation to 
ISO 17020  Must employ at least one person who 
meets the requirements of “Criteria 
for approval of food safety programme 
auditors”  30 June 201 6 
(application for 
recognition to be 
made 20 working 
days before expiry ) 
 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 119  
Approved 
auditors in 
Territorial 
Authorities  May operate in the class 
of operation specified in 
their approval under 
section 8ZV of the Food 
Act 1981 (i.e. template 
Food Safety 
Programmes ) Must continue to meet the criteria that 
apply to their approval under s ection 
8ZV of Food Act 1981 as set out in the 
document “Criteria for approval of 
food safety programme auditors”  
including those relating to  
independence and impartiality, 
organisation and management, audit 
methods and p rocedures, handling 
samples, audit records, audit report 
contents, monthly reporting 
requirements and handling complaints 
and appeals  End of Food Act 
2014 introductory 
period – 30 June 
2019.  This aligns 
with the last day for 
the transition of 
businesses 
operating on 
template FSPs 
under the Food Act 
1981.  
 
 
Territorial 
Authorities  May operate in the class 
of operation for which 
auditors under their 
management have 
approval under s ection 
8ZV of the Food Act 
1981 (i.e. template Food 
Safety Programmes)  Must em ploy at least one person who 
meets the requirements of “Criteria 
for approval of food safety programme 
auditors”  
 
To ensure that new food businesses wishing to operate under a custom food control plan have 
access to evaluation services from full commence ment of the Food Act, the notice will 
specify that auditors managed by agencies that hold accreditation to ISO 17020 may provide evaluation services to businesses in their approved class/es of operation during their period of 
deemed recognition.  
 The food businesses currently being audited by third party auditors include more complex 
and/or higher risk food businesses that either develop their own food safety programmes or that operate from premises in more than one local council district.  It is considered appropriate 
that the auditors of these businesses, and their managing agencies, should make the transition to operating under the Food Act as soon as practicable.  The date of expiry of their current 
approval under the Food Act 1981 is therefore proposed fo r auditors.  For their managing 
agencies, the proposed four month authorised transition period (to 30 June 2016) is consistent 
with the approach taken by other transitional regulations.  
 
Staff in territorial authorities are currently approved to audit (veri fy) only food businesses 
operating with food safety programmes that are based on MPI templates.  The transitional 
timeframes for these businesses will extend until the end of the Food Act ’s introductory 
period (30 June 2019).  Matching the period of deemed r ecognition for territorial authorities 
and their approved staff to that of the food businesses in the “territorial authority ” market will 
help to ensure a smooth transition.  
 
What do you think?  
85. Do you support the proposed expiry dates for deemed recogniti on? If not, why not?  
 
120 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
13 Appendix 1: Infringement Scheme for the Food Standards Code  
 
The following clauses from Chapters 1 and 2 of the Australia New Zealand  Food Standards Code have been assessed as suitable for prescribing as infringement 
offences . Note : It is anticipated that the standard and clause numbering referred to below will change as a result of the Code restructure cu rrently being undertaken.  
 
Chapter 1 – General Food Standards  
 
Standard  Descriptor  Clause  Requirement  Fee  
 
1.1.1  Preliminary 
Provisions – 
Application, 
Interpretation 
and General 
Prohibitions  11(1)  The label on a package of food must not be altered, removed, erased, obliterated or obscured except 
with permission of the relevant authority. (Note sub -clause 2 allows for “ over-labellin g) $650  
1.2.2  Food 
Identification Requirements  1(1) The label on the package of food must include the prescribed name, name, or description  that 
indicates the true nature of the Food  –  
An agreed MPI definition of the true nature of food will be developed  for enforcement guidance  $300  
2 The label on the package of food must include Lot identification  $450  
3(1) The label on the package of food must include the name and business address in Australia or 
New Zealand  of the supplier of the food $450  
1.2.3 Mandatory 
Warning and Advisory 
Statements and 
Declarations  2(1) The label on the package of food must include an advisory statement  
Some substances will be excluded as alternative enforcement mechanisms are preferred  $450  
5(1) The label on a package  of food must include an advisory statement to the effect that excess 
consumption of the food may have a laxative effect  $450  
1.2.4  Labelling of 
Ingredients  2 The label on a package of food must include a statement of ingredients  $300  
3 The statement o f ingredients must list every ingredient in the food  $450  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 121 4 Ingredients must be declared in the statement of ingredients using common, descriptive or generic 
names  
An agreed MPI position on what constitutes common, descriptive and generic names will be 
developed for enforcement guidance  $300  
1.2.5  Date Marking of 
Packaged Food  4(1) a best -before date must use the words “Best Before ” and be accompanied by the date  $450  
4(2) a use -by date must use the words “Use By ” and be accompanied by the date  
4(3) a baked -for date must use the words “Baked for ” or “Bkd for ” and be accompanied by the date  
4(4) a baked -on date must use the words “Baked On ” or “Bkd On ” and be accompanied by the date  
5(1) If the best -before date or use -by date is not more th an 3 months from the date applied, the date mark 
must consist at least of the day and month in that order  $450  
5(2) If the best -before date or use -by date is more than 3 months from the date applied, the date mark must 
consist at least of the month and the year in that order  
5(3) The best -before date and the use -by date must be expressed in numerical form except for the month 
which may be expressed in letters.  $300  
5(4) The day, month and year so expressed within the best -before or use -by date mu st be distinguishable.  $450  
6 The label on a package of food must include a statement of any storage conditions required to ensure 
that the food will keep for the period indicated by the use -by or best -before date  $450  
7(1) The label on a package of food must not include a date marking system other than that prescribed by 
this standard (and noting clause 2 that states, “ Subclause (1) does not preclude the label on a package 
of food from including a packed -on date or a manufacturer ’s or packer ’s code i n addition to the 
required use -by date or best -before date.” ) $300  
1.2.8  Nutrition 
Information 
Requirements  3 The label on a package of food must include a nutrition information panel (see exceptions)  $300  
5(1) The prescribed declarations for inclusion  in a NIP [detailed in subclauses  5(1)(a) – 5(1)(h)] must be 
set out in the prescribed NIP format  
5(1)(a)  A nutrition information panel must include the number of servings of the food  
5(1)(b)  A nutrition information panel must include the average q uantity of the food in a serving expressed, in 
the case of a solid or semi -solid food, in grams or, in the case of a beverage or other liquid food, in 
millilitres  
5(1)(c)  A nutrition information panel must include the unit quantity of the food (100g or  100ml)  
5(1)(d)  A nutrition information panel must include the a verage energy content, expressed in kilojoules or 
both in kilojoules and in calories (kilocalories), of a serving of the food and of the unit quantity of the 
food 
122 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
5(1)(e)  A nutrition i nformation panel must include the average quantity of protein, fat, saturated fat, 
carbohydrate and sugars in a serving of the food and in a unit quantity of the food (in g or ml as 
appropriate)  
5(1)(f)  A nutrition information panel must include the av erage quantity of sodium in a serving of the food 
and in the unit quantity of the food  
5(1)(g)  A nutrition information panel must include the name and the average quantity of any other nutrient or 
biologically active substance in respect of which a cla im requiring nutrition information is made, in 
appropriate units, that is in a serving of the food and in the unit quantity of the food  
5(2)(a)  A nutrition information panel must clearly indicate that the average quantities are average quantities  
5(2)(b)  A nutrition information panel must clearly indicate any minimum and maximum quantities set out in 
the panel are minimum and maximum quantities  
5(4) The nutrition information panel must include declarations of the trans, polyunsaturated and 
mono unsaturated fatty acids in accordance with subclause (7), where a claim requiring nutrition 
information is made about or based on cholesterol or saturated; trans, polyunsaturated or 
monounsaturated fatty acids; or omega -3, omega -6 or omega -9 fatty acids  
5(5) The nutrition information panel must include declarations of the presence or absence of dietary fibre 
in accordance with subclause (7) where a claim requiring nutrition information is made based on 
fibre; or any specifically named fibre; or sugars; or any other type of carbohydrate  
5(5A) Zero(O) must be used to indicate the absence of dietary fibre  
6(1) The average energy content, and average or minimum or maximum quantities of nutrients and 
biologically active substances must be expressed in  the panel to not more than three significant 
figures  
7(2)(b)  If percentage daily intake information is included in a panel – the following matters must be included 
in the panel – (i) the percentage daily intake of energy, fat, saturated fatty acids, c arbohydrate, sugars, 
protein and sodium per serving; and either of the following statements –“ * based on an average diet 
of 8700kJ ” or “Percentage daily intakes are based on an average adult diet of 8700kJ ” 
7(A)(1) 
& (2)  If a vitamin or mineral claim i s made and the V or M has a RDI, then the % of the V or M contributed 
by one serving of the food must be set out in the NIP  
8(2) Food in Small Packages (that make a claim requiring nutrition information)  – The label must include 
a declaration of the av erage quantity of the food in a serving expressed – (a) in the case of a solid or 
semi-solid food, in grams; or (b)in the case of a beverage or other liquid food, in millilitres  
8(3) … if a claim requiring nutrition information is made about a matter i n Column 1 of the Table to this 
subclause, the label must include the particulars specified in Column 2 (see table)  
8(4) The particulars required by subclause (3) must be set out as minimum, maximum or average 
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 123 quantities unless specified in the Table t o subclause (3); and must clearly indicate whether the 
particulars are minimum, maximum or average quantities.  
9 Food in dehydrated or concentrated form  – Where a food in dehydrated or concentrated form is 
labelled with directions that indicate that th e food should be reconstituted with water before 
consumption, the label on the package of that food must include the particulars set out in each column 
of the panel expressed as a proportion of the food as so reconstituted  
10 Food intended to be draine d before consumption -The label on a package of food with directions 
indicating that the food should be drained before consumption, must include the particulars set out in 
each column of the panel expressed as a proportion of the drained food, and must cle arly indicate that 
the particulars set out in each column of the panel relate to the drained food  
1.2.9  Legibility 
Requirements  2(1) Each word, statement, expression or design prescribed to be contained, written or set out in a label 
must, wherever occur ring, be so contained, written or set out legibly and prominently such as to 
afford a distinct contrast to the background, and in the English language  $450  
 
Chapter 2 – Food Product Standards  
 
Standard  Descriptor  Clause  Requirement  Fee  
 
2.2.1  Meat and Meat 
Products  4 Declaration of the presence of offal in food   
4(1) (a) The presence of offal in a food must be declared in the statement of ingredients; or  
(b) where the food is not required to bear a label, otherwise declared to the purchaser  $300  
4(2) The presence of brain, heart, kidney, liver, tongue or tripe in a food must be declared as “offal” or by 
the specific name of the type of offal  $300  
4(3) The presence of any other type of offal in a food must be declared by the specific name of the  type of 
offal.  $300  
6 Information required in relation to raw meat joined or formed into the semblance of a cut of 
meat .  
Where raw meat which has been formed or joined in the semblance of a cut of meat using a binding 
system without the application of heat, whether coated or not, a declaration that the meat is either 
formed or joined, in conjunction with cooking instructions indicating how the microbiological safety 
124 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
of the product can be achieved  
(a) must be included in the label; or  $300  
(b) if the food is not required to be labelled, must be provided to the purchaser  $300  
8 Labelling of fermented comminuted processed meat   
8(1) The following names are prescribed for fermented comminuted processed meat  
(a) in the case of ferm ented comminuted processed meat which has not been heat treated or cooked –
“fermented processed meat – not heat treated ”; and $300  
(b) in the case of fermented comminuted processed meat which has been heat treated “fermented 
processed meat – heat treat ed”; and  $300  
(c) in the case of fermented comminuted processed meat which has been cooked –“fermented 
processed meat – cooked ” $300  
9 Labelling of fermented comminuted manufactured meat   
9(1) The following names are prescribed for fermented com minuted manufactured meat  
(a) in the case of fermented comminuted manufactured meat which has not been heat treated or 
cooked – “fermented manufactured meat – not heat treated ”; and $300  
(b) in the case of fermented comminuted manufactured meat wh ich has been heat treated –“fermented 
manufactured meat – heat treated ”; and  $300  
(c) in the case of fermented comminuted manufactured meat which has been cooked –“fermented 
manufactured meat – cooked ” $300  
9(2) If the label on a package containin g fermented comminuted manufactured meat has a trade name, that 
trade name must have in association therewith, the following word or words   
(a) in the case of fermented comminuted manufactured meat which has not been heat treated or 
cooked –“fermented ”; and  $300  
(b) in the case of fermented comminuted manufactured meat which has been heat treated – 
“fermented heat treated ”; and $300  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 125 (c) in the case of fermented comminuted manufactured meat which has been cooked –“fermented 
cooked” . $300  
9(3) Except as specified in subclause (1) and subclause (2), the label on a package of fermented 
comminuted manufactured meat must not refer to any heating process, unless the heating process is a 
cooking instruction for the consumer  $300  
  10 Unpackaged ferme nted comminuted manufactured meat and fermented comminuted processed 
meat products   
Where fermented comminuted manufactured meat or fermented comminuted processed meat product 
is offered for sale other than in a package, the prescribed name of the food must be displayed in 
connection with the food, provided that in the case of  
(a) fermented comminuted manufactured meat which has not been heat treated or cooked;  
the words “not heat treated ” may be omitted.  $300  
(b) fermented comminuted processed  meat product which has not been heat treated or cooked;  
the words “not heat treated ” may be omitted.  $300  
2.2.3  Fish and Fish 
Products  2 Labelling etc of formed or joined fish   
Where raw fish has been formed or joined in the semblance of a cut or fil let of fish using a binding 
system without the application of heat, whether coated or not, a declaration that the fish is either formed or joined, in conjunction with cooking instructions indicating how the microbiological safety 
of the product can be achi eved – 
(a)must be included on the label on the package of the fish; or  $300  
(b) if the food is not required to be labelled, must be provided to the purchaser  $300  
2.6.1  Fruit Juice and 
Vegetable Juice  3(1) Labelling of juice blend   
Subject to  subclause (2), the label on a package of juice blend must include  
(a) the names of each juice present in the blend; and  $300  
(b) the percentage by volume of each juice present in the blend  $300  
126 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
[(2) Subclause (1) does not apply to orange jui ce which contains no more than 10% in total of 
(a)mandarin juice; or (b) tangelo juice; or both.]   
2.6.2  Non alcoholic 
beverages and 
brewed soft 
drinks  2B Labelling of packaged water   
2B(1)  The label on water presented in packaged form with added fluor ide must contain a statement to the 
effect that the product contains added fluoride  
[(2), (3), and (4) relate to a voluntary provision to include a typical analysis of the water.]  $300  
7 Labelling of electrolyte drinks and electrolyte drink bases   
The label on a package of electrolyte drink or electrolyte drink base, must include a declaration, as 
ready to drink –  
(a) the average per 100 mL –  
(i) energy value; and  $300  
(ii) total carbohydrate present, including each type of monosaccharide  and disaccharide; and  $300  
(iii) milligrams and millimoles of the added minerals and electrolytes; and  $300  
(b) the recommended volume and frequency of use  $300  
2.6.4  
 
 Formulated 
Caffeinated 
Beverages  3 Labelling   
3(1) The label on a package of formulated caffeinated beverage must include declarations of the average 
quantities, per serving size and per 100 mL of –  
(a) caffeine, expressed in milligrams; and  $300  
(b) the substances listed in column 1 of the Table to subclause 2(2), wher e present, expressed in the 
units included in column 2 of the Table  $300  
3(3) The label on a package of formulated caffeinated beverage must include advisory statements to the 
effect that   
(a) the food contains caffeine; and  $300  
(b) the food is  not recommended for  
(i) children; and  
(ii) pregnant or lactating women; and  
(iii) individuals sensitive to caffeine  $300  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 127 4 The label on a package of formulated caffeinated beverage that contains one or more of the 
substances in the Table to subclaus e 2(2) must include an advisory statement to the effect that – 
“Consume no more than [amount of one -day quantity (as cans, bottles or ml)] per day ” $300  
5 Where a formulated caffeinated beverage is not required to bear a label pursuant to clause 2 of 
Standard 1.2.1, the advisory statements under subclauses 3(3) and 3(4) must be (a) displayed on or in 
connection with the display of the food; or (b)  provided to the purchaser on request  $300  
7 The label on a package of formulated caffeinated beverage mus t not include declarations of the 
quantities of vitamins present in the food expressed as a proportion or multiple of the   
(a) Recommended Dietary Intakes; or  $300  
(b) Estimated Safe and Adequate Daily Dietary Intakes; of that vitamin.  $300  
2.7.1    Labelling of Alcoholic Beverages and Food Containing Alcohol   
2 Declaration of alcohol by volume  $300  
2(1) The label on a package of food listed in column 1 of the Table to this subclause must include a 
statement of the alcohol content in the cor responding form specified in column 2.  
3 Standard drink labelling   
3(1) (1) Subject to subclause (2), the label on a package of a beverage or a food capable of being 
consumed as a beverage, which contains more than 0.5 % alcohol by volume, measured  at 20⁰C, must 
include a statement of the approximate number of standard drinks in the package   
(a) in the case of packages containing 10 or less standard drinks, accurate to the first decimal place; or  $300  
(b) in the case of packages containing m ore than 10 standard drinks, accurate to the nearest whole 
number of standard drinks.  $300  
2.8.2  Honey  3 Prescribed name  
The word “honey”  is a prescribed name  $300  
2.9.2  Foods for 
Infants  5 Labelling    
5(3) The label on a package of food for infants m ust include  
(a) a statement indicating the consistency of the food; and  $300  
128 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
(b) a statement indicating the minimum age, expressed in numbers, of the infants for whom the food 
is recommended; and $300  
(c) where the food is recommended for inf ants between the ages of 4 –6 months, in association with 
the statement required by paragraph (b), the words “ Not recommended for infants under the age of 4 
months ”; and $300  
(d) where the added sugars content of the food for infants is more than 4 g/10 0 g, the word 
“sweetened ”; and  $300  
(e) where honey has been used as an ingredient, in association with the word “ honey” , the word –
“sterilised ” $300  
6 Additional labelling requirements relating to specific nutrients and energy information. (1) In 
this clause, food source of protein means milk, eggs, cheese, fish, meat (including poultry), nuts and 
legumes   
6(1A)  Where a reference is made in the label on a package of food for infants (including in the name of the 
food) to a food source of protein,  the percentage of that food source of protein in the final food must 
be declared in the label  $300  
6(2) Where a food for infants contains more than of 3 g/100 kJ of protein, the label on the package must 
include the words “ Not suitable for infants unde r the age of 6 months ”. $300  
7 Representations   
7(2) The label on a package of food for infants must not include a recommendation that the food can be 
added to bottle feeds of an infant formula product  $300  
9 Nutrition information   
9(2) The nu trition information panel for food for infants must be set out in the specified  format  $300  
10 Food in dehydrated or concentrated form   
10(1)  The label on a package of food in dehydrated or concentrated form must include directions for how 
the food s hould be reconstituted, and the particulars set out in each column of the panel must be $300  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 129 expressed as a proportion of the food as reconstituted according to those directions.   
10(2)  If more than one fluid for preparing the food is nominated in the l abel, the particulars set out in the 
column should be adjusted according to the first liquid nominated and the name of this liquid must be 
included in the Nutrition Information Panel  $300  
11 Storage requirements   
The label on a package of food for  infants must contain storage instructions covering the period after 
it is opened  $300  
3 Labelling of formulated meal replacements   
3(1) Subject to subclause (2), the nutrition information panel on the label on a package of formulated meal 
replaceme nt must include a declaration of the average quantities of the vitamins and minerals present 
in the food and  
(a) listed in column 1 of Table 1 to the Schedule; and  $300  
(b) listed in column 1 of Table 2 to the Schedule, and have been added to the food $300  
3(2) A claim as to the presence in a formulated meal replacement of a vitamin or mineral listed in column 
1 of Table 1 or Table 2 in the Schedule may be made on the label on a package of formulated meal 
replacement, provided that   
(a) no less than 10% of the RDI or ESADDI of that vitamin or mineral is present in a serving of the 
food; and  $300  
(b) where a vitamin or mineral has been added to the food, the claimed quantity of that vitamin or 
mineral in a serving is no more than the quantity set out in column 3 of Table 1 or Table 2  $300  
3 “Formulated meal replacement ” is a prescribed name  $300  
4 The label on a package of formulated meal replacement must include words to the effect that the 
product must not be used as a total diet r eplacement  $300  
5 Labelling of formulated supplementary foods   
(1) Subject to subclause (2), the nutrition information panel on the label on a package of formulated 
supplementary food must include a declaration of the average quantity of a vitamin or mineral present 
in the food where that vitamin or mineral is listed in column 1 of Table 3 to the Schedule and has 
been added to the food.  $300  
130 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries   
[(1A) In this clause, claimable vitamin or mineral means a vitamin or mineral that is listed in (a) the 
Schedule t o Standard 1.1.1; or (b)Column 1 of Table 3 in the Schedule to this Standard.]  
(2) A claim as to the presence in a formulated supplementary food of a claimable vitamin or mineral 
may be made on the label on a package of formulated supplementary fo od provided that  $300  
(a) no less than 10% of the RDI of the vitamin or mineral listed in column 1 of Table 3 is present in a 
serving of the food; and $300  
(b) no less than 10% of the ESADDI of the vitamin or mineral is present in a serving of the  food; and  $300  
(c) where a vitamin or mineral has been added to the food, the claimed quantity of that vitamin or 
mineral in a serving of the food is no more than the quantity set out in column 5 of Table 3  $300  
(3) The label on a package of formu lated supplementary food must include a description of the role of 
the food as a supplement to a normal diet to address situations where intakes of energy and nutrients 
may not be adequate to meet an individual ’s requirements  $300  
(4) “Formulated suppl ementary food ” is a prescribed name.  $300  
7 Labelling of formulated supplementary foods for young children   
7(1) Subject to subclause (2), the nutrition information panel on the label on a package of formulated 
supplementary food for young children m ust include a declaration of the average quantity of a 
vitamin or mineral present in the food where that vitamin or mineral is listed in column 1 of Table 3 
to the Schedule and has been added to the food  
[(1A) In this clause, claimable vitamin or mineral m eans a vitamin or mineral that is listed in (a) the 
Schedule to Standard 1.1.1; or (b) Column 1 of Table 3 in the Schedule to this Standard.]  $300  
7(2) A claim as to the presence in a formulated supplementary food for young children of a claimable 
vitamin or mineral may be made on the label on a package of formulated supplementary food 
provided that   
(a) no less than 10% of the RDI of the vitamin or mineral listed in column 1 of Table 3 is present in a 
serving of the food; and $300  
(b) no less t han 10% of the ESADDI of the vitamin or mineral is present in a serving of the food; and  $300  
(c) where a vitamin or mineral has been added to the food, the claimed quantity of that vitamin or 
mineral in a serving of the food is no more than the quanti ty set out in column 3 of Table 3.  $300  
7(3) The label on a package of formulated supplementary food for young children must include a 
description of the role of the food as a supplement to a normal diet to address situations where intakes 
of energy and  nutrients may not be adequate to meet an individual ’s requirements  $300  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Proposals for regulations under the Food Act 2014 • 131 7(4) “Formulated supplementary food for young children ” is a prescribed name  $300  
2.10.2  Salt and Salt 
Products  5 Labelling of reduced sodium salt mixtures and salt substitutes   
5(1) The label on a package of reduced sodium salt mixture or salt substitute – 
(a) must declare the sodium and potassium content, expressed per 100 g;  $300  
2.10.3  Chewing Gum  4(1) Labelling requirements  –   
Where a calcium claim is made in relatio n to chewing gum suitable for added calcium, the nutrition 
information panel must also include –  
(a) the average quantity of releasable calcium per serve; and  $300  
(b) the average quantity of releasable calcium per 100 g; and  $300  
(c) the prop ortion of the RDI (for calcium) of releasable calcium per serve; and  $300  
(d) a statement to the effect that the average quantity of calcium is released during 20 minutes of 
chewing.  
(Note clause 2 – excludes the above requirements for small package, but clause 5 sets out some 
minimum requirements where food is in a small package)  $300  
5 Small packages   
5(1) (1)Where a calcium claim is made in relation to chewing gum suitable for added calcium contained in 
a small package, the label must include t he following calcium declaration 
(a) the average quantity of releasable calcium per serve; and  $300  
(b) the serving size; and  $300  
(c) the proportion of the RDI (for calcium) of releasable calcium per serve; and  $300  
(d) a statement to the  effect that the average quantity of calcium is released during 20 minutes of 
chewing.  $300  
 
  
132 • Proposal s for regulations under the Food Act 2014 Ministry for Primary Industries