Martin Tracey: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMartin Tracey: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 26 February 2015. Volume:703;Page:1991. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]10.TRACEY MARTIN (Deputy Leader—NZ First) to the Minister for Food Safety: What reports if any has she seen regarding food safety issues in kindergartens play centres and kōhanga reo?Hon JO GOODHEW (Minister for Food Safety): I have seen the New Zealand Public Health Surveillance Report that covers October to December 2014. The report states that the third most common setting for illness outbreaks in New Zealand is childcare centres. Some of the reported illnesses will relate to food and the Circumstances of Exposure part of the report noted 23 childcare centres with 327 cases of various illnesses.Tracey Martin: Given that answer does the document that the Minister is referring to support the implementation of another layer of cost and bureaucracy linked to the Food Act 2014 when these centres already have to comply with food safety regulations set down by the Ministry of Education?Hon JO GOODHEW: The member refers to the consultation process that the Ministry for Primary Industries is currently undertaking with all parts of New Zealand where food is served. Safe food is important for everyone in our society. What the ministry is intending to do as is evidenced in the Act that was passed last year is to find the right balance between ensuring safe food and also keeping the costs down for the businesses that are serving that food.Tracey Martin: When the Minister made the following statement: “We want the regulations to be practical and appropriate for the wide range of businesses operating in New Zealand’s food industry from coffee carts and catering companies to restaurants and large industrial food manufacturers” was she aware that kindergartens playcentres and kōhanga reos could be caught by these regulations?Hon JO GOODHEW: The answer to that is of course yes. The Food Act applies to food for sale. If an education provider is offering food as part of its service and is charging fees then the Act will apply. However there is an exemption from the requirements to operate under a food control plan or national programme for home-based early childcare education services and early childcare education services that undertake only minimal food handling. It is important that during the consultation phase of this process given that the Act comes into effect next March all of the early childcare centres and sector engage with the Ministry for Primary Industries to sort through what the ramifications will be for them. But underlying all of this is that safe food is a priority for New Zealanders.Tracey Martin: Given that playcentres kindergartens and kōhanga reos work on a donation basis and given that the previous Minister for Food Safety stepped in to minimise unintended consequences of the Act in the 50th Parliament will this Minister step up on behalf of our youngest children to exempt these centres; if not why not?Hon JO GOODHEW: The member raises an important point which I think is easily answered by this. We have looked at minimal food handling as being an area that would indicate that there is no need to comply with having to have a food control plan or a national programme. So each individual case will need to work out what the nature of the food that they serve is and in fact if they are not charging for the serving of that food then it is most likely that they will be exempt. However written into the Act is also the ability for the director-general to on a case by case basis exempt a particular requirement or the charging of fees for an individual entity. So I can assure the member that we need to work through this one step at a time and have great engagement from that sector with the Ministry for Primary Industries. Now is the time to get it right.