TOP SERVICE
FOOD RULES FOR MANUFACTURERS,
WAREHOUSES, TRANSPORTERS,
IMPORTERS AND RETAILERS
Do you know your
food rules?
New Zealand Food Safety (a business unit of
the Ministry for Primary Industries/MPI) helps
food businesses meet food rules and integrate
food safety into their business cultures. The way
you trade in food determines the appropriate
legislation – whether you need to operate under
the Food, Animal Products (APA) or Wine Acts.
There are now more than 32,200 businesses
registered under the Food Act 2014. However
there may be people trading in food who haven’t
realised they need to register. Other businesses
may be registered under the APA or Wine Act,
but the Food Act could be a better option. Find
out today if you need food registration. It’s easy.
Go to www.foodsafety.govt.nz/myfoodrules
to find out:
• the plan or programme you need to use
• where to register your business, and
• who can verify your business.
You may need Food Act registration if you:
• grow or manufacture food
• process grain, herbs, spices, nuts or seeds
• brew, distil or manufacture vinegar, alcoholic
beverages or malt extract
• transport or distribute food products
• import food for sale, or
• prepare, serve and/or sell food.
For the food transport and storage sectors,
the need for registration was introduced by the
Food Act in March 2016. This means postal,
courier and logistical companies, which primarily
transport and distribute food, need registration.
Even if you were registered under the old Food
Act (i.e. before 2016), you may need a new type
of registration.
Also, if you want to import food for sale, you
must register as a food importer with New
Zealand Food Safety or use an agent who is
registered.
If you need to register your business, and
you haven’t, your business is effectively noncompliant.
This means New Zealand Food
Safety and local councils may take enforcement
action. Customers may refuse to accept your
goods or use your services. It’s also important to
check that businesses in your supply chain are
registered to trade food – at www.mpi.govt.nz/
news-and-resources/resources/registers-andlists/.
Even if you don’t need registration to trade
food, you still need to ensure the food you make
is safe (won’t make people sick) and suitable
(meets composition and labelling requirements
and is in the condition the customer expects it
to be).
New Zealand Food Safety works with food
businesses, local councils and verifiers to
develop templates and tools.
‘My Food Plan’ is designed for businesses that
need a Custom Food Control Plan (FCP). It has
pre-evaluated content, which can save you
substantial time and money.
My Food Plan is a good option for food
businesses that:
• make high-risk foods (like chilled, ready-to-eat
foods)
• need a plan that covers multiple Food Act
registrations
• are expanding from making and selling food
directly to consumers to manufacturing and
supplying to other businesses, or want to move
from a National Programme (NP) to a FCP.
To find out if you are eligible for a My Food Plan,
complete the My Food Rules questionnaire.
If your business is located in a remote part of
New Zealand and you have a NP, you may be
eligible for ‘Remote Verification’:
Instead of travelling to your business location,
your verifier can connect with you via Skype on
your device (smart phone, tablet, or laptop) –
saving you the cost of the verifier’s travel.
For more about Remote Verification – visit www.
foodsafety.govt.nz/remoteverification.
10 ANNUAL DIRECTORY 2020
/myfoodrules
/
/foodsafety.gov
