The Food Act 2014 came into force on 1 March 2016.
The Act places a responsibility on food business operators to ensure that the food they sell is safe and suitable to eat.
In summary safe and suitable means that:
- 'Safe food' won't make people sick
- 'Suitable’ food' meets compositional, labelling and identification requirements and is in the right condition for its intended use.
New food safety measures have been introduced that promote food safety by focusing on the processes of food production, not the premises where food is made.
Businesses that are higher risk, from a food safety point of view, will operate under more stringent food safety requirements and checks than lower-risk food businesses. The new food safety measures are:
Council will continue to be a regulatory authority so will continue to issue registrations for food businesses and will also perform food safety verifications.
For more information about the new food rules, see the MPI website or contact Council Environmental Health staff.
Food Act Case Studies
MPI have created case study videos, which show real businesses operating under the new Food Act. We've chosen a few below that we believe are of particular relevance to our district, but check out MPI's Food Act case studies page for more examples.
Useful Links
- MPI online tool “My Food Rules” to help operators work out where their food activity or business fits within the new Food Act rules.
- https://www.mpi.govt.nz/food-safety/food-act-2014/
Last updated: 29 Sep 2022