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Consultation on Organic Notice: Recognised Entities, Verification and Evaluation (Tranche 2)

This is the second of 3 consultations

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has begun work to develop notice content to supplement both the Organic Products and Production Regulations, and the Organic Standards Regulations. 

We are consulting about the content of the organic supplementary notices in 3 stages (tranches).

  • Tranche 1: technical content to supplement the Organic Standards Regulations.
  • Tranche 2: requirements for recognised entities, including recognition, accreditation, verification, quality management systems, competencies and record keeping, to supplement both sets of regulations. 
  • Tranche 3: requirements for operators, organic management plans, record keeping, and imports to supplement both sets of regulations.

Have your say

We are seeking your input on the proposed Organic Notice: Recognised Entities, Verification and Evaluation.

The topics covered in this second tranche of notice content include:

  • recognition 
  • accreditation
  • quality management systems
  • competencies 
  • record keeping
  • verification
  • evaluation.

In addition to your general feedback on this second tranche of notice content, MPI is also seeking feedback on a proposed amendment to the Organic Products and Production Regulations 2025 to support verification for official assurances where these are required for import into a destination market. 

Currently, the regulations only enable verification of operators (and their products) on a scheduled frequency. They do not enable the verification for official assurance on a requested basis. This omission means that MPI would be unable to require recognised third-party agencies to verify consignments’ eligibility for export. 

The intention is, that when an official assurance is sought, a recognised entity will verify the eligibility of the products for the destination market. Section 3.13 of the notice sets out the way this verification will be carried out, and the things to be considered. The amendment to the regulations will allow for these requirements. 

The parts of the regulations that are relevant to verification for official assurances will also apply.

Consultation documents

Draft notice: Recognised entities, verification and evaluation [PDF, 616 KB]

Discussion document [PDF, 293 KB]

Making your submission

We welcome submissions on the proposals contained in the consultation document. Your feedback helps to ensure that the requirements set out in this second tranche of notice content is accurate and reflective of how organic operations operate. MPI will consider all feedback provided and review how your feedback can be integrated into the final notice.

Submissions sent by email or post will be accepted until 5pm on 1 February 2026. 

Email organicsconsultation@mpi.govt.nz

Or post to:

Cost Recovery Directorate
Ministry for Primary Industries
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6140.

Make sure you also include in your submission:

  • the title of the consultation document
  • your name and title
  • your organisation's name (if you are submitting on behalf of an organisation, and whether your submission represents the whole organisation or a section of it)
  • your contact details (such as phone number, address, and email).

Submissions are public information

Note that all, part, or a summary of your submission may be published on this website. Most often this happens when we issue a document that reviews the submissions received.

People can also ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we must make the content of submissions available unless we have good reason for withholding it. Those reasons are detailed in sections 6 and 9 of the OIA.

If you think there are grounds to withhold specific information from publication, make this clear in your submission or contact us. Reasons may include that it discloses commercially sensitive or personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold details can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may direct us to release it.

Official Information Act 1982 – NZ Legislation

MPI business units