UPDATE – 30 OCTOBER 2025
Webinar schedule released
We have confirmed dates and times for 4 webinars that we are holding in November.
For individuals
Mā te takitahi
Consultation on Organics Standard Notice – Tranche 1
The first of 3 consultations
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has begun work on developing a standards notice to supplement both the Organic Products and Production Regulations and the Organic Standards Regulations.
The standards notice will set out technical information for operators and recognised entities. It will be structured into sections based on information that is relevant to these 2 groups.
We plan on consulting about the content of the organic supplementary notices in 3 stages in 2025.
- Tranche 1: technical content to supplement the Organic Standards Regulations.
- Tranche 2: requirements for operators, organic management plans, record keeping, and imports to supplement both sets of regulations.
- Tranche 3: requirements for recognised entities, including recognition, accreditation, verification, quality management systems, competencies and record keeping, to supplement both sets of regulations.
Have your say
We are seeking your input on the proposed notice for technical information for operators and recognised entities (Tranche 1).
Topics included in Tranche 1
- Defined terms.
- Prohibited procedures, organisms and products.
- Records about inputs.
- Identifying and storing inputs.
- Duties relating to environmentally sensitive areas and biodiversity.
- Managing waste and by-products.
- Managing pests, weeds and disease.
- Design, construction and use of facilities and production equipment.
- Managing risks to product compliance with organic standard.
- General sampling and testing.
- Conversion.
- Soil health and fertility.
- Transport and storage.
- Dispatching compliant products and receiving specified items.
- Retail.
- Packaging & products sold without packaging.
- Technical requirements relating to:
- the production of plants, plant products, and fungi.
- livestock
- aquaculture
- bees and bee products
- processed products
- split or parallel production and processing.
In addition to your general feedback on the technical requirements of this first tranche, MPI is seeking feedback on specific sections listed in this table.
Table: Specific sections for your feedback
| Notice reference | Questions |
|---|---|
| 5.12 Livestock Feed (Standards Regulations 82-92) and 6.10 Aquaculture Feed (Standards Regulations 112) |
1. Are the proposed record-keeping requirements relating to livestock and aquaculture feed relevant to these types of operations, and are they set at the right level (i.e., are there too many or too few records being proposed)? 2. Can you identify any gaps for records that need to be captured in relation to feed? |
| 5.9 Livestock housing (Standards Regulation 94) |
3. Do you agree with the level of prescription given to the requirements for livestock housing (in other words, are they too constraining)? 4. What are the main factors that need to be considered and captured in the notice for livestock housing? |
| 5.11 Poultry Stocking Rates (Standards Regulation 97) |
5. Would it be appropriate to set prescriptive stocking rates or to set stocking rates with an outcome-focused approach? a. If you believe prescriptive stocking rates would be more appropriate, do you see any changes that need to be made to the numbers proposed in the notice? b. If you believe an outcome-focused approach would be more appropriate, what are the factors that need to be taken into consideration and set out in the notice? Note: 'Outcome-focused approach' means to place emphasis on the animal’s ability to have freedom of movement and exhibit natural behaviours. ‘Prescriptive stocking rates’ means to have set numbers for this purpose. |
| 8.2 Grape wine: methods and conditions of production (Standards Regulation 147) |
6. Should the oenological practices, processes and treatments set out in subclause (1) be prohibited for organic wine made in New Zealand? a. If you agree that they should be prohibited, do you have any suggested changes to this list? |
Consultation documents
Organics Standard Notice – Tranche 1 [PDF, 824 KB]
Discussion paper: Organic Standards Notice [PDF, 382 KB]
Join one of our webinars
We will be running 4 topic-specific webinars using Microsoft Teams to support this consultation. You must register to attend these sessions.
Apiary
Tuesday 18 November from 3pm to 4pm.
Livestock
Thursday 20 November from 10am to 11am.
Processed products
Monday 24 November from 3pm to 4pm.
Plants, fungi, and wild harvest
Friday 28 November from 9am to 10am.
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 first 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 5 December 2025.
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).
Email organicsconsultation@mpi.govt.nz
Or post to:
Cost Recovery Directorate
Ministry for Primary Industries
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6140.
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.
