Two proposed imported food notices

Have your say

New Zealand Food Safety invites comments on 2 proposed notices:

• Food Notice: Requirements for Registered Importers and Imported Food for Sale
• Food Notice: Laboratories Approved for Testing Imported Food

This consultation will be of interest to registered food importers and brokers importing food on behalf of food businesses, in particular, those involved in the importation of bovine meat and meat products.

All submissions on this consultation must be received by 5pm on 23 August 2022.

Consultation documents

Draft Food Notice: Requirements for Registered Importers and Imported Food for Sale [PDF, 519 KB]

Draft Food Notice: Laboratories Approved for Testing Imported Food [PDF, 241 KB]

Discussion Paper – Proposed Food Notice: Requirements for Registered Importers and Imported Food for Sale [PDF, 342 KB]

Related documents

NZL 690 SPS Notification Food Notice: Requirements for Registered Food Importers and Imported Food for Sale [PDF, 110 KB]

What's being proposed?

The 2 proposed notices will replace the current Food Notice: Importing Food.

1. Food Notice: Requirements for Registered Food Importers and Imported for Food for Sale

The proposed changes to requirements include the addition of:

• Part 3 – requirements regarding the assessment and confirmation of the safety and suitability of food for import into New Zealand, the transport and storage of imported food, and record keeping by registered importers.
• Part 5 – requirements that clarify the different types of evidence that may be used for clearance of High Regulatory and Increased Regulatory food and the information they must contain
• Part 6 – import requirements for bovine meat and bovine meat products.

The proposed changes will help importers better understand the requirements and how they can be met. Detailed explanations of the proposed changes are in the discussion paper.

2. Food Notice: Laboratories Approved for Testing Imported Food

This notice specifies the New Zealand laboratories approved for testing of imported food and the conditions of their approval. All requirements that apply to approved laboratories have been transferred from the current Food Notice: Importing Food to this proposed Notice. The list of approved laboratories and conditions of approval are unchanged. 

Making your submission

Email your feedback on the draft documents by 5pm on 23 August 2022 to import.systems@mpi.govt.nz

We encourage you to use the  submission template [DOCX, 67 KB]

While we prefer that you send your submission by email, you can post your submission to:

Imported Food Team
New Zealand Food Safety
Ministry for Primary Industries
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6140
New Zealand.

Make sure you tell us in your submission:

• the title of the document for consultation
• your name and title (if applicable)
• your organisation’s name
• your contact details (such as phone number, address and email)
• any requests for confidentiality of specific information you provide.

Questions to consider when preparing your submission

1. Food Notice: Requirements for Registered Food Importers and Imported for Food for Sale

• Does the addition of new requirements in Parts 3, 5, and 6 of the Notice improve the clarity of the requirements, and how they can be achieved?
• Are there particular clauses or requirements in the Notice that you find difficult to understand?
• Do you see any potential problems in meeting or implementing particular requirements?
• Do you see any potential gaps or missing requirements?
• Are there particular requirements that should be more outcome based to provide flexibility on how an importer can meet them.
• Are there particular areas for which further guidance would be useful?

2. Food Notice: Laboratories Approved for Testing Imported Food

• Do you see any problems with the creation of a stand-alone notice for approved laboratories?

Note that we are not asking for comments on the contents of this Notice because the list of approved laboratories and the conditions of approval are unchanged from those in the current notice. A separate review of the requirements for approved laboratories is planned for the future.

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