A Whangarei man was fined $2250 for selling unregulated meat in Whangarei District Court on Monday (19 January 2015).
Aaron OGLE, 40, director of Homekill Services Ltd, had earlier pleaded guilty to a serious charge of selling meat which had not been processed in accordance with the Animal Products Acts 1999.
He was fined $2250, with court costs of $130 and ordered to forfeit the meat. The maximum penalty for this offence is a fine of $75,000.
Mr OGLE’s offending related to an incident which had occurred in May of 2014 where he’d illegally sold 71.7 kilograms of unregulated meat from Mr Ogle’s personal farm, to a Whangarei bakery outside of the conditions of any risk management plan or operating licence.
The bakery is also being prosecuted by the Ministry for Primary Industries and as the matter is still before the court MPI cannot comment on the details.
MPI District Compliance Manager Whangarei Darren Edwards says this is the first prosecution of its kind in Northland and that in pleading guilty to this charge Mr Ogle has taken full responsibility for his actions.
“Mr Edwards says all meat that is sold for human consumption must be processed to standards in the Animal Products Act to ensure there is no risk for consumers.
“These standards are there to protect consumers and to safeguard New Zealand’s international reputation with trading partners.
“By ensuring that regulated meat products are processed to required standards and adhere to strict reporting regulations the Ministry for Primary Industries is able to maintain this reputation.
“Whilst it was extremely disappointing to find offending like this in Northland it’s reassuring to know that the inspection regimes that are in place are working.”
To report any suspect illegal home-kill sales please contact the MPI Foodline 0800 693721.
All calls are confidential.
