NZ Food Act Implementation Meeting
Horticulture New Zealand: Last week HortNZ CEO Peter Silcock and Pipfruit NZ’s Gary Jones attended a NZ Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) meeting of food and beverage companies, industry organisations and Territorial Authority to discuss issues around the implementation of the new Food Act.
The key messages we gave the officials and authorities were:
• Work with horticulture industry groups to better understand horticultural needs.
• Recognise the existing 3rd party audited industry assurance programmes as meeting the Food Act requirements.
• Ensure any auditing, verification or enforcement activity is undertaken by appropriately qualified and experienced people. Inspecting a fresh produce packhouse is very different from inspecting a sandwich bar or a dairy factory!