National programmes

Businesses that fit under national programmes

The new Food Act recognises that each business is different depending on the food safety risk of the activities they do. This means that a corner dairy owner who reheats meat pies won't be treated in the same way as the meat pie manufacturer.

Higher-risk food activities like pie manufacturing will need a food control plan, and lower-risk activities, such as selling a manufactured pie, can operate under a national programme.

If you're not sure if your business will operate under a national programme, MPI has a tool— Where Do I Fit?—to help you work it out.

Where Do I Fit?

Regulations are being developed

Businesses working under a national programme will have to follow requirements for producing safe food that will be set out in regulations. These requirements for national programmes are in development. You can subscribe to be alerted when the new information becomes available.

Subscribe to email alerts

You will also have to:

• register your business. Under a national programme you will apply to your local council to register your business and have to pay an application fee
• have periodic checks (verification) to make sure you are producing safe and suitable food.

Find council contact details – Local Government NZ website

Three levels of national programme

There are 3 levels of national programmes:

• Level 3 – a higher risk from a food safety point of view
• Level 2 – medium risk
• Level 1 – lower risk.

There will be more information about specific regulations for each level available by December 2015.

National Programme 1

Businesses under National Programme 1 have the lowest level of regulation under the Food Act.

The businesses working under National Programme 1 will be:

• extractors and packers of honey
• retailers of hot beverages and shelf-stable manufacturer-packaged foods only
• manufacturers of sugar or related products
• transporters or distributors of food products
• producers of horticultural food and horticultural packing operations (packhouses)
• retailers of manufacturer-packaged ice cream and iced confectionery.

National Programme 1 will require:

• registration of business details with your local council
• an initial check to make sure the processes used are safe, and possible future checks, to be confirmed in regulations to be released in December 2015.

All existing businesses that will work under National Programme 1 will start to transition from 1 July 2018. New businesses will need to comply from 1 March 2016.

National Programme 2

National Programme 2 will apply to businesses such as bread bakeries, manufacturers of jams, chips, confectionery, sauces and spreads.

Businesses under National Programme 2 will be checked at least every 3 years. Businesses consistently performing well will be checked less often than businesses that are not consistently meeting requirements.

National Programme 2 will require:

• registration of business details with your local council
• a check to make sure the processes used are safe. It's proposed that checks will be every 3 years but this will be confirmed in regulations to be released in December 2015.

New businesses will need to comply from 1 March 2016. Some existing food businesses will start to transition to the new rules from that date, but others will not start until 2017 or 2018. Refer to the timetable for details.

Check the transition timetable

National Programme 3

National Programme 3 will apply to businesses such as brewers and distillers, food additive manufacturers, and fruit drink and flour manufacturers. It will require:

• registration of business details with your local council
• a check to make sure the processes used are safe. It is proposed that checks will be every 2 years but this will be confirmed in regulations to be released in December 2015.

New businesses will need to comply from 1 March 2016. Some existing food businesses will start to transition to the new rules from that date, but others will not start until 2018. Refer to the timetable for details.

Check the transition timetable

Who to contact

If you have questions about the information on this page, email info@mpi.govt.nz .

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