Food Act 2014
In this section
Food Businesses
The Food Act 2014 came into force on 1 March 2016.
The Act places a responsibility on food business operators to ensure that the food they sell is safe and suitable to eat.
In summary, this means that:
- 'Safe food' won't make people sick.
- 'Suitable’ food' meets compositional, labelling and identification requirements and is in the right condition for its intended use.
Businesses that are higher risk, from a food safety point of view, will operate under more stringent food safety requirements and checks than lower-risk food businesses. The new food safety measures are:
- Food Control Plans (FCPs) for higher-risk activities, including restaurants and cafes.
- National Programmes (NPs)1,2 and 3 for lower-risk activities, including breweries, processors of nut and seeds and coffee carts.
Council will continue to be a regulatory authority so will continue to issue registrations for food businesses and will also perform food safety verifications for Template Food Control Plans. National Programmes are checked by Verifiers who are professionals from an independent agency.
Food Act Case Studies
MPI have created case study videos, which show real businesses operating under the new Food Act.
Useful Links
- MPI online tool “My Food Rules" to help operators work out where their food activity or business fits within the new Food Act rules.