Food safety requirements for commodities
Commodities for making wine include:
- grapes
- fruit
- vegetables
- grains or cereals
- honey.
Commodity suppliers do not need a wine standards management plan (WSMP). But winemakers trace all the ingredients in their wines, so you need to provide information about the commodities you supply. Your commodities also must:
- be free from hazards that could cause injury to human health when they become wine
- not exceed maximum residue levels (MRLs) for pesticides (if applicable).
You can find MRLs for pesticides in the MRL database. This covers limits for a variety of markets, including New Zealand.
Information for supply of commodities
You must keep information about your commodities and provide it to the winemaker, including:
- the source and description
- risk factors, such as spray diary records including information about pre-harvest intervals for sprays
- if there was any contamination, and if so, steps taken to eliminate, minimise, or manage it.
If you supply grapes, you also need to provide:
- a description of grapes including quantity, variety, vintage, and area where the grapes were grown – as this information may appear on the wine label and must be able to be verified
- information about sulphur dioxide or other additions applied in the field.
Wine grape spray schedule
Some overseas markets have pesticide residue standards. If you grow grapes for export wine, it is important you refer to maximum residue limit allowed for pesticides used on export crops in New Zealand.
Maximum residue levels (MRL) database
Who to contact
If you have questions about supplying grapes and wine ingredients, email wine.rules@mpi.govt.nz
