Update – 14 May 2018
Following consultation, the new Food Safety Template for Cheesemakers has been issued.
- View the summary of submissions [PDF, 214 KB]
- Download the Template [PDF, 1.1 MB]
Consultation background
The New Zealand cheese industry and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) are designing a new Food Safety Template for Cheesemakers (Template).
We want to know if the Template includes everything cheesemakers need to know and do to produce safe cheese.
Have we got it right? If not, what have we missed? Would the Template be practical to use in your business? We welcome any other comments and feedback about the Template.
Consultation documents
There are 3 documents to review:
- Draft Guidance notes about your Cheesemakers Template [PDF, 136 KB]
- Draft Food Safety Template for Cheesemakers [PDF, 1.1 MB]
- Draft Record Blanks for Cheesemakers [PDF, 778 KB]
Background to consultation
As part of the Food Act 2014 programme implementation, MPI is supporting New Zealand businesses by developing and implementing easy-to-use and efficient regulations. This includes developing a single generic set of rules (template), so that cheesemakers can comply with both the Food Act and Animal Products Act.
The Food Act, which came into effect in March 2016, introduced a risk-based approach to managing food safety. Higher-risk food businesses need to use a food control plan. These are written plans that identify food safety risks and set out how they will be managed on a day-to-day basis.
The Food Act 2014 requires that you take responsibility for ensuring food is safe and suitable. Businesses need to be aware of the risks and be able to show how they are managing them.
Making your submission
The consultation on the Template closed at 5pm on 7 May 2018.
We invite you to take part in the consultation via our online survey.
Cheesemakers Template consultation - online survey
Submissions are public information
Note, that any submission you make becomes public information. People can ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we have to make submissions available unless we have a good reason for withholding it (refer to sections 6 and 9 of the OIA).
Tell us if you think there are grounds to withhold specific information in your submission. Reasons might include that it's commercially sensitive or it's personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold information can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may tell us to release it.
