What Free Sale Certificates and Free Sale Statements do
Getting a Free Sale Certificate (FSC) or Free Sale Statement (FSS) is optional. But they can help get your food or beverage product cleared or registered into your preferred market. FSCs and FSSs can be used for fruit wine, cider, mead, processed food, and grape wine.
- An FSC says your product is safe and suitable for people to eat. It can speed up the clearance process when your product arrives overseas.
- An FSS helps with registering your processed food product before it arrives in your overseas market.
You can get an FSC or FSS for processed food products even if they don't need official assurance.
Check what official assurance documents you need
An FSC or FSS doesn't replace any official assurance documents you might need, such as Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) export certificates.
If your product contains significant amounts of animal products such as meat, dairy, or honey, you need to check the Overseas Market Access Requirements (OMAR).
Find the OMAR for your overseas market
You can read more about which products are exempt from meeting OMAR requirements in clause 256 of the Animal Products Regulations 2021.
Animal Products Regulations 2021 – NZ Legislation
If you're exporting plant products, you need to check the Importing Countries Phytosanitary Requirements (ICPR).
Find the ICPR for your overseas market
If you're not sure what you need to do, check with your importer.
