Maintenance compounds used in processing meat, seafood, and other non-dairy animal products

For individuals Mā te takitahi

For businesses Mā ngā pakihi

Which processors does this apply to?

The rules on this page only apply to animal product processors who:

operate under the Animal Products Act – such as those who have a risk management programme (RMP), and
process animal products that are not dairy – such as meat, game, seafood, or bee products.

If this is you, the chemicals you use to clean or maintain your processing area must meet certain requirements. Otherwise, there's a risk they could contaminate your products.

Note: If your business operates under the Food Act, you don't need to meet these requirements.

Which products to use

If you process non-dairy animal products or material for human consumption, you must:

only use approved maintenance compounds
follow any conditions set by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) when you use them.

Use this register to search for approved maintenance compounds:

On the register page you can also find:

a list of all approved maintenance compounds (non-dairy)
a list of approval codes, which explain where and how to use the compounds.

Regulations that apply

The maintenance compounds you use must meet hygiene requirements. These can be found in the regulation 53 (3a) of the Animal Product Regulations 2021

Getting a maintenance compound approved

You can apply to MPI to have a maintenance compound approved for use. Sections 2 to 5 of the Approved maintenance compounds (non-dairy) manual explain how to do this.

The manual covers the: