Steps to a My Food Plan

By answering questions in our online tool (My Food Rules), you can find everything you need to know about food rules – if you need to register your business, who with (and under which legislation), and how to do it.

My Food Rules is based on the type of food you want to make and how you want to make it. Once you’ve been through the tool, you will be given the option to either use one of our plans that we have tailored for you, or create your own.

My Food Rules tool

You can either print it out or save it on your computer to easily find later. 

You can use your computer to download the plan from the My Food Rules tool to a PDF, which you can save or print. We have instructions on how to do this depending on which browser you are using.

How to download your plan [PDF, 562 KB]

How to use My Food Plan

My Food Plan contains procedures for managing food safety and suitability in your food business. Each topic has three sections – Know, Do, and Show.

Know outlines why the topic is important to food safety and suitability.

Do outlines what you and your staff need to do to make safe and suitable food.

Show outlines the records you need to keep and what your verifier will look for when they visit your business.

Using My Food Plan means agreeing to follow the limits (for example, time temperature cooking combinations), conditions or options in the plan. Some businesses have other ways they want to do things. This is fine as long as you can show they are safe, but you'll need to develop your own plan (or procedure) and have this evaluated.

There are multiple areas in the plan where you need to fill in the blanks or select options for how you will manage food safety. Make sure you do this before you find a verifier.

Before sending your required documentation to MPI Approvals, you need to choose a verifier. A verifier is a food safety expert who will come and check your business once you are operating.

A list of verifiers recognised to verify custom FCPs

Ask your chosen verifier to provide you with a letter confirming that they will verify your business so that you can include this in your application.

The purpose of the interview is to check that your My Food Plan will cover all the food safety controls for the products you will make and the processes you will use, in a way that will work in your business.

MPI Approvals will assist you with ongoing support with the interview process and the registration of the plan.

To book the interview you need to send:

• the completed application form FA10MFP
• evidence that application fees have been paid
• all documents listed in the FA10MFP form.

Custom Food Control Plan Application Form [PDF, 384 KB]

Email all of these to approvals@mpi.govt.nz

Or send all your application documents to:

Approvals Group New Zealand Food Safety
Ministry for Primary Industries
Charles Fergusson Building
38-42 Bowen St
Pipitea Wellington
PO Box 2526, Wellington
New Zealand 6140.

Once MPI Approvals has received all the required completed documentation, you will be added to a queue of businesses awaiting an interview. Note that interview time slots are subject to availability.

The interview takes place over the phone and takes approximately one and a half hours to complete. The interview focuses on your understanding of what is in your plan and what food safety risks are likely to occur in your food business. So make sure you have read and understand what is being asked of you in the plan and have filled in the blanks before your interview.

At the end of your interview, you will be advised if you can register your My Food Plan or if you need to do more work. If your plan needs more work, you will be advised what is missing and what you need to do to be able to meet food safety and suitability rules.

This is a good time to ask any questions you may have.

At the end of the interview, you will be provided with the draft interview report. You need to read it and confirm that the report reflects what was discussed during the interview.

After your interview, MPI Approvals will assist you with the registration of the plan.

We'll be in touch if we need anything else in addition to what you have already sent.

You must renew your registration every year.

Start using your completed My Food Plan to make safe and suitable food.

Follow good food safety practices and keep the records of what you do, as required by your plan.

Timeframe for checks

If you are a new business, your verifier must visit within 3 months of registering or earlier if required by MPI Approvals. MPI Approvals will notify your nominated verification agency (verifier) when your food control plan is registered.

Frequency of visits

How often you are checked will depend on how well you manage food safety. This could be as little as once every 18 months, if you are managing food safety well, or as often as every 3 months if you are not. You must pay for each visit, so the better you do, the less it will cost you.

What a verifier does

The verifier will check you are following your plan effectively and keeping all the records you need to make safe and suitable food. They will give feedback on areas that need improvement.

Once you have your plan in place, you must:

• follow your plan to make safe food and keep all necessary records
• renew your registration with MPI Approvals every year.

If you make any changes to what you do, you may need to change your plan and apply for an amendment. Examples of changes are:

• new processes
• making types of food that are not covered by your plan
• your business changes ownership or shuts down, relocates or adds new sites.

If the changes are such to be considered a significant amendment, you may require another interview. 

Contact MPI Approvals for assistance approvals@mpi.govt.nz

Guidance when making changes to a registered custom FCP