Introduction to managing food safety risk in seafood

Your risk management requirements if you work with seafood

The requirements for seafood processing come from the:

• Food Act 2014 – NZ Legislation
• Animal Products Act 1999 – NZ Legislation

If the information on this page indicates that you might need to operate under the Food Act 2014, we recommend that you use the "My Food Rules" tool. It can help you to find out your requirements under the Food Act 2014.

Find your food safety rules

Find the requirements for your business activity

Use this page to find the legal requirements for your specific business activity. Check the requirements if you:

• process seafood for wholesale
• sell fish as a retail fishmonger
• sell (retail) fish that someone else processed
• transport fish for the domestic market (including from a fishing boat to a processing plant)

Check whether you have any other requirements

Make sure you also find out about:

• seafood exporting requirements
• fish names – labelling requirements
• commercial fishing requirements

If you haven't already, we suggest you check the introduction page for seafood processing:

Introduction to fish and seafood harvest, processing, and sale

Processing seafood for wholesale

If you operate under the Animal Products Act, you'll probably need a risk management plan.

Find out about risk management programmes

If you operate under the Food Act, you'll probably need a custom food control plan.

Find out about custom food control plans

If you're creating a custom food control plan, this page has resources to help you:

Fish and seafood food safety codes of practice and templates

Selling fish as a retail fishmonger

If you do this, you might need to operate under a template food control plan (FCP), registered under the Food Act 2014.

Find out about using template food control plans

Selling (retailing) fish that someone else processed

If you do this, you might need to follow a national programme, registered under the Food Act 2014.

Find out about national programmes

Transporting fish for the domestic market

This includes transporting fish from a fishing boat to a processing plant. If you do this, you might also need to follow a national programme, registered under the Food Act 2014.

Find out about national programmes

Primary processor of seafood

If you're a primary processor of seafood, you'll most likely need to operate under a risk management programme (RMP). This is a requirement of the Animal Products Act 1999.

Risk management programmes (RMPs) for seafood

This section has general information about RMPs:

Risk management programmes

Regulated control schemes

A regulated control scheme (RCS) is imposed by the Government to manage food-related risks. This is done through MPI and in consultation with industry.

If you operate a limited processing fishing vessel (LPFV) in New Zealand you need to:

• understand the processing restrictions
• meet the LPFV Regulated Control Scheme requirements
• register your vessel.

Find out about limited processing fishing vessels and food safety

If you grow, harvest, process, store, or transport bivalve molluscan shellfish (BMS) for human consumption, the Animal Products Act 1999 and BMS Regulated Control Scheme (RCS) apply.

Introduction to bivalve molluscan shellfish (BMS) growing, harvesting, processing, and operating

Find out more

Guidance document: An overview of the Animal Products Act 1999 [PDF, 565 KB]

Starting a food business

Who to contact

If you have questions about managing risk in seafood processing, email info@mpi.govt.nz