The food you import must be safe and suitable
Food importers must make sure that the food they are planning to import is safe and suitable and fit for human consumption.
- The food must be produced, manufactured, preserved, packaged, and stored under hygienic conditions.
- It must not contain any food safety hazards at levels that could harm consumers. Food safety hazards include biological (like bacteria), chemical (like toxins), and physical hazards (like foreign material).
- The food must not contain or have anything attached to it that would make the food unfit for its intended use and intended consumer. For example, the food must not contain any foreign matter, or material that is decomposed, diseased, filthy, or putrid.
- It must not be adulterated.
- It must meet applicable New Zealand standards.
Safe and suitable food videos
Watch MPI's videos on YouTube that explain what safe and suitable food means under the Food Act.
You must assess the safety and suitability before the food arrives
Food importers must assess the safety and suitability of food before the food arrives in New Zealand. The assessment must confirm that the food is, or will be, safe and suitable.
Different foods with similar characteristics can be assessed together if:
- the different foods are produced by the same manufacturer or processor, and
- the differences in the foods (such as ingredients or packaging size) do not result in different food safety hazards occurring in any of the food.
Information used in the assessment must be:
- applicable to the specific food assessed
- applicable to the specific batch or lot of food imported, when required (such as when certificates of analysis are used).
- up to date.
If a food changes, you will need to get new information and re-assess for its safety and suitability.
Changes that would trigger the need for reassessment could be:
- changes in the type and amount of ingredients (such as adding or substituting ingredients or changing the amounts of additives), which may introduce new hazards, including allergens, or exceed permitted additive levels
- changes to the way the food is made (such as changes in processing steps and parameters, for example cooking times and temperatures), which may affect hazard control
- new labelling and branding (such as making health claims)
- changes to packaging (such as change in packaging material), which may affect the storage stability of the food or introduce new hazards, if not food grade.
