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Definition and requirements

Recognised agencies and persons

A recognised agency or person is a body or individual recognised under the Animal Products Act (APA) 1999 to perform specialist food safety functions and activities. These activities include the following:

  • evaluating and/or verifying food businesses operating under a Risk Management Programme (RMP)
  • verifying food businesses operating under a Regulated Control Scheme (RCS)
  • verifying that food businesses meet certain export requirements or overseas market access requirements (OMARs)
  • laboratory testing and analysis of animal material or products
  • sampling for monitoring and surveillance purposes
  • other functions or activities required under the APA.

Requirements

Recognised agencies/persons must comply with legal requirements under the APA. These requirements are set out in Part 8 of the Act, as well as in the following Regulations and Notice:

Animal Product Regulations 2021 – NZ Legislation

Animal Product Notice: Production, Supply and Processing [PDF, 2.6 MB]

Find out more about recognised agencies and persons:

APA recognised agencies

APA recognised persons

See a road map of the requirements under the Animal Products Act 1999 for recognised persons or agencies:

Recognised Laboratory Programme (RLP)

An RLP laboratory is recognised under Section 101 of the Animal Products Act to undertake regulatory testing of animal products. The Programme deals with provisions required by some Overseas Market Access Requirements (OMARs), Animal Products (National Microbiological Database Specifications) Notices, and other obligations.

RLP laboratories are accredited by IANZ to ISO 17025 standards for testing. The scope of this testing is defined in MPI's Consolidated list of tests for animal products, which includes meat, poultry, honey, seafood, dairy, live animals, and germplasm.

Find out more about the RLP:

Keep up to date

It’s important to keep up with any new or revised information on approval for labs, agencies, and persons. This includes requirements, consultations, policies, and other content changes.

Food Act verifiers

The Food Act 2014 came into effect on 1 March 2016. Businesses looking for verifiers, and persons and agencies wanting to act as verifiers under the Food Act 2014, should check they have the appropriate recognition.

MPI business units