Food Newsletter - Winter 2022

Winter 2022

Food business tips and reminders

Winter has arrived and with the big chill comes a range of seasonal impacts to your business. These reminders and tips will help you ensure the safety of your food, your customers and the health of our Far North communities - whatever the winter weather.

Water

If you’re an operator on a private water scheme or private water supply, remember you must always be able to provide records that confirm your water is potable.

Importance of registration

As a food business you’ll know you must be registered under the Food Act 2014 but it’s renewing your registration before it expires, that often catches people out. Trust us - it's better to take steps to make sure this doesn’t happen to your business.

New allergen labelling guide

NZ Food Safety has published a guide for food businesses about the new rules for labelling allergens. Everyone who makes and sells food has a responsibility to know what's in their food and how to label it so customers can make safe choices. Check it out here.

The Māori New Year

Matariki is a star cluster which appears mid-winter. Our first public holiday to celebrate Matariki was on Friday 24 June. According to the Māori lunar calendar, the appearance of Matariki signals it's time to harvest and gather food for the cold months ahead. How is your food planning going for the year ahead?

Enforcement - Corrective Action Requests

Non-compliance under the Food Act 2014 can result in a Corrective Action Request (CAR). Find out how corrective actions are agreed and how timeframes to achieve them are worked out, on the next page.

Rascally rodents

Chilly winter temperatures send us all indoors in search of toasty dry shelter, and unfortunately rodents have the same thing in mind. Make sure your business isn’t on their accommodation radar. We have some pest control tips on the next page to help with this.

Registration

If you’re selling food:

at a farmers market
in a premise
from a mobile shop
or from home

chances are you need to be registered under the

Food Act 2014.

Once you’re registered, keep an eye on when your registration must be renewed

before it expires. Food Control Plans (FCP)

are renewed annually. National Programmes (NP)

are renewed bi-annually.

Information and application forms can be found by searching ‘food licence’ on our website www.fndc.govt.nz.

Enforcement - Corrective Action Requests

If a business is found to not be conforming or complying to its food licence conditions during a verification visit then a corrective action will result, for each issue found.

Our verifiers work with business operators to agree what needs to be done and what's a reasonable timeframe to achieve it. Timeframes depend on the degree of risk of the non-compliance to food safety and suitability.

It is very important that correction actions are completed within these timeframes. Failure to do so can result in enforcement action and - worst case scenario - the closure of your business. If you are unable to meet a timeframe deadline, please contact your food verifier immediately.

Help us, help you to prevent this outcome.

Water

If you choose to supply your own clean water, you must test it annually to make sure it is safe to use.

Your water must meet all of the following limits:

Escherichia coli - less than 1 in any 100ml sample. Testing for Escherichia coli must be performed by an accredited lab
Turbidity - must not exceed 5 Nephelometric Turbidity Units
Chlorine - Not less than 0.2mg/l (ppm) free available chlorine with a minimum of 20 minute contact time pH (when chlorinated) - 6.5-8.0.

There are two accredited labs in the Far North:

Ventia in Kaikohe
Far North Enviro Lab in Taipā.

Pest control tips

As it gets colder, pests are looking for homes to keep warm and safe. Please remember it is a requirement of your Food Control Plans (FCP) to check for pests. Make sure you are:

checking for and removing any signs of pests daily
cleaning and sanitising any affected equipment and areas that come in to contact with food
following the procedure on what to do "When Something Goes Wrong" (red section of your FCP) if you find signs that a pest may be present in your food business. You must also implement effective pest control methods.

You can find a handy guide on our website.

Any suggestions for our next newsletter?

Email us at ask.us@fndc.govt.nz or visit our website at:

www.fndc.govt.nz/Our-Services/Licences_and_permits