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Application guidelines for approvals

The following outlines the general requirements for completion of NZFSA application forms. If you require further information in respect to completing an application please email approvals@nzfsa.govt.nz

Identifiers

Business identification

Unique business identifiers are required for each application. The identification should be chosen by the applicant and must not be the same as any other approval identifiers held by the same business. The business ID must be a number or a number/letter combination of at least 3 and not more than 10 characters with at least one character as a number and no leading zeros.

Where a business identification is not nominated, is not suitable, or it does not adhere to the criteria, an identification will be assigned by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA).

Also refer to NZFSA web site document Identification numbers under the Animal Products Act 1999 at: http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/animalproducts/publications/forms/id-apa.pdf

RMP number

The applicant should assign a two digit RMP number (1-99) to each registered RMP application.

RMP identifiers

Are a combination of the Business Identifier and RMP Number

It is strongly recommended that any current premises ID (ME, PH etc.) is kept for country listing and brand/label purposes. If a new ID is chosen both packaging and any country listings must be updated to reflect this change. Certain country listings may take 6 - 12 weeks to update, therefore any product produced under the RMP with a new ID may not be eligible for export to the affected countries until country listings have been updated. Once your business ID has been established, it will be the current business ID for any future RMP registration applications.

Unique location identifier (dairy only)

For the purposes of traceability and certification, the operator must nominate a unique identifier for each location specified in the RMP. Unique location identifier will appear on the Notice of Registration for each registered RMP. For E-Cert purposes, unique location identifiers for stores must being with an S, i.e. S###.

Operator/applicant details

Operator/Applicant name is the full legal name of the operator/applicant. This is the name of the owner or other person in control of the business, and may be the name of a company, a partnership, an individual or multiple individuals:

• Company - provide the name of the company as registered under the Companies Act 1993. The registered company name will appear on any issued documentation with the use of upper and lower case as stated in the application form but otherwise as a direct copy of the name on the certificate of incorporation as stated in the Companies Office database.

• Partnership - provide the full legal names of all individuals and / or companies within the partnership and the trading name used by the partnership. The use of initials for the first names of individuals is not permitted. The name will appear on any issued documentation in the format “<partner names>, a partnership trading as <trading name>” and as stated in the application form, including the use of upper and lower case as provided by the applicant. The operator will be permitted to use the trading name as the operator name on applicable eligibility documents.

• Individual - provide the full legal name of the individual and a trading name if applicable. The use of initials for the first names of individuals is not permitted. The name will appear on any issued documentation as stated in the application form, including the use of upper and lower case as provided by the applicant. If the applicant has a trading name, the name will appear in the format “<individual name> trading as <trading name>”. The operator will be permitted to use the trading name as the operator name on applicable eligibility documents.

• Multiple individuals – the use of initials for the first names is not permitted and the full legal names of all individuals must be supplied. The names will appear on any issued documentation as stated in the application form, including the use of upper and lower case as provided by the applicant.

Fishing Vessels (if applicable)

Include, if applicable, the name of the fishing vessel and number of the fishing vessel, as allocated by the Ministry of Fisheries.

Address Details

The registered company address of the operator is the address registered with the New Zealand Companies Office. This address may or may not be the same as that provided in section 4 above. Only provide details if the registered company address is different from that of the business address stated in section 4.

If registering as a New Zealand agent acting for a foreign exporter, then the New Zealand agent must complete the application form as the applicant including the declaration in section 7 and the foreign exporter must complete the declaration in section 6c.

Note: Indicate whether the premises is fixed (i.e. a building) or mobile (i.e. a truck).

If you provide an email address, tick the box provided if you consent to being sent information electronically from time to time. This may include the issue of official notifications and letters in electronic form only, or in conjunction with a mailed hard copy. The email address supplied should be actively used to ensure that any information sent is viewed without undue delay.

Responsible persons/Organisations

• State the name, position or designation of the business manager(s) responsible for the daily management of the business or programme when requested (if you wish to supply specific contact details, please attach separately).

• State the name of any independent accredited evaluator when requested.

• State the name of the any recognised agency when requested

Minimum Documentation Details

Any assessment made in relation to the application (evaluation or verification) including any supporting reports must have been carried out not more than 6 months before the date of application.

• Format – you may submit documentation in either electronic form or hard copy. Where provided for tick the box to indicate which format is being used.

Note: Evaluation reports must be endorsed by the evaluator in both electronic or hard copy formats.

• Electronic files - at present the following file types are acceptable:

- Microsoft Word

- Microsoft Excel

- Acrobat PDF (created from Microsoft Word)

• Electronic file endorsement (RMPs, only)

- The endorsement procedure for each file type is described in the internet document ‘RMP Electronic Procedure’ http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/animalproducts/publications/forms/rmp/rmp-e-endorsemnt-prod.pdf

Changes that have occurred after the evaluation report was prepared must be described in an attached document.

Declarations

All required declarations must be completed. The applicant declaration must be completed by the operator (e.g. a director, partner or person with legal authority to act on behalf of the registered company or partnership or individual(s)).

Assessment

The application will be assessed by New Zealand Food Safety Authority, Animal Products Group and a recommendation made to the Director-General or his or her delegate.

The assessment will result in a recommendation that:

• the application be approved in accordance with the relevant legislation the approval is applied under.

• further information is requested from the applicant in order to make a determination to approve of refuse the application

• the Director-General proposes to refuse to approve the application, in which case, the Director-General may be required under legislation to give the applicant a notice informing the applicant of the grounds on which refusal is proposed and provide a reasonable opportunity to make written submissions or to be heard in respect of the matter.

It should be noted that where an application is refused for registration, the application fee will not be refunded and the applicant may still be charged for an assessment fee.

Approval

Where an approval is granted, details of the approval will be displayed on a public register, available on the internet at: http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/animalproducts/registers-lists/. Alternatively, the register is open for public inspection at the New Zealand Food Safety Authority Head Office, 68-86 Jervois Quay, Wellington or a copy can be requested by writing to the Programme Manager (Production and Processing), Animal Products, New Zealand Food Safety Authority.