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Summary of the Animal Products Act by Part

January 2006

Animal Products Act 1999
Information Pamphlet

PART 1: Preliminary Provisions

Section 2 Object of Act

The object of this Act is to:-

a. Minimise and manage risks to human or animal health arising from the production and processing of animal material and products by instituting measures that ensure so far as is practicable that all traded animal products are fit for their intended purpose; and

b. Facilitate the entry of animal material and products into overseas markets by providing the controls and mechanisms needed to give and to safeguard official assurances for entry into those markets.

Section 3 General Scheme of the Animal Products Act

The structure of the Act is set out in general terms. The Ministry, under the Minister, is the regulatory agency responsible for the administration of this Act, with the following main functions:

• Establishing the New Zealand standards and specifications relating to animal products that determine fitness for intended purpose:

• Establishing and implementing regulated control schemes:

• Providing official assurances:

• Monitoring and auditing the risk management system:

• Addressing non-compliance.

Section 4 Interpretation

Several of the definitions here are vital for the working of the Act. In particular the coverage of the Act is set up by the definitions of ‘animal material’, ‘primary processor’ and ‘dairy processor’ and associated terms. Also definitions such as ‘trade’ set up the working application of the Act. The term ‘fit for intended purpose’ is not defined, but is described.

Sections 7 – 10 Application of Act Generally

In general terms, this Act applies, or may be made to apply, to the production and processing, for reward or for purposes of trade or export, of —

• All animal material, whether alive or dead, including the material of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and other creatures and entities:

• All products, both edible and non-edible, derived in whole or in part from animal material, including products derived from mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and other creatures and entities.

The specific requirements of the Animal Products Act apply principally to animal material and animal products that are intended for human or animal consumption, but may also apply or be made to apply to animal material and products intended for other purposes. Provision is made for exemptions from the Act in whole or in part.

PART 2: Risk Management Programmes

The object of Part 2 of the Animal Products Act is to provide, as the main means for ensuring that animal products are fit for their intended purpose, for the production and processing of certain animal materials and products to occur under 1 or more registered risk management programmes.

Risk management programmes relate to the individual business, but can be based on a code of practice, model or template. Also a single risk management programme can apply to a number of comparable businesses if approved by the Director-General.

Section 16 Duties of operators of risk management programmes

All operators of risk management programmes are subject to the duties contained in this section.

Sections 17 and 17A Contents of RMP and Multi-business RMP

The content requirements for risk management programmes are set out including those for multi-businesses. Risk management programmes are based on the principles of HACCP and these principles are directly captured in section 17.

Sections 18 – 30 Registration of risk management programmes

The NZFSA registers risk management programmes and registered programmes are recorded in a public database. Section 20 requires an independent evaluation report to accompany all risk management programmes submitted for registration, but there is an allowance for this requirement to be waived in certain circumstances. This section also requires naming of the RMP verifier at the time of registration.

Sections 31 - 34 Food Act and RMP interface

These sections are to recognise the general equivalence of food safety programmes under the Food Act and risk management programmes in producing product that is fit for intended purpose, and to minimise the problems of overlap of 2 separate legislative regimes.

Sections 35 and 36 Recognised verifiers

These two sections link to Part 8 of the Act and require the Director-General to recognize agencies to perform RMP verification.

PART 3: Regulated Control Schemes

The object of Part 3 is to provide for regulated control schemes which are special regulatory regimes to provide for cases where —

• It is inappropriate or impracticable to manage risks under risk management programmes; or

• Risks may need to be addressed in relation to the production of animal material or the processing of animal product that is not required by this Act to be covered by a registered risk management programme; or

• Special provision is required for the purposes of overseas market access requirements.

Regulated control schemes can be applied in circumstances where —

• It is not feasible or practicable for the relevant risks to be managed by individual animal product business operators within individual risk management programmes (whether or not those operators would normally be required to have a risk management programme); or

• Having regard to considerations of economic efficiency, or to legal considerations that may require the exercise of statutory authority for the successful management of risks, it is necessary or appropriate that the measures be imposed generally rather than being dealt with by way of individual risk management programmes; or

• The measures are additional to those normally required to meet New Zealand animal product standards, and are necessary to meet overseas market access requirements.

This Part also allows for the making of an emergency control scheme under certain situations.

PART 4: Animal Product Standards and Specifications

The object of Part 4 is to provide for —

a. The setting of standards that must be met by any animal product intended for trade or processed for reward before it may be considered fit for intended purpose; and

b. The setting of specifications that may be necessary or desirable to ensure such standards are met.

Standards and specifications set under Part 4 may apply in respect of any class or description of animal material or product, person or business, process or operation, equipment or other thing, premises or place, or area, and may apply regardless of whether or not a risk management programme is in place or required in respect of the relevant material or product, person or business, process or operation, premises or place, or area. This Part also allows for the making of emergency animal product standards and specifications under certain situations.

PART 5: Export of Animal Material and Products

The object of Part 5 is to facilitate sustainable international trade in animal material and animal products from New Zealand by—

a. providing for the specifying of requirements that must be met in relation to all or any classes or descriptions of animal material or animal products for them to be eligible for export; and

b. providing for requirements and systems intended to safeguard official assurances provided by New Zealand in respect of animal material and animal products; and

c. providing for the registration of exporters of animal material and animal products, where appropriate.

Section 51 Duties of exporters

All exporters of animal material and products are subject to the duties contained in this section.

Sections 60 – 65 Export requirements and official assurances

These sections provide for the notification of export requirements and the issuance of official assurances including limits on what an official assurance is. Section 60B enables the Director-General to exempt certain exports from the requirement to meet food standards under the Food Act 1981.

Part 5A: GAME ESTATES

Part 5A covers sections 65A through 65L. A game estate is a place within which animals are kept (whether all of the time or only some of the time), as if in the wild, for the purpose of providing opportunities for persons to hunt or catch them as recreational catch as if in the wild. The main object of this Part is to facilitate the tracing of any animal material or product intended for human or animal consumption that is derived from animals from game estates, thus helping to ensure proper treatment of the animal material or product. Game estates that will supply animal material for food processing are required to be listed with the NZFSA.

PART 6: Homekill and Recreational Catch

The principal objects of Part 6 are —

a. To allow for owners of animals and recreational hunters and fishers to kill and process their own animals and recreational catch, or have it done for them by certain identified persons, outside the normal regulatory requirements of this Act, provided that the animal or recreational catch is for their own use or consumption and is not traded:

b. To ensure that homekill and recreational catch is treated entirely separate from, and cannot be mingled with or traded as, regulated animal products.

Part 6 provides for —

• The listing of persons who may undertake homekill or recreational catch services on behalf of animal owners or recreational hunters and fishers:

• A prohibition on any person undertaking such services at any premises or place where regulated animal products are processed, except in the case of retail butchers who also list as homekill or recreational catch service providers:

• Dual operator butchers to operate under a risk management programme that specifically recognises and takes account of the risks involved in carrying out dual operations at the same premises or place.

Section 71 Requirements for dual operator butchers

This section requires dual operator butchers to have a RMP and specifies certain additional requirements that must be incorporated into risk management programmes. The RMP requirements of section 71 need to be read together with Part 2 of the Act.

PART 7: Officers, Powers etc

Part 7 provides for the appointment of animal product officers and official assessors. It also provides for their powers, along with the powers of the Director-General under the Animal Products Act. Sections under this part would likely be used in the event of an emergency response, for example, section 81B relating to the ability to impose movement and related controls, and section 82 relating to the power to direct disposal of animal material and product.

This part also contains the authority for the issuance of search warrants.

Section 83 Statements as to NZ animal product standards

This section enables the Director-General to give statements about the status of a product regarding NZ standards. It is used to supplement the use of official assurances under Part 5 for facilitating our export trade.

PART 8: Recognised Agencies and Persons

The general object of Part 8 is to provide for the Director-General to —

a. Recognise agencies that manage and supply recognised persons to perform specialist functions and activities for the purposes of this Act, including verification functions and activities; and

b. Recognise individuals to carry out such specialist functions and activities, including verification functions and activities.

The sections in this part provide for the administration of the recognition processes for both persons and agencies. Application processes are covered as well as the ability to suspend, withdraw or suspend recognition. Section 112 provides for the Director-General to maintain a public listing of recognised agencies and persons.

Sections 106 and 107 Duties

These sections provide for duties applying to agencies and persons respectively. The purpose is to ensure that persons involved with the key functions under the Act take appropriate responsibility for particular matters to ensure that the whole risk management system works with credibility and integrity.

PART 9: Cost Recovery

Part 9 empowers cost recovery under the Animal Products Act. Cost recovery is implemented through regulations. The regulations must follow the cost recovery principles that are set out in section 113 and base the means of cost recovery on the methods enabled by section 114. Other sections in this part cover administration requirements and cost recovery constraints or requirements.

Of note section 120 enables service type costs to be directly invoiced on an actual and reasonable basis. Such services would cover things like telephone charges, mailing charges, the provision of information etc. Service type costs are not prescribed.

PART 10: Offences, Penalties and Proceedings

Part 10 (sections 126 to 157) contains the offence and penalty provisions. It also contains several presumptions, and liability provisions.

Sections 146 to 157 Compliance Orders

These sections provide for the making of a compliance order by a District Court. Comprehensive administration requirements are set out.

PART 11: Miscellaneous Provisions

The miscellaneous provisions in Part 11 include:

• Section 158 — Identification systems and devices

• Sections 159 to 161 — Record keeping requirements and use of information which ensures that Government agencies and other persons and agencies involved in risk management programmes, food safety programmes, or in the administration of other requirements imposed by or under this Act, are able to disclose to each other such information as is desirable or necessary to ensure—

• The health or well being of producers, processors, consumers, and users of animal material and products; or

• The fitness for intended purpose of animal products; or

• The integrity and reputation of New Zealand exports of animal material and products, and the integrity of official assurances given under this Act.

• Section 162 — Right of review of certain decisions taken under the Act

• Sections 163 to 165A — Consultation and notification requirements

• Sections 166 to 168 — The making of regulations and Director-General notices, including the clear ability to include material by reference

This publication is not a legal interpretation of the Animal Products Act or the Animal Products (Ancillary and Transitional Provisions) Act and is intended only as a guide.