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NZFSA Policy Statement on Responding to Adventitious Presence

Adventitious presence refers to the unintended low-level presence of an unapproved substance or unwanted organism in food. It can be the result of unintended chemical, biological and physical contamination.

When responding to adventitious presence, the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) applies a risk management framework to assess the potential for harm and to ensure any risk management decisions are proportionate to the actual risk posed by the unapproved substance. This ensures high quality, consistent decision making.

Background to the NZFSA policy statement on Responding to Adventitious Presence

Despite best endeavours there is always the potential for an unapproved substance or unwanted organism to be found in food. This concept is commonly referred to as adventitious presence. When responding to adventitious presence, NZFSA applies a risk management framework to identify potential hazards and to assess the potential exposure of New Zealand consumers to those hazards. This approach is essential in determining an appropriate risk-based response.

NZFSA applies this same approach during all incident response and standard setting activities to ensure risk management decisions are proportionate to the actual risk posed by the unapproved substance under consideration.

Further Information about the NZFSA’s Policy on Responding to Adventitious Presence:

Case Study - Responding to Adventitious Presence

NZFSA's Risk Management Framework

Updated on 31 July 2009.