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Information for Early Childhood Education Centres

October 07

Background

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) is the government department that administers food legislation (ie, food produced and sold in New Zealand). This includes food sold as an ancillary service, eg, Early Childhood Education Centres (ECE centres) serving food funded by either the general fees of the centre, government funds, or a specific charge for food.

Over the last four years NZFSA has been reviewing the domestic food industry to standardise the way food safety is managed and reduce the number of foodborne illnesses across the country.

After four years of review, a new Food Act is being written. ECE centres, like other businesses who supply food as part of their package of services will be covered by the new Food Act. ECE centres are covered now by the Food Hygiene Regulations 1974 but are currently exempt from registering with their Territorial Authorities. The new Food Act will remove this exemption.

How ECE centres will be affected

When the new Food Act comes into force, ECE centres will be required to use some form of food safety management tool which will assist them to identify and manage food safety risks. The tool used will depend on the food service offered by the centre (ie, the level of risk posed by their food services).

Food safety tools

Two types of tool proposed in the new Food Act are considered to be suitable for most ECE centres.

1. Food Handler Guidance is educational information only and will be used in low risk frequency and scope operations. In ECE centres this might include centres where children bring their lunch from home; ie, centres don’t cook meals, but might prepare snacks for children.

2. An Off-the-peg Food Control Plan (OTP-FCP) is a ready-to-use plan designed to meet the needs of small-to-medium sized businesses and this tool is proposed for centres that provide children with a cooked meal.

Off-the-peg Food Control Plans

OTP-FCPs will be available free to download from NZFSA’s website, or from the local Territorial Authority. They will be simple-to-use models which cover all aspects of food safety management. NZFSA and Territorial Authorities will provide guidance on how to implement an OTP-FCP. OTP-FCPs will be registered with the local Territorial Authority and verified annually.

When will this happen?

NZFSA is currently drafting the new Food Act and, depending on parliamentary priorities, it may well be passed in 2008. There is then likely to be a six-month lead-in period before implementation begins, with business sectors brought into the new system over a five year period. At this stage, NZFSA intends that ECE centres will be included in year two of the transition period. NZFSA wants the transition to be as smooth as possible and will ensure lots of assistance is provided (eg, explanatory material, guidance, workshops etc).

See the project’s latest policy paper Domestic Food Review – Policy and Related implementation Position Paper here

For more information see our previously published papers here

For an introduction to basic food safety, check out the Foodsafe Partnership’s website at: www.foodsafe.org.nz