Domestic Food Review - Policy and Related Implementation Position Paper

Accreditation

formal assessment of competence of an agency against an international standard (such as ISO 17020) by an accreditation body

Accreditation Body

a national authority for the accreditation of agencies and persons, eg, IANZ or JAS-ANZ

Evaluation

an appraisal of a Food Control Plan, by an independent person recognised by NZFSA to determine compliance with regulatory requirements, appropriateness to the operation, and technically sound and capable of reliably providing safe and suitable food – prior to registration

External Verifier

a person recognised by the NZFSA to undertake verification activities on behalf of the regulator

Food

any thing or article, whether processed, semi-processed or raw, that is intended for human consumption; includes drink, chewing gum and any substance which enters into or is used in the composition, manufacture, preparation and preservation of any food or drink; but does not include cosmetics or tobacco, or substances used only as medicines and drugs;

includes bottled water, primary produce eg, live shellfish, fruit on a tree, water used in manufacture of a food, chewing gum, by-products of animals if they go into food;

may include live animals and plants (depending on intended use);

excludes cookware and related products (eg, pie dish and packaging, except for edible packaging)

Food Business

any food producer, processor and handler, seller or importer

Food Control Plan

a management plan to produce safe and suitable food that incorporates Good Operating Practice and HACCP thus science-based/ risk-based to the extent practicable

Food Handler Guidance

educational material covering the necessary steps to deliver safe and suitable food, intended to be used where a Food Control Plan or a National Programme are determined to be inappropriate, unnecessary or impracticable

Food Regulatory Regime

the overarching food regime in New Zealand for which the New Zealand Food Safety Authority is accountable, and within which decisions on the type of involvement (regulatory and non-regulatory) are made

Food Safety

all aspects of food hygiene that contributes to the production, processing, distribution, storage and sale of safe food

Food Safety Programme

a documented programme to identify, control, manage and eliminate or minimise hazards and other risk factors in the provision of food to ensure the food is fit for its intended purpose: registered under the Food Act 1981

Food Sector

one of the groups of similar food businesses (as contained in Tables 3.1 to 3.5)

Good Operating Practice (GOP)

all Good Hygienic Practice (GHP) components plus components of Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) that affect safety and suitability appropriate to the ‘food business’

excludes purely commercial GMP or GAP components that do not affect suitability and/or safety

Hazard

a biological, chemical or physical agent in, or condition of, food with the potential to cause an adverse health effect

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)

a system that identifies, evaluates and controls hazards that are significant for food safety

Intended Purpose

the purpose stated or a purpose that could reasonably be presumed to be intended for a food, having regard to its nature, packaging and identification

Internal Verifier

the ‘food business’ or someone on his/her behalf, undertaking internal verification of that food business’s Food Control Plan or in accordance with a National Programme

Multi-sector ‘food business’

a food business that covers more than one food sector

National Programmes

whole-of-New Zealand or regional programmes that apply consistently to a sector or group; developed because of the need to involve core government (eg, where access to property is necessary) or for cost-effectiveness (eg, national sampling programmes)

Operator

in relation to a food business, means the owner or other person in control of the business

Processor

in relation to a food for reward or sale, a person who processes and handles food

Processes and Handles

in relation to a food for reward or sale includes preparing, manufacturing, packing, transporting, storing, displaying, and serving the food

Provider of last resort

Required when:

1. verification, evaluation and related services are to be provided by third party agencies or Territorial Authorities, but no third party agency or Territorial Authority comes forward to provide these services. In such circumstances it has to date fallen to the NZFSA VA to supply industry with the verification and related services which are required by New Zealand food safety legislation; or

2. verification, evaluation and related services are to be provided by third party agencies or Territorial Authorities and one or more third party agency(ies) does come forward to provide these services but the services available and/or provided by the third party agency(ies) are assessed by NZFSA as not being capable, competent or performed acceptably. In such cases NZFSA, as the competent authority, can require that the VA undertakes the verification, evaluation and related services required under New Zealand food legislation.

Recognition

NZFSA recognises agencies and persons to perform certain functions, such as external verification of a Food Control Plan, against set competency criteria and requirements

Registration Authority

the chief Executive, NZFSA or as the case may be, the relevant Territorial Authority

Regulated Control Scheme

a special regulatory regime to provide for a case where —

(a) it is inappropriate or impracticable to manage risk factors under risk management programmes; or

(b) risk factors 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

(c) special provision is required for the purposes of overseas market access requirements

Regulatory Model

the current government approach to regulating the food chain; comprises the regulator (primarily but not exclusively NZFSA), the external verifier and the ‘food business’

Risk Management Programme

a documented programme to identify, control, manage and eliminate or minimise hazards and other risk factors in the processing of animal material in order to ensure that the animal product is fit for its intended purpose: as registered under the Animal Products Act 1999

Seamless

without legislative or operational duplication or gaps

Science-based

based on objective and verifiable information on all relevant hazards: term applied to regulatory decisions, standards and actions

Sphere of impact

the number of consumers likely to be put at risk if there is a failure of food hygiene and safety procedure

Suitability

covers composition and labelling, as well as aesthetic defects and matters such as ensuring the product does not contain anything offensive, unexpected or unusual that does not directly relate to food safety (eg, a snail in a ginger beer bottle) but generally excludes quality issues (eg, floury apples)

Template or model

means a document or suite of documents issued or approved by the Chief Executive as a template or model or code of practice for a Food Control Plan

Territorial Authority

a City Council or District Council as defined in the Local Government Act 2002

Verification

the application of methods, procedures, tests and other checks to confirm:

§ ongoing compliance of any food business to the legislation

§ ongoing compliance of the Food Control Plan to the legislation

§ compliance of the operation to the documented Food Control Plan or National Programme

§ the applicability of the Food Control Plan to the operation

Wine Standards Management Plan

a documented programme to identify, control, manage and eliminate or minimise hazards and other risk factors in the making of wine in order to ensure that the wine is fit for its intended purpose: as registered under the Wine Act 2003