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Food Safety Guidance for Meat at Stalls

This guidance has been produced in response to concerns at the sale of meat at market stalls, in particular the sale of red (raw) meat apparently in contravention of the Food Hygiene Regulations 1974. The regulations do permit the sale of other, pre-packaged meats such as ham/bacon, sausages, cooked and canned meats, but an e-mail survey of Territorial Authorities (TAs) carried out by NZFSA in April 2007 identified that the regulation is being interpreted more inclusively by some TAs.

It is anticipated that the Food Hygiene Regulations will be revoked as a part of the transition to new food safety legislation before an amendment to this law could be passed.

Rather than an outright ban of the sale of red meat at existing market stalls, NZFSA have consulted with Local Councils, Retail Meat New Zealand, the New Zealand Pork Industry Board and the New Zealand Farmers Markets Association to identify a workable solution that follows the current move towards assessing the risks posed by this type of operation.

The guidance is intended for:

• market stallholders currently selling, or currently applying to sell, meat and meat products;
• market organisers - to ensure that meat sold at their markets is derived from a bona fide source;
• Territorial Authorities - to adopt and apply at markets in their areas.
• NZFSA will subsequently audit markets to assess uptake of the guidance material.

Food Safety Guidance for Meat at Stalls [PDF 28K ]