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Domestic Food Review will be just what the public ordered

9 August 2005

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority is looking for the best possible outcomes for New Zealand consumers and food businesses as it works to overhaul the country’s food regulations. To ensure that it gets them, it will be taking the unusual step of adding another stage of public consultation on the final Domestic Food Review proposals, with these outcomes going into the legislative process.

Carole Inkster, NZFSA’s Director of Policy says: “It will be our way of ensuring we capture exactly how much, and where, New Zealanders want government intervention in the production and sale of domestic food. It’ll mean we can develop regulations that deliver a level of food safety that the public wants.”

A second series of public workshops, held around the country in July and August to discuss the latest papers out for public submission, have been well received. “We were able to clarify the problems New Zealand has regarding food regulation and the intended outcomes of the Review, which is designed to ensure our vital food sector is positioned well for the future,” says Carole. “We also laid to rest misinformation about the sale of food for fund-raising and increased costs of compliance.”

As NZFSA has stated in the past, there is not – and never has been – any intention to regulate out of existence cake stalls and sausage sizzles. Compliance costs and interventions are to be kept to a minimum. Further press releases on the issue of fundraisers can be viewed at:
www.nzfsa.govt.nz/publications/media-releases/2005-01-27DFR4weekstogo.htm and www.nzfsa.govt.nz/publications/media-releases/2005-06-30DFRsausagesizzle30June.htm.

Domestic Food Review papers, background information and summaries of submissions made on the first five papers are available at:
www.nzfsa.govt.nz/policy-law/projects/domestic-food-review/index.htm

Ends
For further comment contact: Carole Inkster, Director (Policy)
Tel: (04) 463 2505 or 021 241 2455
For further information contact: Gary Bowering, Manager (Communications)
Tel (04) 463 2502 or 027 443 2550