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Letter to the Editor – New Zealand Herald

11 June 2009

Editor

New Zealand Herald

AUCKLAND

Dear Editor

Your article ‘Food watchdog pleads for help’ (11 June) does not accurately reflect the conversation I had with your reporter.

The issue is not one of funding but of practicality. It would not be practical – or cost-effective – to have dozens of staff employed to go around inspecting premises without sufficient reason to do so. No regulator of any kind has an inspector on every street corner. That’s why the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) encourages the public and business operators to let us know about unsafe food handling practices and transgressions of our food laws. We follow this up and act where necessary.

NZFSA encourages food business operators to take responsibility for their own safe food handling practices and procedures. We are working to develop a culture of safe food handling by business operators, where they understand that supplying or serving safe food is good business. We welcome information from industry or consumers that helps ensure that all food businesses operate to acceptable standards of food safety and suitability.

Justin Rowlands

Assistant Director Operational Response
NZFSA

11 June 2009