Food review has green light

After more than five years of consultation, trials and policy development, it is all go on the Food Bill.

Replacing the 28-year old Food Act with up-to-date legislation is good news for both business operators and consumers, NZFSA’s policy director Carole Inkster says.

The proposed Food Bill will encourage food operators to take direct responsibility for providing their customers with safe food by giving them nationally consistent information about how to manage food safety in their business.

Some parts of the proposed arrangements have been piloted for over a year. Restaurateurs and caterers in 68 of the country’s 73 local council areas have had the chance to join a voluntary scheme to register Food Control Plans. A recent survey showed most of them liked the plan. Operators have commented that the plans help them to produce higher quality food for their customers by highlighting weaknesses in procedures and letting them concentrate on what is most important in the business.

“With the high level of buy-in so far, food operators have shown they’re ready to take this next step in responsibility for food safety. They know that safe food is good for their business,” Carole says.

The new law also has provision for a national restaurant grading scheme to be developed. Although some councils already have grading schemes in place, they differ across the country in the way they grade restaurants. “Having one consistent system will allow New Zealanders to make an informed choice about where they eat and importantly, will provide operators with a level playing field in the way they are compared with other businesses,” Carole says.

NZFSA is well advanced in researching this area and expects to pilot a prospective national system in a very limited way early in 2010.