Update from Vincent Arbuckle, DDG, NZFS

Kia ora koutou,

Welcome to the December 2025 edition of Food News.

As we near the end of 2025, I want to acknowledge the commitment and dedication of all who tirelessly work to ensure that businesses are meeting their regulatory requirements for safe and suitable food.

During warmer months, when chicken is on the barbecue and we’re enjoying a Christmas lunch, cases of foodborne illness in New Zealand tend to rise. This summer, we'll be returning our focus to our Campylobacter Skip the Wash messages. Campylobacteriosis is the most common cause of gastrointestinal illness in New Zealand, with many cases involving improper handling and cooking of chicken.  The campaign will extend our online messaging into supermarkets. Supermarkets are a key point where people come into contact with raw chicken. We want to use this opportunity to share food safety messages in more impactful ways.

For the summer holiday period, most MPI sites will be closed from 12 noon, 24 December 2025, and will open again on 5 January 2026. Emails will not be monitored during this time, except for those that relate to urgent food safety issues. There will be reduced staff during this time.

From all of us at NZFS, we wish you a safe, relaxing, and enjoyable festive season. We hope you get the chance to unwind and recharge over the summer.

Food News will be taking a short break in January and will return to your inbox in February 2026.

Ngā mihi nui,

Vincent Arbuckle
Deputy Director-General, New Zealand Food Safety

Translated guidance now available online

Guidance on food recalls, retail food labelling and allergen labelling is now available in Hindi, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.  Please share these resources with food business operators who prefer these languages. 

You can find these translated documents on the following MPI webpages: 

• Food recall documents 
• Food recall guidance for businesses 
• Documents for labelling and composition of food  
• Labelling food for retail sale 
• Allergen declarations, warnings, and advisory statements on food labels 
• Food and drink labelling and composition rules 

Consulting on proposals to strengthen the risk management controls for four types of imported food

In mid-December 2025, New Zealand Food Safety will begin a 60-day public and trading partner consultation on proposals to strengthen rules for four types of imported food by amending the Food Notice: Requirements for Registered Food Importers and Imported Food for Sale. This consultation mainly covers the proposed changes to the import requirements specified in the draft Notice for the following High Regulatory Interest foods:

• Dried spices (chilli, pepper and paprika)
• Milk and dairy products
•  Bivalve molluscan shellfish (BMS) and BMS products
• Tahini and sesame paste products

This consultation will be of interest to registered food businesses involved in the importation, manufacture and retail sale of these products.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR FROZEN BERRY IMPORTERS

Deadline approaching: Certification required for frozen berry imports from 1 February 2026.

From 1 February 2026, all importers must use Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) recognised certificates to gain clearance for consignments of ready-to-eat frozen berries imported into New Zealand (except those imported from Australia).

Food businesses will need to transition to the new process soon by submitting their overseas manufacturer’s GFSI-recognised certificates to the MPI Approvals team for checking. The application form and instructions are available here: Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)-recognised certificates for clearance of frozen berries.

It can take up to 20 working days to process an application.  Completed applications must be submitted prior to our Christmas shut down period on the 24^th of December to ensure processing is completed by 31 January 2026.

After 31 January 2026, the sampling and testing option for clearance of frozen berries will no longer be available. Find out more about food safety clearance of frozen berries.

Business prosecuted for selling recalled hummus

On 20 November 2025, Foodstuffs South Island Limited was fined $39,000 for selling hummus after it had been recalled due to possible presence of Salmonella. Further information on the prosecution can be found here.

Please remind food businesses that they need to have robust recall systems in place to ensure food for sale is safe and suitable for consumption. Regularly testing a recall system ensures that businesses are prepared to remove affected products from the supply chain. Further information on food recalls for businesses, including how to do a simulated (mock) recall can be found here.

Keep your Continuing Professional Development records up to date

The 2025-2026 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) year is in progress and verifiers are now beginning to complete learning activities and enter the details into their timecards.

Over the summer months, please keep these reminders from the Shared Services team in mind:

• Communicating changes: You must let the Shared Services team know if a verifier changes agency, stops working as a verifier, or will be taking extended leave. See the CPD Guide or the CPD Manager Guide for details.
• Update your timecard: You must enter details of completed learning activities into your timecard within 10 days. This ensures your timecard is accurate and shows your progress toward your points target.

For CPD or Food Safety Academy support at any time of the year, email the Shared Services team at foodacttraining@mpi.govt.nz.

Getting Recall-Ready: What Food Importers Need to Know

As part of our food importer webinar series, New Zealand Food Safety recently hosted the webinar Getting Recall-Ready: What Food Importers Need to Know. This is now available to watch on demand. Please pass on this resource to food importers you think may benefit.

This session provides a high-level introduction to recall readiness for food importers. They’ll learn why being prepared matters, what a good recall plan looks like, and how to maintain the records needed to support effective recall management.

The webinar covers:

• Why food importers need to be recall-ready
• What a good recall plan includes and how to test it
• Accessing resources and support to help them succeed

We have also put together a Food Importer Information Pack that covers key points from the webinar and provides useful links for further reading.

If you have any questions, please email foodimporteradvice@mpi.govt.nz. You can also ask importers to subscribe to Food Importer News for regular updates about items specific to importers.

Looking back: Highlights from the year

If you’ve missed some updates throughout the year, we’ve compiled a list of notable highlights from throughout the year:

• released the Consumer-level Food Recalls Annual Report 2024;
•  launched the New Zealand Grass-Fed Administrative Standards;
• held importing webinars;
• hosted four international speakers presenting on emerging food allergy;
• proposed regulatory exemption for home-based cake makers and decorators of shelf-stable cakes; and
• exempted exporters from composition and labelling requirements.

Have your say

We do our best to keep you informed of the latest developments in the Food Act at New Zealand Food Safety. This newsletter is designed to support your work across the motu.

Let us know what you want to hear more about in Food News. Send your suggestions to the team at foodactinfo@mpi.govt.nz.

NZFS availability over the holiday period

For urgent food safety issues, such as recalls, over the Christmas and holiday period: freephone 0800 00 83 33 and ask to speak with the on-call Food Compliance Officer. 

MPI sites will be closed from 12pm 24 December 2025 and will open again on 5 January 2026.