Update from Vincent Arbuckle, DDG, NZFS

Kia ora koutou,

Last Friday, I had an online meeting with five Territorial Authorities covering the Waikato region: Hamilton City Council, Waipa District Council, South Waikato District Council, Waikato District Council and Matamata-Piako District Council. I enjoyed the opportunity to speak with them and discuss how they interact with NZFS. It was an informative and useful meeting. I look forward to continuing to engage with territorial authorities in the new year and continuing to strengthen our relationships.

You will see in this month’s newsletter that as part of the Campylobacter Action Plan we have recently refreshed the webpage on safely cooking liver. The revised webpage covers:

• Why it’s important to handle liver safely;
• What can go wrong and how to prevent it;
• How to tell if liver is contaminated;
• How to cook liver safely; and
• How to prevent cross contamination.

The webpage is now live and can be found here: Safe Cooking of Livers: Information for Chefs.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed and provided feedback on the webpage. I encourage you to circulate it particularly to your food service businesses.

Ngā mihi nui,

Vincent Arbuckle
Deputy Director-General, New Zealand Food Safety

Updates to National Programme guidance and My Food Plan template content

We are currently reviewing and amending the Food Act National Programme (NP) guidance and My Food Plan (MFP) template. The updates to the MFP will include a new procedure for Biltong.  Many of the recent updates to the Simply Safe & Suitable template will be applied to the NPs and MFP where appropriate. We anticipate that the updated programmes and plan will be available early next year.

Please email us at foodactinfo@mpi.govt.nz if you have any ideas on how we could promote the NPs and MFP to businesses. With Simply Safe & Suitable we have created a low ink (grey scale) A4 version of the plan. Please also let us know if a grey scale, A4 version of the MFP and NPs would be useful.

A new procedure for Biltong

We have completed the first draft of a new procedure for Biltong. We are in the process of gathering feedback on it from a sample of businesses and verifiers.

We need your help to ensure we have a list of all current manufacturers. Registration authorities, please email us at foodactinfo@mpi.govt.nz your biltong businesses.

Campylobacter Action Plan revises safe cooking of liver guidance

The Campylobacter Action Plan has focused on the poultry food chain to reduce foodborne campylobacteriosis in New Zealand by 20% by the end of 2024.  The plan has used a risk-based, farm-to-plate approach to identify, select, and implement new control measures.  

As a measure to control the number of foodborne illness cases attributed to undercooked liver products prepared by the food service sector, the project chose to revise guidance for cooking liver safely directed at chefs.  The guidance has been refreshed with the help of chefs, cookery students, verifiers and food safety experts. The page now includes a downloadable PDF version of the web page and a poster on ways to keep customers safe.

You can view the web page at: Safe Cooking of Livers: Information for Chefs

We would appreciate you sharing the web page and PDFs with your food service businesses.

When do the ‘Using acid to control bugs’ (SS&S) and ‘Making food acidic’ (NP) cards apply?

NZFS has seen an increase in enquiries about how the ‘Using acid to control bugs’ (SS&S) and ‘Making food acidic’ (NP) cards should be applied.

We would like to clarify that these cards apply when pH is being used to control the growth of bugs in foods that are not going to be stored under temperature control. Foods that are being acidified for flavour rather than preservation (e.g. sauces like aioli or mayonnaise) and that will be kept refrigerated do not need pH testing or to meet the pH requirements in the cards.

Please contact foodactinfo@mpi.govt.nz if you have any questions regarding the above.

A reminder about Vibrio parahaemolyticus as summer approaches

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a naturally occurring bacteria found in seawater. It occurs more often and in higher numbers during summer, when warmer temperatures are favourable for its growth. We saw an increase in vibrio illnesses over the summer of 2021-2022. In response NZFS provided information and advice to growers, gatherers, retailers, and consumers about how to ensure shellfish are safe to eat, and to cook shellfish before eating. To help spread the message, point-of-sale signs were created for retailers to post near their in-store shellfish displays.

As summer approaches, it’s a good time for you to remind your retail clients to provide messaging at shellfish displays. The poster below is an example only, and retailers can choose how they present the information.

To download the poster and find out further information, visit the MPI website here.

D-allulose permitted as a novel food

A reminder to verifiers and registrations authorities, if checking ingredients lists, novel foods need an express permission in the Code before use. Check out Schedule 25 and FSANZ Novel Foods for more detail.

D-allulose has now been approved for use as a tabletop sweetener and as an ingredient in certain manufactured foods.  Note that the approval is for D-allulose produced using the approved enzyme D-psicose 3-epimerase (EC 5.1.3.30) from Microbacterium foliorum.

Exclusivity period for Samyang’s Nexweet brand

From 29 October 2024 Samyang’s Nexweet allulose has an exclusive use permission for 15 months.

Exclusivity of use for novel foods and nutritive substances | Food Standards Australia New Zealand

When the exclusivity period ends, other brands of D-allulose produced using the approved enzyme (D-psicose 3-epimerase (EC 5.1.3.30) from Microbacterium foliorum) will be permitted for sale.

D-allulose produced using enzymes that are not permitted under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code are not approved to be sold. Approval for D-allulose produced by other enzymes must be requested through the FSANZ application process.

Check out Attachment A in FSANZ A1247 - Approval Report 7 August 2024 for the details regarding the foods permitted to contain D-allulose and conditions of use, nutritional information for D-allulose, can make a no added sugar claim, and advisory statement about a laxative effect

Links to the relevant Code standards and schedules can be found at: Food Standards Code legislation | Food Standards Australia New Zealand

If you have any questions, please contact us at foodactinfo@mpi.govt.nz.

The Food Residues Survey Programme (FRSP) updates

The Food Residue Survey Programme is as annual programme run by NZFS to monitor agricultural chemical residues in plant-based foods grown and imported for sale in New Zealand.

The 2022/23 programme focused on bulb vegetables, brassicas, stalk and stem vegetables, fruiting vegetables, leafy vegetables and herbs and spices. NZFS collected 300 samples and tested these for more than 500 agricultural chemical residues.  There were 22 domestic and five imported samples that did not comply with the applicable Maximum Resides Levels for agricultural chemical residues. These results did not represent a food safety risk to consumers. 

The cause of the non-compliances were traced to incorrect off-label use of agricultural chemicals, and growers not recognising and managing sources of residues in their environment and not correctly following mandatory label directions.

Verifiers, please remind the growers you verify that they need to be checking agricultural chemical product labels and registration conditions when considering off-label use on their crops.  If they are applying permitted agricultural chemical products to their crop(s) in an off-label manner, they must ensure that their crops will comply with the New Zealand default Maximum Residue Level of 0.1 mg/kg for pesticides applied, at the point of sale.  And growers that are wanting to use agricultural chemical products with restricted labels should take care to avoid applications on non-permitted plants.

Importers of the non-compliant samples were provided with an educational letter to remind them of their responsibility under the Food Act to only import food that is safe and suitable. Food importers must ensure that the food they import meets New Zealand food safety and suitability requirements.

 The 2022/23 Food Residues Survey Programme survey final report

The Food Residues Survey Programme Report 2022-2023 (mpi.govt.nz) has been published on the NZFS website.

The FRSP reports are available on the MPI website: Documents for Food Residues Survey Programme | NZ Government (mpi.govt.nz).

The 2024/25 Food Residues Survey Programme sampling plan

Sampling and testing of domestic and imported plant-based foods for the 2024/25 Food Residues Survey Programme (FRSP) began on the 1 July 2024 and will end in June 2025. 

The survey will be collecting 300 samples from selected commodity classifications and testing for agricultural chemical residues. The survey will be collecting crops that include fresh, frozen, and minimally processed fruits and vegetables from various points of sale.

More details can be found here: Food Residues Survey Programme 2024/2025 Sampling plan (mpi.govt.nz)

Food Act Verifiers Academy now live

As you will be aware the Food Safety Academy was taken offline at close of business on 30 September to prepare for the new Continuing Professional Development (CPD) year. It is now back and better than ever!

Aside from updates for CPD 2024-2025 requirements, we have also made improvements to the CPD Guide, added a new CPD Managers Guide; simplified wording, made page layouts more consistent; renamed My Timecard as Timecard and made the Peer Review form more flexible in how it needs to be completed.  We have also included a category for any compulsory learning.

We’ve introduced a compulsory learning activity for the upcoming CPD year. This is the module ‘Good Regulatory Practice’ which has been available in the Food Safety Academy since June 2024.  Verifiers must complete this before the end of the 2024-2025 CPD year. If you have not already completed this module, please ensure it is included in your learning plan for this CPD year. If you have already completed this module, we have a record of this, and you do not need to repeat it for the 2024-2025 CPD year.

As a reminder, the new 2024-2025 CPD year has started, and by 30 November 2024 you need to complete your CPD points target selection; self-assessment and learning plan.

Please contact us at: verifieracademy@mpi.govt.nz if you have any questions.

Food Act recognised agency and registration authority webinar

Don’t miss the next Food Act webinar for recognised agencies and registration authorities on Wednesday 27 November 2024 from 2 to 3 PM. Contact foodactinfo@mpi.govt.nz to receive an invite and upcoming agenda. 

Close-out dates for MPI Approvals applications

For the Christmas/New Year period, most MPI sites will be closed from 12.00pm 24 December 2024, and will open again on 3 January 2025. Emails will not generally be monitored during this time except for those that relate to public safety. There may be reduced staff attendance on 23/24 December and on 3 January.

Please remind any food businesses you work with that if MPI Approvals receives completed Animal Products Act 1999, Food Act 2014 and Wine Act 2003 applications by Friday 15 November 2024, the Approvals team will aim to process these before Christmas. Please note that if further information is required, applications are unlikely to be approved before the end of the year.

My Food Plan interviews will be available until 16 December where required as part of an application.

Any completed applications received after Friday 15 November 2024 may not be approved until the New Year.

New Zealand Food Awards 2024 wrap-up

Next Generation Apples – Sassy™ apples has taken home the Primary Sector Award category at the 2024 New Zealand Food Awards held in Auckland on 10 October 2024.

Launched in 2023, Sassy™ apples is a new apple variety developed by Plant and Food Research, and grown and marketed by New Zealand-based growers Next Generation Apples, comprising Golden Bay Fruit and Taylor Corp.

Sassy™ apples were developed through plant-breeding techniques to create an apple with a crisp texture, high flavour, long storage and shelf life, novel skin and flesh colour, optimal harvest maturity, and pest and disease resistance.

You can read more about the winners on the NZ Food Awards website.

NZFS has been involved with the awards for more than 20 years, and are proud to partner with Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University and present the Primary Sector Award at this year's New Zealand Food Awards.

Keep antibiotics working: join us for World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week

From 18-24 November, join MPI, industry and professional bodies to promote the importance of vaccinating livestock and pets against infections that may otherwise require antibiotic treatment. 

The theme for this year’s World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week is “Educate. Activate. Act Now.” Find out more on the MPI website: Controlling and preventing antimicrobial resistance.

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a global health and development threat, occurring when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites develop resistance to antimicrobial agents. As a result, antibiotics no longer work and make infections difficult or impossible to treat. Misuse and overuse of antimicrobials are the main drivers in the development of drug-resistant pathogens.

Infection prevention and control is one of the key principles in reducing AMR, with vaccination being one of the most effective tools available to prevent infection.

New Zealand’s veterinary and farming professions are working to reduce antimicrobial use in animals, particularly those that are critically important to human and animal health. MPI encourages livestock and pet-owners to manage their animals’ health through good husbandry and vaccinations where possible to reduce the need for antimicrobials.