Kia ora koutou, 

On Tuesday 11 August, Massey University released the 2026 finalists of their annual New Zealand Food Awards. The Food Awards provide food and beverage businesses the opportunity to showcase their products and be recognised for their innovation and excellence.   

New Zealand Food Safety proudly sponsors the Primary Sector category and has done so since 2008. This category celebrates the ingenuity and value creation within New Zealand’s primary food and beverage production sectors.  

For 2026, the finalists are: 

·         Kiwi Sorbet - Feijoa Sorbet 

·         Mt Cook Alpine Salmon - Ikura Caviar 

·         Re - Probiotic Yoghurt (Natural) 

·         Tora Collective - Caught-to-order wild crayfish 

·         Waitoa Free Range Chicken – Bone Broth 

Our partnership with Massey University for these Awards reflects the importance of food safety in New Zealand’s food and beverage industry.

 As we celebrate these finalists, I also want to acknowledge the work of our verifiers. Your contributions are critical in providing businesses with the confidence to pursue innovation while ensuring products are safe and suitable. I am always grateful for the role you play in supporting New Zealand's largest export sector.  

Ngā mihi nui, 

Vincent Arbuckle 

Deputy Director-General, New Zealand Food Safety 

Supporting a global journey – Exporter Help and Giesen Wines 

Do you work with a food and fibre business that is new to exporting or is an established exporter?  

Our Exporter Help team delivers free, personalised advice and develops educational resources to help food and fibre businesses understand the rules and become more confident in sending their products overseas. 

Exporter Help recently teamed up with Giesen Wines to show how Exporter Help offered them practical support to export their de-alcoholised wine.  

You can view the video on the MPI YouTube channel.  

Please let businesses know that no matter where they are on their export journey, the Exporter Help team is available to support them. 

Businesses can get in touch with the team by:

• emailing exporterhelp@mpi.govt.nz, 
• calling 0800 674 490
• or by visiting The Get help with exporting webpage.  

Food importing webinar recording now available  

Thank you to everyone who tuned in to our webinar Updated Food Importing Notice: Key changes explained on 18 June. More than 200 people attended, and we appreciate you taking the time to be part of the session. We hope you found the information useful, informative, and relevant to your work. 

For those who couldn’t attend, or who would like a resource to refer back to, the full recording is now available on YouTube and can be found on our food importer help webpage.  

This webinar provided an overview on the key changes in the new Food Notice: Requirements for Registered Food Importers and Imported Food for Sale 2026, including updates to the import requirements for High Regulatory Interest (HRI) foods.  

Publication of Revised Guidance Following FSANZ Alcohol Labelling Changes  

New Zealand Food Safety has published an updated version of the ‘Guide to Alcoholic Drinks – what’s in them and how to label them’ and amended the associated website content to reflect changes to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code arising from the FSANZ Proposals P1049 Carbohydrate and Sugar Claims and P1059 Energy Labelling.  

The updated guidance clarifies requirements for carbohydrate and sugar nutrition content claims on alcoholic beverages and outlines new energy labelling requirements for packaged alcoholic beverages, including the three-year transition period and implementation date of 13 August 2028 for energy labelling. 

The updated guidance and webpage can be found linked below: 

MPI Guide to alcoholic drinks – what's in them and how to label them [PDF, 935 KB] 

Labelling requirements for wine and other alcoholic drinks 

New guidance on Genetically Modified (GM) Food Definitions  

New Zealand Food Safety has published new guidance to support the recently updated definitions for genetically modified (GM) food in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, which took effect on 2 September 2025.  

The changes replace the previous process-based definition with a clearer, outcome-based approach focused on the presence of novel DNA. This provides greater certainty for industry, regulators and consumers, while ensuring food safety protections remain strong and regulatory requirements are proportionate to risk. 

GM foods still require FSANZ pre-market safety assessment and approval, and approved GM foods remain subject to GM labelling requirements under the Food Standards Code. 

The guidance is available on the Food Regulation website linked at: A guide to definition for genetically modified food and novel DNA in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code . 

Updates to the Simply Safe and Suitable Food Control Plan Template  

As part of the Food Act Improvement Programme, we have now published the anticipated changes to the Simply Safe and Suitable template food control plan (SSS) that allow food service and food retail businesses to make and sell pre-cooked chilled (with a shelf life of no more than five days) or frozen meals direct to consumers.   

Version 6 (S39-00006) includes changes to the ‘Thoroughly cooking food’, ‘Cooling and freezing freshly cooked food’, ‘Transporting food’ and ‘Packaging and labelling your food’ cards. The changes clarify transport requirements already covered by SSS. Businesses can also make sauces, preserves and jams under SSS, if they use approved heat treatment or acidification methods.  

Operators who wish to add the pre-cooked chilled or frozen meals to their scope can replace the individual cards or re-print the complete SSS plan which has been updated to version S39-00006. Operators who do not want to add those activities to their scope do not need to update their template and can continue to use version S39-00005.  

Please note that due to further anticipated changes to the SSS template in the coming months, we will not be doing translations into other languages for version 6.  

Receipt of freshly slaughtered carcasses  

NZFS was recently contacted by a Territorial Authority following verification of a butcher operating under a Simply Safe & Suitable (SSS) food control plan. During verification, the verifier identified that the business was receiving freshly slaughtered carcasses from a mobile abattoir before the initial cooling process had been completed. 

Food businesses operating under an SSS template may receive meat that has completed the required cooling process and is at 7°C or below. Meat carcasses that are still in their initial cooling phase to below 7°C require additional hazard management that is not included in the SSS template. 

Food business operators wishing to receive carcasses within the initial cooling phase must operate under a custom Food Control Plan (FCP) that includes validated procedures for managing the cooling process and associated hazards. 

The butcher was advised that a custom FCP was required for this activity, as it is not covered by the SSS template. The business has since been in contact with the Approvals team to understand the requirements and next steps for transitioning to a custom FCP. 

2025/2026 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) year ends on 30 September

Verifiers need to complete their CPD requirements by 30 September.  

For information about extended leave or extensions, make sure to check the CPD Guide. CPD managers can also find information in the CPD Manager Guide.  

If you need help with the CPD programme or the Academy please reach out to the Shared Services team at foodacttraining@mpi.govt.nz. 

Meet the team at the CBAFF 2026 Conference 

New Zealand Food Safety will be at the Customs Brokers & Freight Forwarders Federation of New Zealand Inc (CBAFF) 2026 Conference in Christchurch. You can find us at the MPI stand, with representatives from Food Importer Advice, Imported Food Standards, Exporter Help, and Biosecurity New Zealand. 
 
If you're attending, come meet our team and learn how we support New Zealand businesses. We'd welcome the opportunity to connect, answer your questions, and share information to help you import and export with confidence.  

Date: 23 to 24 September 2026 
Venue: Te Pae Convention Centre, Christchurch 
Registration and full details: CBAFF 2026 Conference website  

Find us at Bidfood’s Beyond the Plate trade shows 

If you have questions about food safety requirements or would like advice on meeting your obligations under the Food Act 2014, visit the NZFS stand at Bidfood's Beyond the Plate trade show in Hamilton. 

Hamilton: 12-4pm, 27 August 2026 at Claudelands Event Centre, Corner of Brooklyn Road & Heaphy Terrace Claudelands. 

For full event details visit the Bidfood's website.