New pathway for clearance of frozen berries

On 1 August, the revised version of the Food Notice: Requirements for Registered Food Importers and Imported Food for Sale came into effect, permitting the use of a new pathway for food safety clearance, Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)-recognised certificates.

To use this pathway, you must submit your overseas manufacturer’s GFSI-recognised certificates to our Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Approvals team for checking. MPI Approvals will then send you a notification email that you must provide with your import entry.

You do not need to provide copies of the certificates with each import entry, just the MPI Approvals notification email and a document stating who the manufacturers are of the berries in your consignment, so we can match them up.

This process is detailed on our new webpage: Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)-recognised certificates for clearance of frozen berries 

Importers of frozen berries can still gain food safety clearance by testing when they arrive in New Zealand, until 31 January 2026 when the transition period ends. However, from 1 February 2026, all frozen berry imports must comply with the new rules and will only be able to gain food safety clearance by using GFSI-recognised certificates.

Improving the food safety of imported sesame seed and tahini-based products

New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) is working to review and improve the food safety requirements of imported sesame seed and tahini-based products. This work is in response to recent outbreaks and recalls of sesame seeds, tahini, halva and hummus, due to potential contamination with Salmonella.

To date, we have established a Working Group of importers, manufacturers and major retailers of sesame seed and tahini products. We are currently conducting interviews with Working Group members to gather information about the supply chain for these products, and the types of further processing occurring in New Zealand. This information will help us better understand current import and manufacturing controls to manage the food safety risks associated with Salmonella in sesame and tahini-based foods.

We will provide updates in future Food Importer News editions as this work progresses.

Successful first food importer webinar update

On 18 September, NZFS held its first food importer focused webinar – “How to be a safe food importer: resources, risks and responses”, with over 300 attendees listening in.

The webinar offered a high-level overview of the imported food system, general import requirements to ensure imported food is safe and suitable, the new food safety emerging risks and current issues bulletin, as well as an overview of the importance of recall readiness. 

A recording of the webinar will be made available on the NZFS website in due course in case you missed it.

If you have any topics for future webinars that you would like to hear about or get more clarity on, please email your suggestions to import.systems@mpi.govt.nz

Food Residues Survey Programme update

The Food Residue Survey Programme (FRSP) is a long-standing annual programme led by NZFS. The programme objective is to monitor agricultural chemical residues in plant-based foods grown and imported for sale in New Zealand. The programme helps check that:

• Importers are meeting the New Zealand food safety requirements to supply safe and suitable food.
• New Zealand growers are following Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) to produce the best possible food.

NZFS uses an internationally agreed (Codex Alimentarius) classification of commodities as a basis for the types of foods to be sampled in the programme. Each year, between five to seven of these commodity classes are selected for sampling and testing.

The 2022/23 FRSP survey final report

The 2022/23 FRSP final report has been published on the MPI website: Food Residues Survey Programme Report 2022-2023 (mpi.govt.nz)

The 2022/23 programme focused on bulb vegetables, brassicas, stalk and stem vegetables, fruiting vegetables, leafy vegetables and herbs and spices. From July 2022 to June 2023, 300 samples were collected across these commodities and tested for more than 500 agricultural chemical residues. The survey included 75 samples of fresh, frozen and minimally processed fruits and vegetables from imported sources.

There were five imported samples that did not comply with the applicable Maximum Resides Levels (MRL) for agricultural chemical residues. These MRLs are set at conservative levels and the residues reported did not represent any food safety risk.

NZFS contacted the relevant importers 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 2024/25 FRSP sampling plan

Sampling and testing of domestic and imported plant-based foods for the 2024/25 FRSP commenced on 1 July 2024 and will end on 30 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)

Reminder: Food for sale must be imported by a registered food importer

In the build up to Christmas, we find there are many businesses who want to import food products to give as gifts to work collegues, staff and customers.

The Food Act requires all food for sale to be imported by a registered food importer, and the definition of sale in the Act is broader then some people may expect.

The definiton of sale includes giving away food “…for the purpose of advertisement or to promote any trade or business…”. This means that food imported to give as a gift to a business customer could be seen as sale, requiring the importer to be registered as a food importer with MPI.

Importing food to give as a gift to your collegues or employees, however, would not be seen as sale, unless the supply of this food is part of their employment agreement.

Registration with MPI as a food importer is simple and inexpensive. If you come across anyone looking to import food for Christmas business gifts, please send them to our webpage to get registered: Register as a Food Importer.

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. Please note there will be minimal staff attendance on 23 and 24 December 2024 and on 3 January 2025.

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.  

Any applications received after Friday 15 November 2024 may not be approved until the New Year. Approvals’ emails will not be monitored from midday 24 December 2024 to 3 January 2025.

Update to webpage on clearance requirements for bivalve molluscan shellfish

NZFS recently updated the web content on the clearance page for imported Bivalve Molluscan Shellfish (BMS).

Our pre-clearance arrangements with exporting countries limit what BMS products can be imported to New Zealand. This information was not visible previously on our webpage and has been updated.

The webpage Importing bivalve molluscan shellfish (BMS) and products containing BMS now clarifies that BMS products exported from Chile, Japan, Korea, Peru, Thailand and Viet Nam must originate from those respective countries.

You can find details of all foods that require food safety clearance on the MPI website: Imported foods that require food safety clearance.

Recent recalls of imported food

Importers are responsible for ensuring the food they import and sell is safe and suitable. The majority of foods are safe, however issues occur from time to time, and occasionally needs to be recalled.

There was a total of 25 recalls associated with imported food in the 4-month period from 1 June 2024 to 1 October 2024. This included 16 recalls due to the possible presence of Salmonella in imported sesame seeds and tahini, as well as recalls due to undeclared allergens (5), heavy metal contamination (1), incorrect use-by dates (1), foreign matter contamination (1) and micro contamination (1).

• Wako Shokai, Yamanaka Foods and Ichbiki brand Seaweed products
• A1 Chips On the Go brand Chips and Snacks Range
• All Good brand Barista Oat Milk
• Skrewball brand Peanut Butter Whiskey Flavoured Liqueur
• Harvest Snaps brand Baked Pea Crisps, Original Salted and Salt and Vinegar
• Mahadeo's Spices and Produce Warehouse brand Sesame Seed
• Qandahari Bazaar brand Sesame Seed
• Papamoa Spice King brand Sesame Seed
• Various Bread Products containing Sesame Seeds
• Kiki brand Seed Cracker Mix Sea Salt and Kiki brand Seed Cracker Mix Chilli Cumin
• Marinated Beef Bulgogi
• Apna Spice and Grocery store brand Sesame Seed
• Food 4 Less Otahuhu brand Sesame Seed
• Bin Inn brand Sesame Seed
• Classic Taste brand Sesame Seed
• Grand Market brand Sesame Seed
• My Food Bag Ltd White Sesame Seed and products containing sesame seeds
• Bare Refill Grocery brand White Sesame Seeds
• Scrumptious brand Sesame Seeds
• Various Ghiotti brand Mozzarella Cheese
• Sesame Seed
• Baixiang brand Artificial Chicken Soup Flavor and Artificial Pork Bone Soup Flavor Instant Noodles
• Al'Fez Natural Tahini Paste
• Morinaga brand Manna Bolo
• Leslie’s brand Clover Chips Barbecue Corn Snacks

Recent Food Safety News

Read recent media releases from NZFS:

• Seaweed products recalled due to elevated arsenic levels (1 October 2024)
• New Zealand Food Safety warns of jelly-cup risk (30 August 2024)
• Further sesame seed recalls due to Salmonella fears (19 July 2024)
• Recall of sesame seeds due to possible presence of Salmonella (18 July 2024)
• Tahini recalled due to possible presence of Salmonella (07 July 2024)
• Morinaga baby biscuits recalled due to possible animal droppings (02 July 2024)

You can find MPI News on the MPI website.

Contact Us

Subscribe to the Food safety insights, emerging risks, and current issues bulletin page to keep up-to-date on current food safety issues and emerging food safety risks.

If you know someone who would be interested in receiving this newsletter, please forward the subscribe here link to join the mailing list.

For food safety importing queries under the Food Act, please email us at import.systems@mpi.govt.nz 

Visit our MPI website on www.mpi.govt.nz/import/food/