Food Safety Minister Jo Goodhew is today congratulating Food Safety officials across New Zealand as the 1000th registration under the Food Act is celebrated.

“This is a stunning start under the new Food act, which came into effect on 1 March,” says Mrs Goodhew.

To celebrate the milestone, the Minister visited the 1000th registration, Columbus Coffee in Timaru, to congratulate the owner and staff.

“It is fantastic to have 1000 businesses already registered under the new Act, just over three months since it came into force. This is a testament to the work that has been put in to make this new Act easy for both businesses and local authorities to work with.

“I’m also very pleased to have the 1000th business in my own electorate of Rangitata, as Canterbury and particularly South Canterbury have been leading the way in adopting the Food Act,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“Having 1000 businesses registered shows that the new law is off to a successful start, while also illustrating what a vibrant food industry we have in New Zealand, as many of those registrations are new businesses.”, Mrs Goodhew says.

While new businesses have to operate under the food act straight away, existing businesses have time to change over to the new law.

Around 44,000 food businesses will need to register under the new law in the next three years. Restaurants and cafes that serve alcohol, will have to be registered by 1 March 2017.

The Food Act changes the way food safety is regulated, taking a risk-based approach to food safety. It brings in tailored requirements for higher and lower risk activities, and reduces the regulatory burden on businesses who are handling their responsibilities well.

More information for businesses is available at www.mpi.govt.nz/foodact.

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/1000th-business-registers-under-food-act