Auckland Council will no longer be renewing expired registrations under the Food Act 2014 – starting 1 January 2021.
Auckland Council’s Alcohol and Environmental Health Manager Mervyn Chetty said the council adopted a soft-landing approach when the Food Act 2014 came into force on 1 March 2016.
“We wanted to assist food business and help owners adjust to the transition from the old legislation to the new,” Mervyn said.
“Part of this approach was to renew registrations after they had expired as this was the normal practice, under the old legislation, which had been in place for more than 40 years.”
From the beginning of next year any business that has not renewed their registration before its expiry date, will not be able to renew their registration.
“The business will need to lodge a new application for registration instead.
“This means that all food businesses that are registered with the council under a National Programme Level 1, 2 or 3; or under a Food Control Plan (Template Food Control Plan), must ensure that they renew these registrations before they expire.”
A renewal of registration form to all food businesses will be sent out six weeks before the registration expires, followed by a reminder letter four weeks before the registration expires.
“Therefore it is very important that all food businesses ensure that they keep the council fully up to date on any changes to their postal address and any change to their email address, as email is a principal means of communication used by the council.”
Businesses that have not renewed their registration and continue to trade while their registration is expired will be liable for compliance action, which may include:
- Instant fines of $450 for every occasion that they are found to be trading while unregistered
- Prosecution which carries a penalty upon conviction of a fine of up to $50,000 for an individual and a fine of up to $200,000 for a body corporate
Mervyn said food businesses can check the expiry date of their registration by looking for the expiry date on their notice of registration or by going to the national register of registrations maintained by Ministry for Primary Industries.
The national register can be found on the Ministry for Primary Industries website.
For further information or advice, contact Auckland Council on 09 301 0101 and ask to speak to a food safety officer, or email foodsafetyofficer@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
