“Verifiers check that businesses are following good food safety practices,” explained Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard. “The new guidance levels the playing field by setting out clear site-sampling guidelines for verifiers.”

Minister Hoggard contextualized the reason for the change, saying, "Up to now, approaches to multi-site verification have differed widely from council to council and verifier to verifier, resulting in unpredictable costs for businesses.”

Guidance Supports Risk-Based Sampling Approach

The Food Regulations 2015 require all sites operating under a multi-site registration or multi-business food control plan (FCP) to undergo an initial verification, as well as any new sites added to an existing registration.

For subsequent verifications, however, the regulations allow verifiers to apply the outcomes of one or more verified sites across the entire registration, permitting a sampling-based approach.

According to NZFS, the new guidance supports the use of sampling to minimize compliance costs for businesses while maintaining the Food Act's primary objective of ensuring the safety and suitability of food. The guidance also aims to promote a consistent national approach among verification agencies and individual verifiers.

Although the guidance encourages sampling where appropriate, it notes that applying a sampling-based approach remains at the verifier's discretion.

Verification Requirements Vary by Business Type

The guidance recommends a systematic approach to site sampling to ensure that every location is verified over time.

For businesses operating under National Programs, at least one-third of registered sites should be verified during each verification cycle, allowing all sites to be assessed over three rounds. Businesses operating under Food Control Plans should have at least half of their sites verified during each cycle, ensuring all sites are verified over two rounds.

Verification frequency will continue to be performance-based, meaning businesses that consistently demonstrate compliance with food safety and suitability requirements may qualify for less frequent verification.

In addition to site-sampling recommendations, the guidance outlines factors for determining whether sampling is appropriate, selecting representative sites for verification, assessing whether head office verification is warranted, and calculating and reporting verification outcomes.

Part of Broader Regulatory Reform Effort

The guidance is the latest measure in the New Zealand Government's broader initiative to reduce regulatory burden on the food sector while maintaining a high standard of food safety.

According to Minister Hoggard, reforms introduced during the past eight months have included providing free food safety training for small food businesses, reducing sampling and testing requirements for small-scale meat processors, eliminating ongoing verification requirements for home-based cake businesses, and simplifying export requirements for food products that already meet the standards set for importing countries.

The government also said it is developing additional reforms, including reducing regulatory costs for lower-risk businesses, simplifying food control plan templates and recordkeeping requirements, making it easier for businesses to export food products, and strengthening oversight of unregistered food businesses.