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Food Act 2014

Provisions relating to recognition, territorial authorities, administration, and enforcement - Offences - Offences

224: Offence involving negligently endangering, harming, creating risk, or increasing risk

You could also call this:

"Hurting people's health by breaking food safety rules on purpose or by being careless can get you in trouble."

Illustration for Food Act 2014

If you break a rule in the Food Act 2014 and you should have known it could harm people's health, you can get in trouble. You might harm or endanger people's lives or health, or create a risk to them. You can also get in trouble if you increase the chance of an existing risk happening.

If you are a company and you break this rule, you can be fined up to $250,000. If you are an individual and you break this rule, you can go to prison for up to one year and be fined up to $50,000.

You will only get in trouble if you are found guilty of breaking the rule, and this will happen in a court.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2996339.

Topics:
Health and wellbeing > Food and water safetyBusiness > Industry rulesCrime and justice > Criminal law
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223: Offence involving knowingly or recklessly creating or increasing risk, or

"Hurting people's health on purpose or by being careless can be a serious crime."

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225: Offences involving intentionally defeating purpose of Act or deceiving in relation to documents or information, or

"Breaking the Food Act: Lying or Hiding Information from Food Safety Officers"

Part 4Provisions relating to recognition, territorial authorities, administration, and enforcement
Offences: Offences

224Offence involving negligently endangering, harming, creating risk, or increasing risk

  1. A person commits an offence if the person breaches or fails to comply with an applicable requirement of this Act and the person ought reasonably to have known that the breach or failure may—

  2. endanger or harm the lives or health of members of the public or the life or health of an individual; or
    1. directly or indirectly create a risk to the lives or health of members of the public or the life or health of an individual; or
      1. directly or indirectly increase the likelihood of an existing risk to the lives or health of members of the public or the life or health of an individual being realised.

        1. A person who commits an offence against this section is liable on conviction,—

        2. for a body corporate, to a fine not exceeding $250,000:
          1. for an individual, to—
            1. imprisonment for a term not exceeding 1 year; and
              1. a fine not exceeding $50,000.