Food Act 2014

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

240: Offence involving breaching or failing to carry out duty

You could also call this:

"Breaking food safety rules can be a serious offence"

If you break or fail to carry out a duty in the Food Act 2014, you can commit an offence. This includes duties specified in section 14, which you can read about by following the link. You can also commit an offence if you break or fail to carry out duties in other sections, such as section 48 or section 79, which are about registering food control plans and food businesses.

If you are in charge of a food control plan or a food business, you can commit an offence if you break or fail to carry out certain duties, such as those in section 50(1)(a) to (g). You can also commit an offence if you are an importer and break or fail to carry out duties under section 110 or section 111.

If you commit an offence, you do not have to have meant to do it, and you can be fined if you are found guilty. The amount of the fine depends on whether you are a company or an individual, with companies facing a fine of up to $200,000 and individuals facing a fine of up to $50,000. You can read about defences to a prosecution for an offence in sections 251 and 253.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

This page was last updated on 5 June 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2996357.

Topics:

Health and wellbeing > Food and water safetyBusiness > Industry rules

239: Offences involving automated electronic system, or

"Breaking or interfering with computer systems that help with food safety is against the law."

241: Offence involving breaching or failing to comply with suspension, direction, or improvement notice, or

"Breaking food safety rules is an offence"

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

240Offence involving breaching or failing to carry out duty

A person commits an offence if the person breaches or fails to carry out the duty specified in section 14.
A person commits an offence if the person breaches or fails to carry out a duty specified in section 48 (food control plans must be registered) or section 79 (food businesses subject to national programme must be registered).
A person who is the operator of a food control plan or the operator of a food business to which the plan applies commits an offence if the person breaches or fails to carry out a duty specified in section 50(1)(a) to (g).
A person who is the operator of a food business subject to a national programme commits an offence if the person breaches or fails to carry out a duty specified in section 80.
A person who is an importer commits an offence if the person breaches or fails to carry out a duty under section 110 or 111.
A person commits an offence if the person breaches or fails to carry out a duty specified in section 155 (duties of recognised agencies) or section 156 (duties of recognised persons).
In a prosecution for an offence against this section, it is not necessary to prove that the defendant intended to commit the offence.
Sections 251 and 253 contain defences to a prosecution for an offence against this section.
A person who commits an offence against this section is liable on conviction,—
for a body corporate, to a fine not exceeding $200,000:
for an individual, to a fine not exceeding $50,000.