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Food Act 2014

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

248: Parties to offences

You could also call this:

"Who gets in trouble when food rules are broken"

Illustration for Food Act 2014

If you break a rule in the Food Act 2014, you can be in trouble. The rules about who is responsible for breaking the law are in section 66 and section 310 of the Crimes Act 1961. These rules apply to the Food Act 2014.

If a company breaks the law, the people in charge of the company can also be in trouble. This happens if they helped the company break the law or knew the law was being broken and did not try to stop it. You can be in trouble if you sell food that breaks the law, even if you did not open the package.

You can be responsible if you are the person who made the food, packaged the food, or own the rights to make the food. You can also be responsible if you work for one of these people and you knew the law was being broken but did not try to stop it. If you are responsible, you are in trouble just like the person who actually sold the food.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2996366.

Topics:
Health and wellbeing > Food and water safetyBusiness > Industry rulesCrime and justice > Criminal law
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Part 4Provisions relating to recognition, territorial authorities, administration, and enforcement
Offences: Liability for offences

248Parties to offences

  1. Section 66 of the Crimes Act 1961 applies to offences against this Act.

  2. Section 310 of the Crimes Act 1961 applies to offences against this Act.

  3. In addition, if a body corporate commits an offence against this Act, a director or an agent of the body corporate is a party to the offence if the director or agent—

  4. authorised, permitted, consented, or participated in the offence; or
    1. knew that the offence was to be or was being committed and failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent or stop it.

      1. In addition, a person described in subsection (5) is a party to an offence against this Act that occurs in the following circumstances:

      2. a person buys food in a package; and
        1. the person sells the food in that package; and
          1. the person does not open that package before selling the food; and
            1. no employee or agent of the person opens the package before the person sells the food; and
              1. the sale of the food constitutes an offence against this Act.

                1. The persons are—

                2. a person who appears from a statement or label on, attached to, or associated with the package to be the person who imported, produced, or processed and handled the food:
                  1. the person who is the owner of the rights of manufacture of the food:
                    1. a person who packaged the food:
                      1. an employee or agent of a person referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (c) if the employee or agent knew that the offence was to be or was being committed and failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent or stop it.

                        1. Accordingly, a person described in subsection (5) is liable in the same manner and to the same extent as if the person had actually sold the food at the time and place at which the sale was made.