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Food Act 2014

Provisions relating to recognition, territorial authorities, administration, and enforcement - Powers and enforcement - Powers and duties of food safety officers

306: Powers to seize, condemn, and require disposal

You could also call this:

"Food safety officers can take and get rid of unsafe food and things to keep people healthy"

Illustration for Food Act 2014

If you are a food safety officer, you can seize food or things related to food if you think they do not meet the requirements of the Food Act 2014. You can also seize food or food-related things if you think they might harm people's health.

You can take food or food-related things if you think they have been left behind or if you cannot find their owner.

You have the power to take advertisements or labels that do not follow the rules of the Food Act 2014. You can also decide that food or food-related things are not safe to eat and get rid of them.

If you take a small sample of food from a big batch and it is not safe to eat, you can decide the whole batch is not safe. You can do this if you think the whole batch was handled or treated the same way as the sample.

Some rules from the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 also apply to what you can do as a food safety officer, but not all of the rules apply.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2996436.

Topics:
Health and wellbeing > Food and water safetyBusiness > Industry rules
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305: Power to interrupt operations and give certain directions, or

"Food safety officers can stop or limit food activities and give directions to fix problems"

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307: Power to restrict use of or close place, or

"Stopping a place from being used if it doesn't follow food safety rules"

Part 4Provisions relating to recognition, territorial authorities, administration, and enforcement
Powers and enforcement: Powers and duties of food safety officers

306Powers to seize, condemn, and require disposal

  1. A food safety officer may seize, detain, and dispose of food or a food-related accessory if the officer reasonably believes that the food or food-related accessory does not comply with the applicable requirements of this Act.

  2. An officer may seize and detain food or a food-related accessory if the officer reasonably believes that the food or food-related accessory constitutes a risk to human life or public health.

  3. An officer may seize and detain food or a food-related accessory if the officer reasonably believes, after making the inquiries that are reasonable in the circumstances, that the food or food-related accessory—

  4. has been abandoned; or
    1. has no apparent or readily identifiable owner.

      1. An officer may seize and detain advertisements or labels that breach or fail to comply with a requirement of this Act.

      2. An officer may condemn or dispose of food or a food-related accessory that the officer reasonably believes is not safe or not suitable for human consumption.

      3. An officer may condemn and require the disposal of food that the officer reasonably believes is not safe or not suitable for human consumption.

      4. An officer may seize and dispose of food that the officer reasonably believes is not safe or not suitable for human consumption.

      5. An officer may reasonably believe that an entire consignment or batch of food is not safe or not suitable for human consumption for the purpose of exercising a power in any of subsections (5) to (7) if the officer—

      6. samples part of the consignment or batch; and
        1. forms the opinion that the sample is unsafe for human consumption; and
          1. forms the opinion that the consignment or batch—
            1. has probably been managed in the same way as the sample; or
              1. has been subject to the same conditions or treatment as the sample.

              2. Part 4 of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 (other than subparts 2, 3, 6, and 8 and sections 118, 119, 125(4), 131(5)(f), and 133) applies.