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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

311: Power to enter without search warrant

You could also call this:

"Food safety officers can enter some places without a special permit to check food is safe"

Illustration for Food Act 2014

A food safety officer can enter certain places without a search warrant. You might wonder what kinds of places they can enter - these include where a food business operates, or where someone plans to start a food business. They can also enter a specific area in a dwellinghouse or marae where food is being sold.

The officer can enter other places too, like where they think food documents will be found, or near a food business where activities might be affecting the food. They can also go to an international port, or a place where food is being imported or traded. When they enter a marae, they must respect the marae's rules, or kawa, as much as possible.

If you want to know more about what the officer can and can't do, you can look at Part 4 of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012, but not all of it applies to food safety officers.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2996441.

Topics:
Health and wellbeing > Food and water safetyBusiness > Industry rulesCrime and justice > Police and safety
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310: Powers to enter, or

"When food safety officers can enter places"

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

311Power to enter without search warrant

  1. A food safety officer may enter a place described in subsection (2) without a search warrant.

  2. The places are—

  3. a place where a food business operates:
    1. a place where a person intends to operate a food business:
      1. the specific place in a dwellinghouse or marae where a food business operates:
        1. the places necessary to get to the specific place in the dwellinghouse or marae where a food business operates:
          1. a place, except a dwellinghouse or marae, where the officer reasonably believes documents relating to trading in food will be found:
            1. a place, except a dwellinghouse or marae, adjoining or near to a food business where the officer reasonably believes activities are being carried out that adversely affect the food business:
              1. a place, except a dwellinghouse or marae, adjoining or near to a food business whose conditions the officer reasonably believes are adversely affecting the food that the food business is trading in:
                1. an international port:
                  1. an authorised place:
                    1. any other place, except a dwellinghouse or marae, where the officer reasonably believes that—
                      1. imported food is held; or
                        1. food is being traded in; or
                          1. a food-related accessory is being traded in.

                          2. Part 4 of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 (other than subparts 2, 3, 6, and 8 and sections 118 and 119) applies to anything done by an officer under this section.

                          3. Any exercise of the power of entry at a marae or a building associated with a marae must take account of the kawa of the marae so far as practicable in the circumstances.