Food Act 2014

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

314: Detaining food or food-related accessory seized

You could also call this:

"What happens to seized food or items after a food safety officer takes them"

If a food safety officer seizes food or a food-related accessory under section 306, they can decide what to do with it. You might have to leave the food or accessory where it was seized, or the officer might move it to another place. The officer will decide what happens to the food or accessory.

If the officer moves the food or accessory, you will have to pay for it to be moved and kept somewhere else. This applies if you imported the food or owned it when it was seized. If the officer does not know who imported or owned the food, the person who had it when it was seized will have to pay.

The chief executive can decide not to make you pay to move and keep the food or accessory if they think it is unfair. However, if the food safety officer works for a local council, the council can make this decision instead.

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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=DLM2996447.

Topics:

Health and wellbeing > Food and water safetyBusiness > Industry rules

313: Duties relating to imported consignments, or

"What happens to imported food that's been stopped at the border"

315: Exporting or returning imported food or food-related accessory that has been detained, or

"What happens to imported food that's been stopped by officials and can't be sold in New Zealand."

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

314Detaining food or food-related accessory seized

This section applies to food or a food-related accessory that a food safety officer seizes and detains under section 306.
The officer may decide that the food or food-related accessory must be detained at the place where the officer seized it.
Alternatively, the officer may decide that the food or food-related accessory must be removed to another place and detained there.
Food or a food-related accessory to which subsection (3) applies is removed and detained at the cost of the person who imported it or who owned it at the time it was seized.
However, if the officer does not know who the importer or owner is, the food or food-related accessory is removed and detained at the cost of the person who possessed it at the time it was seized.
The chief executive may waive the payment of all or any of the cost referred to in subsection (4) or (5) if he or she is satisfied that, in all the circumstances, it would be unreasonable or inappropriate to require the person to pay all or any of the cost.
Despite subsection (6), if the officer is employed or engaged by a territorial authority, the authority or a person authorised by it may exercise the power in that subsection.