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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

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

You could also call this:

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

Illustration for Food Act 2014

If a food safety officer seizes and detains imported food or a food-related accessory under section 306, and the chief executive does not give directions about it under section 279, the officer must give you options. You can choose to export the food or accessory, or return it to where it came from. The chief executive can impose conditions on these options.

The chief executive thinks about some things when deciding whether to impose conditions, such as what the place of origin or destination markets require, why the food or accessory was seized, and New Zealand's international obligations. These things help the chief executive make a decision. You are involved in this process as the importer.

You have to pay for the costs of seizing, detaining, and disposing of the food or accessory before it is disposed of. These costs are also recoverable from you as a debt to the government. You are responsible for paying these costs.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2996448.

Topics:
Health and wellbeing > Food and water safetyBusiness > Industry rules
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314: Detaining food or food-related accessory seized, or

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

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316: Releasing food or food-related accessory that has been detained, or

"Letting go of seized food or items when the rules are met and costs are paid"

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

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

  1. If the chief executive does not give directions under section 279 about imported food or an imported food-related accessory that a food safety officer seized and detained under section 306, the officer must offer the importer, subject to any conditions that the chief executive may impose (if any), the options of—

  2. exporting it; or
    1. returning it to its place of origin.

      1. In determining whether to impose conditions for the purposes of subsection (1), the chief executive may take into account the following matters:

      2. the requirements of the place of origin or the destination markets of the imported food or imported food-related accessory:
        1. the reason for the seizure of the imported food or imported food-related accessory:
          1. New Zealand's international obligations.

            1. All costs reasonably incurred in the seizure, detention, and disposal—

            2. must be paid by the importer before the disposal; and
              1. are recoverable from the importer as a debt due to the Crown.