Food Act 2014

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

302: Power to issue improvement notice

You could also call this:

"What happens if you get a notice to fix a food safety problem"

If you are not following the food safety rules, a food safety officer can give you an improvement notice. The officer must think you are not following the rules, or have not followed them, for this to happen. You will get this notice if the officer believes you are breaking one or more of the rules in the Food Act 2014.

The improvement notice must tell you what rule you are breaking, why the officer thinks this, and what you need to do to fix it. It must also tell you by when you need to fix the problem and that you have the right to ask for a review of the decision under section 303. The notice will explain how to do this.

A food safety officer can cancel an improvement notice at any time, but they can also give you another one if they still think you are breaking the rules. You must follow what the improvement notice says, unless the officer agrees to give you more time to fix the problem, and the notice must be given to you in accordance with section 378.

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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=DLM3435516.

Topics:

Health and wellbeing > Food and water safetyBusiness > Industry rules

301: Powers of examination, identification, and rectification, and associated detention powers, or

"Food safety officers can check food, stop it being sold, and ask for changes to be made to keep people safe."

303: Review of improvement notice, or

"What to do if you get a notice to fix a food safety problem and want it reviewed"

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

302Power to issue improvement notice

A food safety officer may issue an improvement notice to any person if the officer reasonably believes that the person is failing, or has failed, to comply with 1 or more applicable requirements of this Act.
An improvement notice must state—
the applicable requirement of this Act that the food safety officer reasonably believes the person is failing, or has failed, to comply with; and
the reasons for the food safety officer's reasonable belief; and
the nature and extent of the failure to comply with the requirement; and
the date by which the person must comply with the requirement; and
the person's right, under section 303, to seek a review of the decision to issue the improvement notice.

A food safety officer may, by written notice, withdraw an improvement notice at any time, but may reissue it if subsection (1) applies.
An improvement notice must be issued in accordance with section 378.
A person to whom an improvement notice is issued must comply with the notice, subject to any extension of the date by which the person must comply with the applicable requirement of this Act that the food safety officer may grant on the person’s request.