Food Safety Guidelines

Have you thought about the following: 

• Do you need a resource consent?   Your proposed business must comply with District Plan rules - we recommend you get in touch with a duty planner  to discuss any requirements, phone 03 441 0499 (Queenstown) or 03 443 0024 (Wanaka). 

• Do you need a building consent?    Your proposed business must comply with the Building Act 2004.   We recommend getting in touch with our building services team to discuss your project and clarify requirements and what plans and paperwork should be included in your application.  Phone 03 441 0499 (Queenstown) or 03 443 0024 (Wanaka).

• What Trade Waste requirements need considered?  We recommend you get in touch with our Trade Waste Officer to discuss any requirements under  Trade Waste Bylaw.

• Do you need an alcohol licence?  If you intend to sell and supply alcohol, you need the appropriate licence.    Head over to Alcohol Licensing for more details  

• Do you need a permit for a mobile food business?  Check out the all the requirements here.

Depending on the scope of your food business you will likely need to operate under one of two
risk based measures, either a Food Control Plan (FCP) or a National Programme (NP).

The Ministry of Primary Industries has a great tool to help you work out where you fit:

Ministry of Primary Industries  NZ Food Safety website  

Food safety toolkit  

There are two types of plans:

Template Food Control Plan

Build your plan using templates supplied by Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). If your business activities are covered by one of the available templates, you can use this rather than creating your own custom Food Control Plan.   The Simply Safe and Suitable template is primarily registered and audited by the Council. 

Ministry for Primary Industries Food Control Plan templates and guides

Custom Food Control Plan

Manufacturers of high-risk foods or businesses who's operations do not fit with a Template Control Plan   will need a custom Food Control Plan (FCP) and register it with MPI.    Other businesses can also choose this type of plan. 

MPI has created a step-by-step process to help you develop a comprehensive plan for managing food safety. 

Ministry for Primary Industries Custom Food Control Plan - a step by step guide 

For a Food Control Plan (FCP) Template - Simply Safe and Suitable, click here.

Working with a National Programme (NP) is the way that lower-risk food businesses operate under the Food Act 2014.

There are three levels of NP’s.  These are based on the food safety risk of the activities a business undertakes:

• Level 3 – higher risk.

• Level 2 – medium risk.

• Level 1 – lower risk.

In our district all levels of NP must be registered with the Council.  (There are different registration requirements when you have businesses based in more than one district.)

If you're not sure if your business should operate under a National Programme, the Ministry for Primary Industries has developed a tool to help you work it out.  

Find out more about National Programmes - Ministry for Primary Industries website 

Complete the Food Control Plan registration or relevant National Programme application form below. Please also ensure you complete the ’Scope of Operations’ information included in both forms. The form is a legal document so please make sure you complete it accurately. 

Paying your registration fees

You can choose to pay the registration fee on submitting the application, or an invoice will be issued to you.   

How to pay your invoice: 

Online: use our online payments options

Via online banking: 02 0948 0002000 00. Please ensure you add the identifying number, which can be found on the registration certificate (QLD000##, FP##), as a reference.  This will ensure the correct allocation of fees. If you're a new food business, please include your trading name. 

In person at any Council office. We accept cash, eftpos, Mastercard or Visa.   

How to submit your application

Email it to services@qldc.govt.nz

You can also drop off your completed application at any of our Council offices.  

What happens next?

Once your application has been approved, confirmation of registration will be emailed to you and once you have received this you can open for business.

The registration fee for a Food Control Plan is $290.00 - these must be re-registered every year. 

The National Programme fee is $290.00 - these must be re-registered every two years.  

An Environmental Health Officer (EHO) will schedule a verification visit within six weeks of  registration of any food business. 

The audit will look at how you are managing food safety.  During the audit we'll be reviewing against the 'Show' section of the Simply Safe and Suitable or the National Programme guidance.  

The findings of the audit will assess any concerns that need to be addressed and will then assign the frequency of future audits. 

National Programme operators may appoint their own verifier  which is not QLDC. 

You'll find the fees schedule, guidance documents and application forms in the links list below. 

If you make any of the following changes to your operation you must notify us as soon as possible:  

• Change in owner company name.

• Changes to your scope of operation.

• Change of owner.

Please complete the Application for changes form and submit to:

services@qldc.govt.nz

Mobile food businesses must comply with the same food safety requirements as any other food operator.

Click here for guidance on starting your mobile food business.

Home-based food businesses  must comply with the same food safety requirements as any other food operator.   Please read the information above to find out what steps you need to take to register your business.  

If you are going to start operating a commercial food business from your residential address, you must let us know to ensure the change in use (from residential to mixed use) is formally documented.     

Please email us at 

services@qldc.govt.nz 

Other things to consider:  

• Changing the use of your property is likely to result in changes to your rates.   Please contact our rates team to discuss this.   

• If you're renting the property, make sure you have permission from your landlord to operate a business from the site. 

• Any building work may require a building consent, please contact our building services team to discuss your plans. 

• Contact our trade waste officer to discuss any requirements under the Trade Waste Bylaw. 

Whether you’re running a large scale commercial event or a small community fundraiser, as the event organiser you’re responsible for food safety at your event. Events play an important role in our community. No one wants people to get sick from food they eat at an event, and it’s certainly not something you want associated with your event.

Fundraising and community events

If you’re running a community, fundraising, charity or occasional event  you’ll no longer require a food stall permit to sell or provide food. However, it’s your responsibility as an event organiser to make sure food vendors have adequate facilities to comply with food safety regulations. You must make sure all food at your event is suitable and safe to eat.

Working with commercial food operators at your event

As an event organiser, you have an obligation to ensure any commercial food vendors at your event are registered and complying with food safety regulations.

If any commercial vendors need more information about how the Food Act 2014 affects them, or the transition timetable, you can put them in touch with our Environmental Health Team or refer them to the MPI website: https://www.mpi.govt.nz/food-business/running-a-food-business/  

Our requirements

Event organisers must provide our Environmental Health Team with a list of food vendors working at their event, and include the following information:

• Specify whether food vendors are commercially registered, community food vendors or a ‘once a year’ food vendors

• All food vendor contact details

• Commercial food operator registration details.

We’ve provided a simple spreadsheet to help make sure you provide all the appropriate information.  Please download the spreadsheet, fill it in and email it to  services@qldc.govt.nz

How do I make sure food at my event is safe?

Food safety should be part of your Event Health and Safety Planning. There are potential risks when providing or selling food that need to be considered and mitigated.

We’ll be randomly checking food safety standards at events. So to help you comply, we’ve pulled together some tips and checklists below.

Checklist – please remember to:

• Check with us before your event takes place to find out about any requirements

• Identify who will be providing food and what food will be sold at the event

• Email a list of all food vendors to QLDC Environmental Health: services@qldc.govt.nz - including commercial food operator registration details 

• Provide food operators with all relevant food safety information and guidelines

• Identify what facilities and how many of each will be needed, ie:

• Toilets

• Wash basins with water, soap and towels

• Water supply

• Power supply

• Rubbish bins

• Waste water disposal

• On site food storage equipment and location

• Decide where the food stalls and supporting facilities will be positioned. Are facilities close to where they will be needed by food operators?

• Identify who will be responsible for maintaining the facilities, ie removing rubbish, and when it will be done

• Identify parking or site access issues that might affect food vendors.

• Nominate a staff member to inspect food vendors prior to the event to make sure they have:

• Hand washing facilities eg. container of water with tap, and bucket to catch grey water, soap and paper towels. Hand-sanitiser alone is not sufficient.

• Suitable perishable food storage eg. chilli-bins with ice, or refrigeration Facilities for washing equipment eg. thermos with hot water, soap, bowl, scrubbing brush and clean tea towels

• Cleaning and sanitising equipment and chemicals

• Designated cash handler (no food handling)

Registration and Renewal fees

Food Operator verification fees

These fees include preparation, travel, onsite auditing, reporting, and administration time. If the activity exceeds the limitation hours set below, there will be an extra charge of $145 per hour.

Verification fees

Please contact our Environmental Health Team to discuss anything relating to operating a food business.   

Call us on 03 441 0499 (Wakatipu) or  03 443 0024 (Wānaka) or email services@qldc.govt.nz