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Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye today welcomed the announcement by Foodstuffs that it will adopt the Health Star Ratings on its Pams and Budget product packaging.

“Having the support of one of the biggest food retailers in the country is a good sign of industry confidence in this new food labelling system,” Ms Kaye says.

The Interim Labelling Guide for Manuka Honey released today by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is a positive step for the New Zealand industry, Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye says.

“The Guide provides clarification on what constitutes manuka-type honey, and aims to ensure that New Zealand is producing quality manuka honey that is labelled correctly and meets the expectations of overseas regulators, along with consumers here and overseas,” Ms Kaye says.

Minister for Food Safety Nikki Kaye today announced the reappointment of Andrew McKenzie and Neil Walker to the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) Board.

Dr McKenzie has a background in veterinary public health, food safety, food regulation, international and financial management.  He has extensive knowledge of the New Zealand food regulation system having led the New Zealand Food Safety Authority from its inception in 2002 until 2010.

Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye today announced the opening of consultation on measures that aim to ensure the robustness of the government’s assurance system for infant formula exports.

“In June last year I announced a work plan to further protect and strengthen confidence in New Zealand’s food assurance systems, to match rapid growth in infant formula exports,” Ms Kaye says.

“Export assurances are particularly important for infant formula exports where consumers have strong concerns about food safety, quality and product integrity.”

An electronic certification system that has been years in development is now operating for animal product exports, Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye says.

The new certification system, launched in the last few weeks, replaces an older system that was approaching the end of its life and becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. It currently applies to meat and seafood products, with certification of dairy products scheduled from September 1.

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce and Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye today invited seven organisations to participate in a Request for Proposals (RfP) to host the Food Safety Science and Research Centre.

“The Centre is being established to promote, co-ordinate, and deliver food safety science and research, in response to a key recommendation from the Government Inquiry into the Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC) Contamination incident,” Ms Kaye says. 

Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye today announced the launch of an online calculator that will enable food businesses to determine their products’ nutritional value under the Health Star Rating food labelling system.

Cabinet agreed last week to New Zealand adopting the voluntary system that has been developed as part of the Australian and New Zealand Ministers’ Food Forum. Both countries established advisory groups that deliberated for more than two years to work through the key issues and come to final recommendations.

Minister for Food Safety Nikki Kaye today announced that the government will be adopting a new Health Star Rating food labelling system.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye said today that they have received a letter from the Chair of the Government Inquiry into the Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC) Contamination Incident, advising that:

Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye today welcomed the unanimous support for the Food Bill during its third and final reading in Parliament today.

“The Food Bill has received support from all parties. It has taken a long time to get here and a lot of work has been put in to developing this significant piece of legislation,” Ms Kaye says. 

Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye today welcomed the strong support across Parliament for progressing the Food Bill. The Primary Production Select Committee reported the Bill back to the House in early May, and the Bill has now passed its second reading in the House.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye said today that the final part (Part A) of the Government Inquiry into the Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC) Contamination Incident will begin on 12 May.

“Part A will examine how the potentially contaminated whey protein concentrate entered the New Zealand international markets and how this was subsequently addressed,” Mr Guy says.

Five New Zealand manufacturers have been approved for exporting infant formula to China, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye have announced today.

“These manufacturers represent around 90% of our infant formula exports to China by volume,” says Mr Guy.

“New Zealand officials have been working intensively with manufacturers and Chinese officials to address corrective actions, allowing these five manufacturers to be registered as of May 1.

Chinese officials have provided further advice on the introduction of new regulations affecting New Zealand infant formula exports to China, says Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye.

Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye said today a Food Safety and Assurance Advisory Council is being set up to provide independent advice to the government on issues relating to food safety.

Establishing this council is one of the 29 recommendations of the Government Inquiry into the Whey Protein Concentrate Contamination Incident, released in December last year.

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce and Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye today announced that expressions of interest have been released for a Food Safety Science and Research Centre.

Establishing a New Zealand centre of food safety science and research is one of the 29 recommendations from the Government Inquiry into the Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC) Contamination Incident, released in December last year.

Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye today announced $900,000 has been allocated towards a new food safety scholarship programme with China.

“The Prime Minister confirmed this scholarship programme during his recent visit to China,” Ms Kaye says. “I am pleased to announce both the funding and some of the detail of the programme.

Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye said today that she received notification from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) at 3.30pm yesterday that they had laid charges in the Wellington District Court against Fonterra.

“As the matter is before the court, it is inappropriate for Ministers to make any comment regarding these charges and the compliance investigation,” Ms Kaye says.

“It is important to note that the compliance investigation has been run by the regulator (MPI), and has been independent from Ministers.”

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye today announced a working group set up to improve dairy traceability.

“The independent Government Inquiry into the Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC) Contamination Incident highlighted the importance of effective systems for dairy traceability,” Mr Guy says.

“The Inquiry recommended lifting the dairy sector’s ability to trace products and ingredients through a working group focusing on regulatory and worldwide best practices.”

Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye says her proposed changes to the Food Bill will provide greater protection for the public during food safety incidents.

“Today I have written to the Chair of the Primary Production Select Committee asking the select committee to consider changes to recall provisions, following the findings of the Government Inquiry into the Whey Protein Concentrate Contamination Incident,” Ms Kaye says.

The Bill is currently before the select committee.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye today released the report on the first stage of the Government Inquiry into the Whey Protein Concentrate Contamination Incident and said the Government accepts in principle all 29 recommendations.

“This part of the inquiry focused on our dairy food safety system and we are pleased to confirm it found the whey protein concentrate (WPC) incident in August this year (2013) was not the result of any failure in the regulatory system,” Mr Guy says.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye have received the first of two reports from the Government’s inquiry into the whey protein concentrate contamination incident. The report is on Parts B and C of the inquiry.

Ministers will now consider the report on Parts B and C and its recommendations. The report will be released along with the Government’s response within the next two weeks.

Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye today announced research has been commissioned to assess New Zealand consumer understanding and the impact of nutrition labelling on food.

Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye welcomes a food safety agreement signed today between New Zealand and China to strengthen cooperation in food safety and food quality. 

The Food Safety Cooperation Arrangement between the Ministry for Primary Industries(MPI) and the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) was signed today in Wellington by the Chinese Vice Minister, Liu Peizhi and MPI Deputy Director General Carol Barnao.