Food safety in New Zealand

The dairy industry in New Zealand is a major sector of the economy. A "clean green" image cultivated by various sources gives foreign markets the perception of a high degree of food safety for New Zealand produce.

Food safety in New Zealand is a concern by the general public and the government takes measures to regulate it. The estimated cost to the country in 2009 of the six foodborne illnesses campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis, norovirus, yersiniosis, STEC and listeriosis was NZ$161 million.[1]

The government launched an annual Foodsafe Week in 2007 to highlight food safety issues.[2]

## Policy

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The Food Act 2014, the primary legislation for governing food safety in New Zealand, is administered by the Ministry for Primary Industries, an amalgamation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry of Fisheries, and the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (now all defunct). This act superseded the Food Act 1981 and made some fundamental changes to New Zealand's domestic food-regulatory regime. The new act was primarily designed[by whom?] to drive an export-led economic recovery for New Zealand, because the domestic food-regulatory regime is the platform for exports.[citation needed]

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) develops food standards after consulting with other government agencies and stakeholders.

Dr Ayesha Verrall became the Minister of Food Safety in November 2020, succeeding Damien O'Connor.

## Incidents

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Major food safety incidents are rare but New Zealand was implicated in the 2008 Chinese milk scandal. Fonterra, New Zealand's largest dairy company, had a 43% stake in one of the affected companies. In another recent incident Fonterra found traces of DCD (2-Cyanoguanidine) in milk supplies. The levels were very low and attempts were made to prevent the test results from being reported in the media.[3]

## Genetic engineering

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Main article: Genetic engineering in New Zealand

The safety of genetically modified foods and ingredients has often been questioned, particularly since the wide-scale discussion and protests in the early 2000s.

## Pesticide residue

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Main article: Pesticide residues in New Zealand

Pesticide residues are generally low and are thought to pose no detectable threat to health.[4] The Soil & Health Association of New Zealand and the Pesticide Action Network Aotearoa New Zealand claim that the 2010 results for pesticide residue are the worst ever.[5]

## See also

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* Health care in New Zealand
* Agriculture in New Zealand

## References

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1. ^ Gadiel, David (November 2010). The economic cost of foodborne disease in New Zealand (PDF) (Report). Applied Economics Pty Ltd for the New Zealand Food Safety. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
2. ^ "Food Safety Minister Lianne Dalziel launches Foodsafe Week". 12 November 2007. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
3. ^ Watkins, Tracy (14 April 2013). "Secrecy Over DCD In Milk Scare Revealed". Sunday Star-Times. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
4. ^ Taylor, Rowan; New Zealand (1997). The State of New Zealand's Environment 1997. Wellington, N.Z: Ministry for the Environment. ISBN 0-478-09000-5.
5. ^ "Pesticide Residues in Food – Worst Ever". Soil & Health Association of New Zealand Inc. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010.

## External links

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* Ministry for Primary Industries
* Food safety portal \- for industry
* Food smart portal Archived 2013-05-01 at the Wayback Machine \- for consumers
* Food at the Ministry of Health
* Food safety portfolio news at The Beehive
* Food safety[permanent dead link‍] \- a briefing for government ministers (2000)
* Food Standards Australia New Zealand
* Food safety Archived 2013-05-06 at the Wayback Machine at the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation

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Consumer food safety

Adulterants, food contaminants|

* 3-MCPD
* Aldicarb
* Antibiotic use in livestock
* Cyanide
* Formaldehyde
* HGH controversies
* Lead poisoning
* Melamine
* Mercury in fish
* Sudan I

Food additives|

* Flavorings
* Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
* Salt
* Sugar
* High-fructose corn syrup
* Vegetable oil
* controversy

Intestinal parasites, parasitic disease|

* Amoebiasis
* Anisakiasis
* Cryptosporidiosis
* Cyclosporiasis
* Diphyllobothriasis
* Enterobiasis
* Fasciolopsiasis
* Fasciolosis
* Giardiasis
* Gnathostomiasis
* Paragonimiasis
* Toxocariasis
* Toxoplasmosis
* Trichinosis
* Trichuriasis

Microorganisms|

* Botulism
* Campylobacter jejuni
* Clostridium perfringens
* Cronobacter
* Enterovirus
* Escherichia coli O104:H4
* Escherichia coli O157:H7
* Hepatitis A
* Hepatitis E
* Listeria
* Norovirus
* Rotavirus
* Salmonella
* Shigatoxigenic and verotoxigenic E. coli
* Vibrio cholerae

Pesticides|

* Chlorpyrifos
* DDT
* Lindane
* Malathion
* Methamidophos

Preservatives|

* Benzoic acid
* Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)
* Sodium benzoate

Sugar substitutes|

* Acesulfame potassium
* Aspartame
* controversy
* Saccharin
* Sodium cyclamate
* Sorbitol
* Sucralose

Toxins, poisons, environment pollution|

* Aflatoxin
* Arsenic contamination of groundwater
* Benzene in soft drinks
* Bisphenol A
* Dieldrin
* Diethylstilbestrol
* Dioxin
* Mycotoxins
* Nonylphenol
* Shellfish poisoning

Food fraud|

* Bread
* Breast milk
* Egg
* Olive oil
* Prawn
* Seafood
* Shrimp
* Tea

Food processing|

* 4-Hydroxynonenal
* Acid-hydrolyzed vegetable protein
* Acrylamide
* Food additives
* Food irradiation
* Heterocyclic amines
* Modified starch
* Nitrosamines
* Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
* Shortening
* Trans fat
* Variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease
* Water fluoridation controversy

Food contamination incidents|

* Devon colic
* Swill milk scandal
* Esing Bakery incident
* 1858 Bradford sweets poisoning
* 1900 English beer poisoning
* Morinaga Milk arsenic poisoning incident
* Minamata disease
* Moroccan oil poisoning disaster 1959 [ar]
* 1971 Iraq poison grain disaster
* Toxic oil syndrome
* 1985 Austrian diethylene glycol wine scandal
* United Kingdom BSE outbreak
* Australian meat substitution scandal
* Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak
* 1996 Odwalla E. coli outbreak
* 2006 North American E. coli outbreaks
* ICA meat repackaging controversy
* 2008 Canada listeriosis outbreak
* 2008 Chinese milk scandal
* 2008 Irish pork crisis
* 2008 United States salmonellosis outbreak
* 2011 Germany E. coli outbreak
* 2011 United States listeriosis outbreak
* Bihar school meal poisoning
* 2013 horse meat scandal
* 2015 Mozambique funeral beer poisoning
* 2017 Brazil Operation Weak Meat
* 2017–2018 South African listeriosis outbreak
* 2018 Australian strawberry contamination
* 2024 United Kingdom Shigatoxigenic E. coli outbreak
* Kobayashi red yeast rice scandal
* Food safety incidents in China
* Food safety incidents in Taiwan
* Foodborne illness
* outbreaks
* death toll
* United States

Regulation, standards, watchdogs|

* Acceptable daily intake
* E number
* Food labeling regulations
* Food libel laws
* Food safety in Australia
* International Food Safety Network
* ISO 22000
* Nutrition facts label
* Organic certification
* Quality Assurance International
* United Kingdom food information regulations

Institutions|

* Centre for Food Safety (Hong Kong)
* European Food Safety Authority
* Food and Drug Administration
* Food Information and Control Agency (Spain)
* Food Standards Agency (United Kingdom)
* Institute for Food Safety and Health
* International Food Safety Network
* Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (South Korea)
* Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition

Related topics|

* Curing (food preservation)
* Food and drink prohibitions
* Food marketing
* Food politics
* Food preservation
* Food quality
* Genetically modified food
* Conspiracy theories

* Food portal Drink portal
* Category
* Commons
* Cookbook
* WikiProject

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* t
* e

Food safety in Oceania

Sovereign states|

* Australia
* Federated States of Micronesia
* Fiji
* Kiribati
* Marshall Islands
* Nauru
* New Zealand
* Palau
* Papua New Guinea
* Samoa
* Solomon Islands
* Tonga
* Tuvalu
* Vanuatu

Associated states
of New Zealand|

* Cook Islands
* Niue

Dependencies
and other territories|

* American Samoa
* Christmas Island
* Cocos (Keeling) Islands
* Easter Island
* French Polynesia
* Guam
* Hawaii
* New Caledonia
* Norfolk Island
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Pitcairn Islands
* Tokelau
* Wallis and Futuna

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