Faced with tough economic times, the cost of food has been getting a lot of air time in the media. Most recently, discussion in social media on this topic has focused on what consequences the proposed Food Bill – currently before Parliament – would have for people who grow food for personal, family and community consumption.
Unfortunately, the discussion has centred on a few misunderstandings about what the Food Bill proposes.
I welcome robust discussions about our regulatory system. However, to have a meaningful dialogue it’s important that all the facts are laid out so people can get the full picture.
And that’s why I’m taking this opportunity to clear up some of these misunderstandings.
The Food Bill was developed in response to a three-year-long Domestic Food Review, which looked at our domestic food legislation. The review revealed that the existing legislation is out-of-date, inconsistent and in some cases imposes unnecessary compliance costs.
The purpose of the Food Bill is to ensure that the food people buy is safe and suitable by requiring those selling food to operate in a way that minimises risks to the consumer.
This ushers in a new era where regulation moves from an inspection-based system to a risk-based approach.
In practice this means that rather than relying on government inspectors to find any problems, responsibility is moved to the person in charge of a food operation to be proactive in the way they manage food safety and suitability.
However, while the Food Bill proposes a new way of managing food safety in a commercial setting, I want to emphasise that it would not affect people’s right to grow food and to then exchange or trade it within their community with a view to self-sufficiency.
It is an age old Kiwi tradition for people to grow food for themselves and to swap their excess with friends or neighbours. The new legislation will not prevent this tradition from continuing.
With that being said, the Food Bill does apply to food that is sold or traded, and this includes food that is bartered or supplied in exchange for payment – just as it is the case with the current Food Act 1981, which also includes barter in the definition of sale.
This definition has not prevented bartering from freely taking place between individual members of the community, who are not in business.
We intentionally included bartering under the new Food Bill because it could otherwise leave the door open for large scale or commercial food operations to try and avoid meeting their regulatory responsibilities by setting up a bartering system to replace other forms of trading.
There are in fact a number of bartering schemes in New Zealand that have members who trade in food, such as Bartercard which has 7,000 members.
However, a person who grows food and then barters or trades this food to an end consumer will not be subject to a set of onerous requirements; they will simply need to operate under food handler guidance, which is a set of educative food safety tips that will be available from MAF free of charge and territorial authorities.
It is in everyone’s interest to have a regulatory system that allows for the provision of food that is safe and suitable.I am confident that the Food Bill gives us exactly such a system, without interfering with the time-honoured tradition where people share their abundance of food with others.
Carol Barnao is a member of the Foodtechnology Advisory Panel and deputy director-general of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Standards branch.
Before this, she was NZFSA director of the Assurances and Standards Group which provides assurances that New Zealand food and related products are safe and suitable to eat. Carol has a strong background in the dairy industry. Before joining MAF 12 years ago, she was for 18 years involved in the dairy industry. She has held various positions with the New Zealand Dairy Board. She is a food technologist and a fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology.
If you have questions for Ms Barnao or suggestions on areas of interest in her specialist area, e-mail editor Mike Bishara at [email protected], reference Carol Barnao.
