A video for companies and trainees that explains the brand new New Zealand Certificate Training Qualifications:

Interested in benefitting from this new training?

The video below shows you how Food Safe collaborates with companies to deliver food safety training:

Eager to know more?

Give us a ring on 0800 003 097 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we’ll show you how you too can benefit from New Zealand Certificate training.

By March 2016 the proposed Food Grade Assessments below will come into affect along with the Food Act 2014 across all of New Zealand!

How does your favourite cafe, restaurant and takeout get and retain an 'A' Food Grade or equivatent after that?

Here are the Critical Priority items 

The brief checklist below applies

1. Pest control: There are no discernible pest control issues i.e. no evidence of weevils, cockroaches, mice or rats. ☐

2. Temperature control: Dishwashers are working to the required temperatures. Refrigerators/ freezers are working to required temperatures (e.g.4C and -15C as appropriate). ☐

3. Food protection: Is food stored to protect from contamination e.g. red meat will not drip on other food, food stored in the open covered and protected from contamination, sneeze guards in place for displayed food etc. ☐

4. Premises are well cleaned and well maintained and meet the standards of the Food Hygiene Regulations e.g. sinks/hot water etc. ☐

5. Food Control Plan records and Diary in use (this is currently voluntary for food businesses but included in all our public training) ☐

High Priority items

1. Staff are trained and aware of food protection and food safety practices. ☐ 

2. Public display of registration certificate and current grading certificate. ☐

3. Hand washing practices – good awareness of issue and dedicated hand washing basin available with hot and cold water.

☐ 4. Have adequate cleaning / sanitising schedule and pest control plan in place and which is available for inspection. ☐

5. Ventilation is adequate for cooking of food. ☐

6. Meets building code requirements (e.g. provision of toilets) or applicable building standards at time. ☐

The checklist above is a useful guide for food businesses globally as well.

Source: Auckland City Council, Food Safety Bylaw 2013; Schedule 1

To benefit from a comprehensive 23 point checklist and to ensure that staff are well-trained to keep food and customers safe, book a public Basic Food Safety Training course here.

All Food Safe's Basic Food Safety Training programmes include training on the new Food Control Plan and Diary, how to monitor the safety of food and record this. Our trainees understand why these are important and get practice in class actually filling out these records.

What happens to the current Food Grading "B" Assessment for food premises?

The current B Grad assessment for food premises are being phased out by March 2016!

What does this mean to food business owners?

This means that food businesses has only one chance to get things right!

Why should customers and food businesses care?

Customers and food businesses remain passionate about food safety. News websites regularly run reports about restaurants with poor grades, which were closely followed and acted upon by the New Zealand public. This puts to rest any doubt that customers and New Zealand cares about the grade of thier local cafe, restaurant, takeaway or pub and a council or regulatory grade influences the choice of where kiwis choose to eat!

To benefit from a comprehensive 23 point checklist and to ensure that staff are well-trained to keep food and customers safe, book a public Basic Food Safety Training course here.

All Food Safe's Basic Food Safety Training programmes include training on the new Food Control Plan and Diary, how to monitor the safety of food and record this. Our trainees understand why these are important and get practice in class actually filling out these records.

所有的食品安全的基础食品安全 培训项目包括在新的食品控制计划和日记，如何监督食品安全，并记录了此次培训。作为一名实习生，你就会明白，为什么这些都是重要的并得到实践类实际上填补了这些记录。

Here's an online video about our basic food safety training programme:

The Food Control Plan and Diary are contained in the documents below:

Night markets and street food are becoming more popular by the day!

Here’s what customers need to look for and what food stall owners need to start implementing to keep food and customers safe:

Maintain a Food Control Plan (FCP) and Diary

Both of these are listed in the windows down below

All Food Safe's Basic Food Safety Training programmes include training on the new Food Control Plan and Diary, why these are important and how both of these are used to monitor and record the safety of food. 

Personal hygiene

• Hand washing facilities
• Soap, nailbrush & hand sanitizers
• Gloves
• Clean uniforms
• Disposable aprons
• Closed shoes
• Hat or hair nets
• No jewellery (in food preparation areas)
• Train all staff

The stall itself must

• Be covered
• Include facilities to cover all food
• Have ample storage facilities
• Have all product stored off the ground
• Take all practicable steps to secure access by pets & pests 

Temperature management

Cold food requires: 

• A chilly bin
• Ice
• An ice bath for sauces that are perishable (e.g. mayonnaise)
• Monitoring and maintenance of temperature records

Hot food requires:  

• Powered stock / soup pot
• Powered baine-marie
• Cooking food to order
• Cooking of rice to order and to be kept hot (+70C)
• Gas cooking / reheating facilities
• Dishes to serve food in
• Monitoring and maintenance of temperature records

Other areas include: 

• Cross contamination awareness
• Cleaning & sanitising
• First aid kit contents
• Site hazard management
• Close down routine

To benefit from a comprehensive 56-point resource guide and to ensure that you and your staff are well-trained to keep your food and customers safe, book a public Basic Food Safety Training course here.

All Food Safe's Basic Food Safety Training programmes include training on the new Food Control Plan and Diary, how to monitor the safety of food and record this. As a trainee you will understand why these are important and get practice in class actually filling out these records.

所有的食品安全的基础食品安全培训项目包括在新的食品控制计划和日记，如何监督食品安全，并记录了此次培训。作为一名实习生，你就会明白，为什么这些都是重要的并得到实践类实际上填补了这些记录。

Here's a video about our basic food safety training programme:

The Food Control Plan and Diary are contained in the documents below:

What is raw milk?

The term raw milk relates to unpasteurised milk.

Raw milk is milk from all milking animals, such as cows, goats, sheep, and buffalo. 

It has not been altered in any way. It has not been pasteurised, homogenised, dried or frozen, and nothing has been added to it or removed from it.

What is pasteurisation?

Pasteurisation is the process that eliminates harmful bacteria (pathogens) through a specific heat treatment (E.G. 72°C for 15 seconds; which is based more technically on a Reynolds number and calculation).

What are the pathogens and food safety risks associated with raw milk?

There are a number of pathogens that can effect milk, the resulting health problems from Campylobacter and pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) are generally of most concern in raw milk.  

Are there any statistics related to illness from raw milk?

Yes, the graph below provides a quick snapshot:

What food safety framework would still apply to a farm selling raw milk?

Farmers are required to operate under a Risk Management Programme (RMP). If a farmer is exempted they would have to comply with universal requirements in a regulated control scheme (RCS) under the Animal Products Act.

What is a regulated control scheme (RCS)?

A RCS provides for situations where it is inappropriate or impractical to manage risk factors under a RMP.

What are the best practice food safety measures that would still apply to all dairy farmers supplying raw drinking milk to consumers?

MPI proposes that all dairy farmers intending to sell raw milk to consumers must:

• Be listed with MPI under the proposed RCS. The list would be open for public inspection so consumers would know where to buy milk.
• The list would include the name and address of the dairy farmer, a description of the property where the milk is supplied from, and other matters such as date of listing.
• The farmer would need to ensure that raw milk sold directly to consumers meets all specified food safety criteria.
• Follow NZCP1: Code of practice for the design and operation of farm dairies for all areas that apply to a particular dairy farm situation.
• Apply tighter time and temperature controls than NZCP1 on milk cooling and milk storage: immediately after milking cool to 18°C or cooler; and cool to 6°C or cooler within 2 hours of completion of milking and within 4 hours of commencement of milking
• Ensure that raw milk sold to consumers is only supplied:  from healthy milking animals that are kept on the property; within 24 hours from harvesting; and after the milk has been cooled to 6°C or cooler; and from herds (other than sheep and goats) that have not had any tuberculous animals for at least the previous five years; that is, have a minimum herd status of C5.
• Animals must be tested for tuberculosis each season. Animals can only be introduced if they come from herds with a status of C5 or better.
• Make a representative raw milk sample available to MPI on request, and at short notice, for monitoring purposes.
• Have a system in place that enables a record to be kept of:
• Who the farmer has supplied raw drinking milk to and their contact details.
• How much was supplied (ie. collected)
• When it was collected and
• Which milking(s) it came from.
• This information would be required for traceability purposes should anything occur that would require purchasers to be contacted. The records would be required to be kept for four years.
• Inform MPI if a failure is identified by the dairy farmer.

For standards-based food safety training aimed at keeping learning simple from farm to fork phone Food Safe on 0800 003 097 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

A snapshot of other more detailed risk management processes for a farmer include:

The following additional measures are proposed for dairy farmers intending to supply raw drinking milk in quantities of 40 litres or more per day under options 2 and 3:

Farm dairy operator competence

• Farm dairy operators must complete training in good milk harvesting practice (e.g. Primary ITO Licence to Milk), should complete training in good agricultural practice; and
• Farm dairy operators must be familiar with requirements for the harvesting and supply of raw drinking milk and must understand the requirements for dairy hygiene and mastitis management.

The general principle is that dairy farmers should understand what needs to be done and are competent in getting it done.

Animal health

• Records must be kept of the animals in the herd or flock producing raw drinking
• Milk intended for supply, and all animals to be uniquely identifiable in some manner;
• Controls on the use of veterinary medicines must be followed and any use recorded; and
• Colostrum and milk that is abnormal or unwholesome must not be offered for sale as drinking milk.

Location, facilities, services and equipment

The same requirements that apply to the harvesting of milk for general supply and for raw milk products will be applied via the RCS. Examples are:

• Farm dairy water quality;
• Equipment standards; and
• Protection from physical hazards such as glass, pathogens and chemical contamination.

Operation

• Milking practices to be hygienic, with teats cleaned, sanitised and wiped immediately before milking; and
• Milking plant and dairy environment to be kept in a suitably hygienic state, including all milking equipment and any bottling or dispensing equipment.

Milk cooling

• Milk is to be stored at 6°C or cooler; and
• The temperature of milk shall not exceed 6°C at any point until the product is physically receipted by the purchaser (in their hands).

Acceptance standards

• More stringent limits to be specified for hygiene indicators; and
• Specified limits for pathogens, chemical residues and contaminants consistent with the limits that apply to all other dairy products.

Failure to meet standards

• Farm dairy operators must report any failure to meet specified food safety criteria to MPI as well as any failure to follow the RCS;
• Dairy farmers must test the milk for specified pathogens if hygiene indicator thresholds are exceeded;
• The supply of raw drinking milk must be temporarily suspended following a failure to comply with the food safety criteria applicable to raw drinking milk. For example: 
• Following the first failure in 12 months - all raw drinking milk must be withheld from supply until three consecutive days have been shown to comply; 
• Following any further failure within 12 months - all raw drinking milk must be withheld from supply for 28 days;
• MPI would delist any farm (remove approval) incurring excessive food safety failures; and

• Farm dairy operators must have a documented procedure to deal with any failures to maintain required temperature during distribution to the purchaser (ie disposal as a non-conforming product).

Source: MPI

For standards-based food safety training aimed at keeping learning simple from farm to fork phone Food Safe on 0800 003 097 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Additional information and more detailed technical criteria that apply are contained in the documents below:

A quick snapshot about the New Zealand Qualification Authority (NZQA) Framework

What is the purpose of the NZQF?

The NZQF is a framework based on outcomes, described in terms of knowledge, skills and attributes, and their application.

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) administers the NZQF, which is the definitive source for accurate information about all quality assured qualifications, covering senior secondary school and tertiary education qualifications, and including all qualifications open to international students.

The NZQF provides information about what knowledge and experience holders of qualifications can be expected to have, and about what further education and/or employment opportunities the qualification leads to 

The detail about NZQA qualifications and how it works: