Food businesses

Most food businesses need to register. If you are selling coffee, baking, ready to eat foods, icecreams etc from a shop or food stall at a market you will need to register. There are different types of registration depending on the type of food you sell. Use the tool to work out what type of registration you need.

Where do I fit?

Some businesses do not need to register. If you only do the following you don't need to register: 

• selling packaged food and drinks that do not need to be refrigerated
• selling fruit and vegetables you have grown yourself
• accommodation providers with less than 10 guests

You still need to make sure the food is safe. More information and advice can be found on the New Zealand Food Safety website.

Exemptions

Information on exemptions from MPI 

Charities raising money from sausage sizzles and baking sales can sell food up to 20 times a year without registering. If the charity sells food more than 20 times a year they will need to register. To help you keep track of how many times you have traded you can use this form to record the dates:

Food Stalls for Fundraising and other Exemptions from Registering.pdf (pdf 138 KB)

Information on how to make safe food for sale is found on the New Zealand Food Safety website.

NZ Food Safety website Fundraising and community event

Once you have worked out what type of registration you need, you will need to prepare all your food safety documentation and prepare your premises or food van.

Preparing your premises

The place you want to make and sell food from needs to be suitable for the type of business you want to do, taking into account the size, type of food and number of staff you have. New kitchens need to meet the Building Code requirements. You need to provide facilities such as hot and cold running water, sinks, a handwash basin, cleanable work surfaces, cleanable walls and floors and enough space for equipment such as fridges and freezers and storage of food. If you are cooking food, extraction ventilation will be needed. A staff toilet is required, and if you are a cafe or restaurant customer toilets are also required. If you submit a floor plan with your application we can check you have what you need.

Preparing your food van

If you want to make or sell food from a mobile food van it needs to meet the same standard as a normal kitchen, but on a smaller scale. You still need hot and cold running water, sink, handwash basin, clean surfaces, and all the equipment to make safe food eg fridges. 

Preparing your food safety documentation

If you come under a Food Control Plan you will need to get a copy of the plan, and the records, and a diary or other way of keeping daily information such as temperatures. See the next section for more information on getting these.

If you come under a National Programme you will need to read through the Guidance document and prepare some complusory records such as staff training or temperature monitoring records. You will also need to find a private verifier to come and audit your business. The Council is not doing these audits so you need to choose a private company from the register on the NZ Food Safety website. They will give you a letter to submit with your application.   

Find the National Programme guidance documents 

Follow the step by step guide to find a verifier 

You can get a copy of the template Food Control Plan in various ways:

• Purchase a copy from the Council for $40 for the plan, records and one year diary.

Order printed Food Control Plan (pdf, 239 KB)

We also have some translations in Cambodian, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Hindi. 

• Download a copy from the NZ Food Safety website for free and print yourself. Ensure you print the plan and the Records Blanks pack. If you want a diary purchase one from the Council for $10.

Download a free copy 

Diary refill

To buy another years Diary visit your local Council office to purchase one or email regulatory.admin@tasman.govt.nz and provide your name, business name and phone number and we will print one and send it to your nearest Council office to collect. Cost is $10.

Before applying to register a food business you might need to talk to some of the other departments in Council to check other requirements:

• Planning - to check if you can operate in the zone you are in or whether you need a Resource Consent.

• Building - to check if you need a Building Consent to change the use of a building into a food business or to do any work like installing sinks or customer toilets.

• Engineering - to check if you need a grease trap for your drainage.

• Property Services - if you want to trade from a mobile van or stall on Council owned land you need a lease from our Property Team.

• Environmental Health - if you want to register a mobile van or vehicle to sell food from you will also need a Mobile Traders licence. Contact us for more information about that.

Our Council registers new food businesses online through a platform called Business Connect (which is part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment MBIE)

How to register

Below are the steps you need to take to register your new food business online through Business Connect. If you need help, or are not sure what sort of food business you should be registering, contact our customer services team on 543 8400 and ask to speak to an environmental health officer, or email regulatory.admin@tasman.govt.nz. We can also make an appointment to discuss your application in person.

Steps

1. Right click on My Food Rules (select 'open link in a new tab') to understand the food safety rules for your business.
2. Right click on Business Connect (select 'open link in a new tab')
3. Login using your RealMe account. If you don’t have a RealMe account, you can follow the link to quickly create one.
4. If it’s your first time logging onto Business Connect, you will need to create an account using your email address.
5. Once you have done that, go to the Business Connect dashboard.
6. Click the service you want to apply for (Register a Food Business or Alcohol Licence)
7. Click the check eligibility button, once you have read the information.
8. Select 'Tasman District Council' in the Your Council field.
9. Complete the application form.

We'll be in touch if we have any further questions regarding your application. You can pay your fee online using the details provided at the end of the application, alternatively bring in the confirmation email and pay in person at any of our service centres across the district.

Note: The online form is administered by Business Connect; you can find their Privacy Statement online.Any Technical issues can be email to hello@businessconnect.govt.nz

Once you are registered you will need to recieve regular checks on how you are operating. These are called verifications or audits.

For new businesses, your first verification needs to be done within 6 weeks of you registering.

After that the frequency depends on what type of registration you have and how you are performing.

For businesses on template Food Control Plans, Council's Environmental Health Officer will be your verifier. We will usually contact you to book in the verification when it is due. Verification frequency starts at 12 months and can go up to 18 months if you have two good verifications, or go down to 3 months if you have serious problems.

For businesses on National Programmes, you choose your own verifier from the approved register and make appointments with them directly. Verification frequency starts at every 2 years for NP3 businesses down to only once for NP1 businesses. After that it can me less frequent if you perform well, or more frequent if you have serious problems.

What does the verifier do?

The verifier checks your business to ensure you are making safe food that is suitable for your customers. We will ask you and your staff lots of questions to ensure you know how to operate safely. We will check your documentation to make sure you are recording important checks such as temperatures and what you did when things went wrong. We will also check your premises to make sure it is clean and in good repair. At the end of the visit we will let you know if your businesses was an acceptable standard or not. We might also give you a list of corrective actions to do and a timeframe to provide us evidence that they have been done. Council charges for verifications and follow up work by the hour. 

Your registration will last for 1 year for template Food Control Plans, or 2 years for National Programme. 

Before it expires we will send you a renewal form and invoice. You need to renew your registration before it expires.

If you let it expire you will need to start again with a new registration and another verification within 6 weeks of registering. So you should ensure it stays current. Failing to register and then continuing to operate could also mean you get an infringement fine which is more expensive than registering.

How to renew your registration

To renew your food business registration before it expires, you’ll need to do this online.

Online renewal

1. Go to Business Connect
2. Log on using your RealMe profile followed by your Business Connect Login.
3. Go to the Business Connect dashboard.
4. Complete the renewal form

We'll be in touch if we have any further questions regarding your renewal application. You can pay your fee online using the details provided at the end of the application, alternatively bring in the confirmation email and pay in person at any of our service centres across the district.

Note: The online form is administered by Business Connect; you can find their Privacy Statement online. Any Technical issues can be email to hello@businessconnect.govt.nz

If you make any significant changes to your food business you need to apply to amend your registration.

Significant changes include changing premises or changes to your scope that need to be added to your certificate.

You should also notify us of any changes such as new contact details or a different verifier.

Complete the form to notify us of any changes or significant ammendments.

Amendment or Change in Food Business (pdf 293 KB)

If you sell a food business you need to notify us as soon as possible so we can cancel your registration. The new business owner will need to register the business in their own name or company name. You cannot transfer the registration to the new owners. 

If you take over a food business you need to apply to register it in your own name or your company name. You will need to ensure you are registering under the correct category for what you want to do, especially if you decide to change things like the type of food you want to sell. Check the other sections of this webpage to find the right type of registration you need and get the correct documents and application form to register.