Registration under the Food Act 2014
Collection of Information & Standard Terms for Verification:
Collection of personal information
Pursuant to Principle 3 of the Privacy Act 1993, we advise that:
This information is being collected for the purpose of registering under the Food Act 2014.
The recipient of this information, which is the agency that will collect and hold the information is the Ministry of Primary Industries, PO Box 2526, Wellington 6140 and Waitomo District Council, PO Box 404, Te Kūiti 3941.
Some of the information collected will be displayed on a public register.
The collection of information is authorised under section 53 or section 83 of the Food Act 2014, which ever applies. The provision of this information is necessary in order to process an application for registration under either section 53 or section 83.
The supply of this information is voluntary, however failure to provide the requested information is likely to result in a return of this application form to the applicant, and may ultimately result in a refusal to register, in accordance with section 54 and 57 or section 84 and 87 of the Food Act 2014, which ever applies.
Under Principles 6 and 7 of the Privacy Act 1993, you have the right of access to, and correction of, any personal information that you have provided.
Collection of Official Information
All information provided to Waitomo District Council is official information and may be subject to a request made under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987
If a request is made under the Act for information you have provided in this application, Waitomo District Council must consider any such request in accordance with its obligations under that Act and any other applicable legislation.
Definitions
In this agreement, the words "we", "us" and so on mean Waipa District Council (WDC) or any contractors, and we have used "you" and so on to mean the customer named in the verification agreement.
In these terms the words "service" and "services" cover the services we have agreed to provide (and anything else we do at your request) which are described below.
"The Act" means the Food Act 2014 and any amendments to that Act or Regulations made under the Act such as the Food Regulations 2015.
"The programme" means the risk based measure, National Programme (Level 1, 2 or 3), the customer is required to operate under.
Period of Agreement
Subject to the other provisions of these terms, our obligations to each other start on the start date and end on the termination of the agreement, except where those obligations are expressly stated to survive termination. Either party may terminate this agreement with not less that 14 days notice to the other party.
Preconditions or Conflicts of Interest
If any staff from WDC have been involved in the design of your food premises or procedures, we cannot act as your verifier. We aim to undertake the agreed services in an independent and impartial manner at all times. WDC has been approved by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) as a recognised verifier under the Act.
Nature of the Services
We will verify your food safety practices as required during the term of this agreement and (where appropriate) report your compliance with the programme and with the relevant provisions of the Act to your registration authority and/or MPI.
We will obtain such evidence as we consider sufficient to enable us to draw reasonable conclusions as to whether or not you are complying with the programme and with the relevant provisions of the Act. The nature and extent of our procedures will vary according to our assessment of your systems, premises and practices, and, where we wish to place reliance on it, your internal control framework.
We will report in writing any matters we consider important and requiring attention.
If we believe there are potential food safety or suitability issues eg product recall, complaints received, on direction from MPI or your registration authority, we may carry out unscheduled verification of a business. Additional fees may be incurred in these circumstances.
Purpose of the Services
Our services are designed to monitor compliance with the risk based measure and with the relevant sections of the Act. If any deficiencies in internal controls and practices, not strictly relevant to the verification, come to our attention, we will advise you of these, but we only aim to identify deficiencies within the scope of the verification.
Any other services we may provide from time to time at your request are distinct from our function as verifiers and may be refused if this would generate a conflict of interest with regards to your verification.
Our agreeing to provide the services does not constitute a permit, authorisation, or other permission under any Act, Regulation, or Bylaw. Our verification does not remove your liability for the consequences of failure to comply with any Act, Regulation, Bylaw, or other requirement.
Standard of Service
When we provide services to you, we will use our best endeavours to:
provide the services with care and skill
ensure your verifier is knowledgeable and competent to verify your specific food business operations. This may include contracting a Technical Expert to assist us in the verification your food business
provide the services within a reasonable time or within any agreed time limit
provide a reliable service although we do not guarantee it will be fault free
provide a report your registration authority within 10 working days of completing the verification in any situation where WDC is not the registration authority, or where the registration authority is MPI, information required in the format specified within 10 days of the end of the calendar month.
Confidentiality
All communications between us (the agency) and you (the customer) are treated with strict confidentiality. All electronic records maintained by us are only accessible by approved staff. You may request a copy of any correspondence on your customer file at any time, eg, a past verification report. A Food Safety Officer or MPI representative may request verification information from us or you. We will notify you if any such person requests such information from us about your food business. 4
Any corrective actions or non-compliances identified during the verification process of your business will be notified to the applicable registration authority and/or MPI.
Complaints and disputes
If you have a complaint in relation to our services, or the person conducting them, or you dispute any recommendation put forward by your verifier, or you would like to comment on the service you received, please contact the Team Leader Environmental Services. We document all complaints, disputes and compliments in an attempt to continually improve our service under our Quality Management System. All complaints or disputes are confidential.
Your General Responsibilities
Within 14 days you must advise us of a change of verifier.
To enable us to properly carry out our statutory responsibilities as a recognised verifier, you must maintain records which comply with the requirements of the Template Food Control Plan or National Programme (level 1, 2 or 3 as applicable) and which contain sufficient detail to enable us to ensure that:
The food preparation tasks identified in your program are being properly carried out by appropriate staff who have been suitably trained and instructed
Any restrictions or conditions placed on registration are being complied with
You notify us of any further information, including any post verification events, which may have a bearing on our verification responsibilities. This must include changes to the scope of your operation or significant changes
All information you give us needs to be correct and complete
Our Charges
Verification fees are prescribed within WDC fees and charges, these are subject to annual review and are publicly notified through the Annual Plan process. We will provide you with an invoice that must be paid by the 20th of the following month.
Our Right to Suspend or Restrict Any Service
If your registration is revoked, surrendered or substituted, or if you do not pay our charges or meet any other responsibilities you have to us, we may suspend or restrict the services at any time. Such activities will be reported to the registration authority and/or MPI.
Our Right to Stop Providing the Service
If your registration is revoked, surrendered or substituted, or if you do not pay our charges or meet any other responsibilities you have, we may stop providing any of our services to you. This right is additional to any other right or remedy we may have against you under the Act. Otherwise, where we have agreed to provide a service for a minimum period, we will continue providing it until the end of that period, and we will notify you with 14 days before we stop providing the service.
More Than One Customer
Every person named as a customer in this agreement must meet all of your responsibilities under this agreement.
Sending Invoices and Notices
We will send invoices and other notices to the last address you have given us. We can assume any invoice or notice we send by post has been delivered 5 days after we post it. Please tell us if you change your address.
Verification agreement records
All verification agreements will be kept on our records for a minimum of 4 years in relation to our record keeping requirements under the Food Act 2014. Verification reports are retained indefinitely.
Changing These Terms
Any changes to the terms of this agreement must be in writing and signed by us.