Food Safety
Community and Public Health no longer provides food safety services within Canterbury, South Canterbury and the West Coast.
The Ministry for Primary Industries now deals with queries on any of the following:
- Food Complaints including foreign objects or undeclared allergens in food within our region
- Food Recalls
- Imported Food
- Food Safety Programmes
- Food Labelling
Community and Public Health still deals with food poisoning and food-borne illness.
Contact an Environmental Health Officer at your local council if you want to report a ‘dirty’ food premises or unhygienic practices of food handlers.
Documents
- Food safety tips for event organisers (Ministry for Primary Industries 2017)
- Raw unpasteurised milk: What you need to know (Ministry for Primary Industries 2016)
- Hot tips for a safe and successful sausage sizzle (Ministry for Primary Industries 2013)
- Food safety tips for selling food at occasional events (Ministry for Primary Industries 2013)
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand Code
- Food Act 2014 – replaces Food Act 1981
- Food Hygiene Regulations 1974
- Food (Safety) Regulations 2002
Downloads
Download or order resources from the Community Health Information Centre.
- Meet the Bugs (Ministry for Primary Industries)
- Food Safety in the Home (Ministry for Primary Industries)
- Food Safety in Pregnancy (Ministry for Primary Industries)
Links
- Industrial Food Safety (MPI)
- Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI)
- Foodborne illnesses (Ministry of Health)
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand
For further information, contact:
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI)
0800 693 721
Understanding the risks of raw milk
Raw milk has not been heat treated to kill harmful bacteria such as Campylobacter, Listeria and toxin-producing strains of E. coli.
There’s no way of telling by taste, sight or smell if raw milk will make you sick.
People most likely to get sick from drinking raw unpasteurised milk are young children, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems