What do you need to know?
• Food that is unsafe or unsuitable can make people sick.
• You must be able to recall your food if there’s a problem.
• The records you keep may help you in the event of a recall.
• There is helpful information about recalling food on the MPI website:
• There can be 2 reasons for recalls:
your supplier may need to recall a food product or piece of equipment or packaging you use, or you may need to recall the food you have made from your customers.
What do you need to do?
• If a food product or piece of equipment or packaging that you have used in your business must be recalled, you must:
◦◦ be able to identify if your food has been affected,
◦◦ identify if the recalled food is on display, in storage or been used as an ingredient in another food,
◦◦ identify if the recalled food contact item (e.g. plastic container) is being used in your business,
◦◦ be able to follow and meet with all of the instructions in the recall notice,
◦◦ separate any recalled produce and label it as ‘Recalled – do not use’,
◦◦ tell your supplier how much of their affected product is at your food business,
◦◦ arrange for affected product to be picked up and disposed of.
• If you have made and sold food which is unsafe or unsuitable, you must do all of the following:
◦◦ call 0800 00 83 33 and ask for the Food Compliance team (if during work hours) or ask for the on-call MPI Food Compliance Officer (if calling after hours),
◦◦ complete the recall hazard/risk analysis form and seend it to the MPI Food Compliance Team https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/22291-recall-hazardrisk-analysis-form
◦◦ you must report to MPI your decision to recall within 24 hours,
◦◦ draft a newspaper advertisement using the appropriate template:
◦◦ food recall notice template – General products https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/22357-food-recall-notice-template-general-products
◦◦ food recall notice template – Allergen warning https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/22360-food-recall-notice-template-allergen-warning
◦◦ send the newspaper advertisement to your MPI Food Compliance Officer. Publish the advertisement once approved. All advertisements must be approved by your MPI Food Compliance Officer before publishing,
◦◦ ask your MPI Food Compliance Officer if there is anything else you have to do (e.g. point of sale notice (Food recall notice template - Point of sale: https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/22363-food-recall-notice-template-point-of-sale press release (Example press release: https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/22357-food-recall-notice-template-general-products, radio advertisement, website notice) and complete as required.
What do you need to show?
• If your food must be recalled, you must show your verifier a record of:
◦◦ completed recall hazard/risk analysis form,
◦◦ a copy of the recall notice.
