Compliant Always
Get in touch

Selling kitchenware and food contact articles in New Zealand

New Zealand has no separate approval for kitchenware. MBIE lists the Ministry for Primary Industries as the agency for items in contact with food. Food businesses manage hazards from food contact materials under their programmes, and the Food Standards Code sets limits on contaminants from packaging. Goods sold to consumers must be safe and described accurately.

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

Items in contact with food
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI)
Approval before sale
No government agency approves products for sale
Packaging contaminants
Standard 1.4.1 of the Food Standards Code
General safety
Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 and Fair Trading Act 1986
Recall notification
MBIE, within 2 working days of going public

Before a product goes on sale

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Will the article come into contact with food, and who will use it: consumers or food businesses? Read more
  2. 2Is there test evidence that it is safe for its intended and foreseeable use? Read more
  3. 3Are claims about materials, origin or performance backed by evidence? Read more
  4. 4Does it plug in, or is it a gas appliance? Read more
  5. 5If it breaks, leaches or injures, who recalls it and who is told? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

Food contact materials

How New Zealand deals with materials that touch food.

  • MBIE's product safety guidance names the Ministry for Primary Industries as the agency for food and items in contact with food, in respect of toxicity.
  • FSANZ says manufacturers are required by the Food Standards Code to make food in contact with packaging safe, and Standard 1.4.1 sets maximum levels of some contaminants that may come from packaging.
  • In New Zealand, businesses operating a Risk Management Programme under the Animal Products Act 1999 or a Food Safety Programme under the Food Act 2014 identify and manage hazards, including from materials in contact with food.
  • The Code also says packaging, and any article or material in contact with food, must not be capable of being swallowed or likely to cause harm if taken into the mouth.
  • FSANZ points to an Australian Standard, AS 2070-1999, on plastic materials for food contact use.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps migration test reports and material declarations with each article, so a food business customer can see them. Ask about this

General product safety

The safety duties that apply to kitchenware sold to consumers.

  • The Consumer Guarantees Act requires goods supplied to consumers to be of acceptable quality, including safe, taking in likely use and foreseeable misuse.
  • No government agency in New Zealand approves products for sale; businesses that make, import or sell products are responsible for their safety.
  • MBIE advises having a product tested to the appropriate safety standard by a laboratory accredited for that test.
  • Overseas laws do not apply in New Zealand, and the fact that a product can be imported does not make it safe or compliant.
  • Trading Standards recommends NZS ISO 10377:2017, Consumer product safety, as good practice for suppliers.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps each article's test reports, with the laboratory and date, and shows which products have none. Ask about this

Claims and origin

What the Fair Trading Act means for kitchenware descriptions.

  • The Fair Trading Act prohibits misleading conduct about the nature, manufacturing process, characteristics, quality or origin of a product.
  • A business needs reasonable grounds for a claim, such as 'non-toxic' or a material description, at the time it makes it.
  • Importing products with inaccurate labels is among the practices the Act bans.

How we help: Compliant Always reads the claims on your packaging and listings against the test reports and declarations on file. Ask about this

Electrical and gas appliances

Kitchen appliances follow the electrical safety rules.

  • Electrical kitchen appliances, such as kettles, toasters and blenders, must meet the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010, enforced by WorkSafe's Energy Safety; see the electronics guide.
  • Energy Safety also covers gas products and appliances.
  • New dishwashers need a Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme label beside them or at the point of sale.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps an appliance's food contact evidence and its electrical declarations on the same product record. Ask about this

Recalls

When kitchenware has to come off the market.

  • MBIE's examples of a product that may need a recall include a mug that shatters when filled with hot liquid.
  • The business leading a product safety recall notifies MBIE within 2 working days of making it public, unless the recall falls under other legislation and another agency.
  • The Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs can ban unsafe goods with an unsafe goods notice or order a compulsory recall.
  • Where a product has a safety issue, the Consumer Guarantees Act requires the business to put it right for the customer.

How we help: Compliant Always ties test reports to production lots, so the scope of a recall can be read from the record. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
ManufacturerMaking articles that are safe for food contact and for consumers.Material declarations and test reports kept by product and lot.
ImporterChecking imported articles are safe and compliant in New Zealand, whatever their home market allows.Suppliers' declarations and test reports read and dated before the goods arrive.
Retailer and online sellerSupplying safe goods and accurate descriptions.Evidence behind each claim ready when a customer asks.
Food business customerManaging hazards from food contact materials under its programme.The evidence a customer's programme asks for, ready to answer its questionnaire.

Questions businesses ask

Is there a food contact regulation for kitchenware in New Zealand?
MBIE names the Ministry for Primary Industries as the agency for items in contact with food. Food businesses manage hazards from food contact materials under their programmes, and the Food Standards Code covers contaminants from packaging.
Does kitchenware need approval before sale in New Zealand?
No. There is no government agency in New Zealand that approves products for sale. Businesses are responsible for making sure their products are safe.
Do food businesses have to check their packaging and equipment?
Businesses operating a Risk Management Programme or a Food Safety Programme must identify and manage hazards in their operations, including from materials that come into contact with food.
What does the Food Standards Code say about packaging?
Standard 1.4.1 sets maximum levels for some contaminants that may be in food from packaging. Packaging and articles in contact with food must not be swallowable or likely to cause harm if taken into the mouth.
Should kitchenware be tested?
MBIE says the best way of making products safe is to have them tested to the appropriate safety standard by a laboratory accredited for that test.
Can I sell kitchenware that is legal in its home country?
Overseas laws do not apply in New Zealand. MBIE says being able to import a product does not mean it is safe or compliant here; importers should do their due diligence.
Are electric kettles and toasters covered here?
Their food contact parts are. Their electrical safety falls under the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 and WorkSafe's Energy Safety; see the electronics guide.
When should kitchenware be recalled?
When it may cause injury, such as MBIE's example of a mug that shatters when filled with hot liquid. The business leading the recall notifies MBIE within 2 working days.
Can I describe kitchenware as non-toxic or food safe?
Only with reasonable grounds at the time you make the claim. The Fair Trading Act prohibits misleading claims about a product's characteristics, quality or origin.
How does Compliant Always help with selling in New Zealand?
Our team reads the rules for the markets you sell in, including the Food Standards Code New Zealand shares with Australia. Compliant Always shows which apply to your product, keeps the documents behind each one ready, and watches the sources for changes. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

Tell us what you make, and we will show you the rules for it.

Name the product and the markets you sell in. We will come back to you with what applies in New Zealand and what your paperwork needs to show.

Get in touch

No card, no account, and no call to book. Tell us what you make and where you sell it, and we will come back to you.

Get in touch