Food

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Food Overview

This section contains information for food premises in New Plymouth District.

Any premises used for the manufacture, preparation or storage of food for sale must be registered with us and cannot open until registration is complete. This includes restaurants, cafes, bakeries, dairies, supermarkets, etc. All food for sale in these premises must also be made in registered premises - food cannot be produced in a home kitchen for sale.

To receive a certificate of registration the premise must comply with the standards and requirements under the Food Hygiene Regulations 1974. All copies of legislation can be obtained from Bennett’s Government Bookshop.

The certificate of registration needs to be displayed in a public part of the premises.

New premises must also have a code compliance certificate as required under the Building Act 2004 and meet all other legislation requirements before final approval can be given. You are encouraged to apply for a PIM (project information memorandum) early on in your planning to establish the feasibility and design of the project.

How can we help you?

In addition to the our Environmental Health Team, you can also work with our planning and building consents team to ensure you meet all the relevant health and building regulations.

The Planning Team can offer advice on our District Plan and information on parking requirements, advertising and likely future patterns of development in that area.

Building Consent Officers can help with construction requirements, change of use conditions, grease traps, plumbing and drainage, egress, number of sanitary fixtures and access for disabled people. Building consent will be required for any work done.

The Environmental Health Officers can provide information on health requirements, inspections and the issue of registration to sell food.

What happens next?

After making an application for registration, and nearer to the proposed opening date, the Environmental Health Officer must be contacted to arrange a final evaluation of the premises to check that work has been completed in accordance with the approved plans. Work requiring a building consent requires a code compliance certificate. This must be available before the Environmental Health Officer’s visit.

Provided the premise has been completed in accordance with the approved plans, and the certificate of registration is issued, you can open for business.

It is an offence to operate the premise prior to the issue of a certificate of registration.

Ongoing checks

Once the premises are registered ongoing checks will be carried out by Environmental Health Officers to ensure safe food, conduct and structural requirements are maintained. Officers may arrive at any reasonable time (Section 128 of the Health Act 1956) and are not obliged to make an appointment prior to the visit. This means you can expect a visit any time while you are operating.

Registration renewal

Your registration must be renewed every year. The registration period runs from 1 July to 30 June.

Food manufacturing

If you intend to operate as a wholesale outlet or food manufacturer you will also need to contact Taranaki Health (06-753 7798). They will advise you on the standards for composition, labelling, ingredients, preservative and packaging requirements.Return to top

Sale of liquor

If you intend to sell liquor on your premises or have patrons bring liquor for consumption on the premises while dining, you will need to apply for the appropriate licence as a requirement of the Sale of Liquor Act 1989.

Liquor can not be sold until a seperate licence has been obtained for this purpose.

Liquor licensing

Smoke-free Environments Amendment Bill 2003

As of 10 December 2004 no person may smoke in the indoor area of a hospitality venue. This includes indoor workplaces, restaurants, cafes, eateries, casinos or gaming machine rooms and licensed premises.

An indoor area is enclosed by walls, sides, screens or similar surfaces (including closable openings such as windows and doors) and an overhead surface such as a ceiling. Open decks, verandahs, gardens and open-sided gazebos are not considered "indoors" sot he smoke-free provisions do not apply. In this instance, proprietors may choose to allow people to smoke in these areas.