Unsure which food safety pathway covers your business? Review our food safety and quality consulting support or contact AFVA for free initial guidance.
Choosing a Food Control Plan in NZ starts with what your business actually does. A café, online shop or manufacturer can have several activities, and the description on its sign does not settle the legal requirements. Food, processing methods, storage, customers and sites all matter.
This guide compares a Food Control Plan (FCP) with a National Programme (NP), explains template and custom plans, and shows where a food consultant can help define the scope and prepare workable records.
Quick answer: An FCP is a written plan for making safe and suitable food. National Programmes set requirements for specified lower and medium-risk food activities without requiring a written FCP. You cannot choose NP1, NP2 or NP3 simply because it seems easier. Describe every activity in MPI’s My Food Rules tool, then confirm any uncertain classification before preparing the application. The tool guides the pathway; completing it is not registration.
Food Control Plan NZ: how does it differ from a National Programme?
An FCP describes how food safety is managed in the operation. A National Programme does not require an individual written FCP, but it still requires registration, applicable food safety controls, records and verification. Neither pathway is just a certificate to display.
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The labels “low risk” and “high risk” are not a self-assessment shortcut. A product that looks simple may involve a preservation method, packing step or intended consumer that changes the pathway. Check the actual activity rather than selecting the smallest paperwork package.
Template FCP, custom FCP and My Food Plan
Template Food Control Plan
A template provides pre-evaluated procedures. MPI says most food-service businesses and food retailers can use Simply Safe & Suitable, where their activities are covered. Other templates cover particular sectors or authorised industry groups. Read MPI’s template FCP guidance before assuming the ordinary café template suits every manufacturing process.
Selecting a template still means choosing the applicable sections, completing the business information and following the controls. If a proposed activity falls outside its coverage, resolve that gap before relying on the template.
Custom Food Control Plan
A custom plan describes the products, ingredients, process steps, hazards, controls, responsibilities and checks for the business. MPI identifies manufacturers of high-risk foods sold to other businesses as a group requiring this route, including certain ready-to-eat foods and non-shelf-stable sauces. This does not mean every manufacturer needs a custom FCP.
Under MPI’s custom FCP process, unchanged base-template content does not need separate independent re-evaluation, while newly written sections do. The evaluation report forms part of the application. Evaluation assesses the plan; later verification checks its implementation.
My Food Plan
My Food Plan uses standard content tailored through My Food Rules and is a type of custom FCP. The standard content has been evaluated, but the business must complete its details, product descriptions, process and hazard information, and relevant supporting documents.
A completed My Food Plan still requires desktop evaluation before initial registration. MPI’s My Food Plan steps expressly require this review and an evaluator’s report. The verifier must be different from the evaluator, and registration is with MPI. Pre-evaluated cards do not remove the review of how those cards fit the business.
What do NP1, NP2 and NP3 mean?
The three levels reflect the food safety risk of specified activities. NP3 is the highest of the National Programme levels; it is not a catch-all for every higher-risk manufacturer. MPI’s National Programme guidance provides the following examples, which must be checked against the complete operation.
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Programme guidance helps staff understand the rules; using another resource does not make the underlying rules optional. Processing businesses must also meet the applicable National Programme processing requirements.
How to identify the pathway for your actual activities
- Describe products precisely. List ingredients, intended consumers, storage conditions and proposed shelf life. Distinguish food ready to eat from food requiring further preparation.
- Map the process. Include receiving, preparation, cooking, cooling, packing, storage and transport as relevant. Describe any fermentation, acidification, drying or other preservation method.
- Record customers and locations. Identify direct sales, supply to other businesses, online sales, mobile trading, production premises and separate storage sites.
- Run My Food Rules with the whole scope. Select multiple activities where needed. Save the result and the description used to obtain it.
- Resolve gaps before applying. Check that the proposed plan covers the activities and discuss unclear outcomes with MPI or the relevant registration authority.
My Food Rules considers activities under the Food Act as well as the Animal Products Act and Wine Act. An FCP-versus-NP comparison cannot replace that wider check when another regulatory system may apply.
Home, online and imported food need their own scope checks
Working from home or selling online does not create a general exemption. Specific exemptions do exist: MPI includes businesses selling only shelf-stable manufacturer-packaged foods without processing or packaging them. Check MPI’s current exemption conditions against the whole activity. Exempt operators still have food safety obligations; an exemption for one activity should not be assumed to cover everything else.
Importing is a separate question. Food for sale must be imported by a registered food importer, whether that is your business or an appropriate registered agent. MPI’s food importer registration guidance explains this route. Importer status alone does not assign NP1, NP2 or NP3: assess any domestic manufacturing, repacking, storage and selling activities separately.
Worked example: map activities before choosing a programme
Hypothetical example: a bread business wants to add lunch service and packaged chilled meals for wholesale. This is an illustration of the questions to ask, not a registration decision or a real AFVA client case.
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The useful output is a complete activity description and confirmed route, not three unrelated assumptions. A consultant can help organise the scope and assess available plan coverage. The registration authority determines the registration requirements; a spreadsheet example does not authorise the business to start the new activity.
Where do you register, and who can verify you?
Registration and verification are separate decisions. MPI’s Food Act registration guidance gives these routes:
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Sending products nationwide does not by itself mean the business has premises in several council regions. Describe where activities take place and confirm the authority for the actual arrangement.
For a National Programme or custom FCP, including My Food Plan, contact a verifier before registration and obtain the confirmation letter for the application. MPI’s verifier guidance says council verification applies when a business uses Simply Safe & Suitable, operates in one council region and sells mainly directly to consumers. All three conditions matter.
Other eligible routes can use a provider with the appropriate recognition. Check the exact function, scope and independence arrangements. A registration certificate does not prove verification has already occurred. Agree the applicable first visit, ongoing schedule and fees with the authority and verifier rather than assuming one interval applies to every plan.
Prepare a useful application file
AFVA recommends gathering the following before asking for a scope review. The precise application documents depend on the route.
- A short business description covering every current and proposed food activity.
- Product list, ingredients, process flow, packaging, storage and distribution details.
- Customers and sales channels, including any supply to other businesses.
- All production, storage and sales addresses, with site information where required.
- My Food Rules outcome and questions that remain unresolved.
- Selected plan or programme, completed business details and any required evaluation documents.
- Verifier confirmation where required, and the current application form for the correct authority.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Copying a similar business’s category. Compare the actual process and sales model; the same product name can hide different risks.
- Assuming sealed shelf-stable retail is always NP1. Check the specific exemption conditions and additional activities.
- Treating My Food Plan as evaluation-free. Budget for the desktop evaluation of the completed business plan.
- Leaving wholesale or repacking out of the scope. Include occasional and planned activities, not just the main source of income.
- Assuming the existing registration covers growth. Review new products, processes, sites or sales arrangements before introducing them.
For an existing custom plan, our guide to reviewing changes to a custom Food Control Plan explains how to prepare information for the amendment decision. Not every change follows the same process.
Where a food consultant can help
A food consultant can help clarify the operation, compare it with the available plan content, organise supporting information and develop practical procedures. The value is a plan that staff can use: who checks each control, what they record, and what they do when something goes wrong.
For a straightforward operation, the official resources may be sufficient. Paid support can be useful when activities overlap, the process is unfamiliar or the team needs help preparing documents and training. Agree the deliverables, exclusions and responsibility for ongoing updates before work starts.
MPI’s advice on hiring a consultant confirms that consulting is optional, consultants are independent of MPI, and their work does not guarantee registration or a successful verification. A consultant who writes a plan cannot evaluate or verify that same plan. Formal services also depend on the appropriate recognition and scope.
Access Food Verification & Auditing Limited provides practical food safety consulting support. We can discuss scope, procedures, records and preparation needs, while confirming the appropriate independent arrangements for formal work. Our guide to choosing a food safety consultant helps you compare the proposed service.
Frequently asked questions
Start with the complete activity list
Bring together your products, processes, customers and sites before choosing the documents. A clear scope makes it easier to confirm the pathway and identify the work needed before registration.
Need help checking the next step? Contact AFVA to discuss your food business activities and preparation needs.
General information only: Requirements depend on the complete food activities, products, processes, locations and sales model. Use current official guidance and confirm the requirements applying to the specific business before relying on a classification, timeframe or record list.
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This article provides general information only and is not a substitute for professional advice specific to your situation. Contact us for guidance based on your actual food activities and requirements.