A worker with a teal clipboard checks a closed carton on a receiving bench.

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Food delivery acceptance in NZ is a decision about the actual consignment at your door. A supplier may be approved and the purchase order correct, while one delivery has damaged packaging, unclear identity or missing condition records.

This guide focuses on the receiving team’s check, hold or reject decision. It does not replace supplier approval, classify the business or set one temperature limit for every product. Use the requirements and criteria applying to the food, its intended use and your Food Control Plan or National Programme.

Quick answer: Identify the delivery, compare its condition and available evidence with the applicable criteria, then record the decision and stock status. Keep anything awaiting assessment separate from stock available for use, under suitable storage conditions. Resolve missing or failed checks through the authorised process; an invoice or a driver’s assurance does not complete that assessment.

Food delivery acceptance is separate from supplier approval

The supplier audit and document-review guide asks whether the evidence supports purchasing from a supplier. Receiving asks a narrower question: does this particular delivery meet the criteria for use in our operation? Keep both decisions connected without treating one as proof of the other.

For National Programme businesses, Part 2 of the Food Regulations 2015 applies across NP1–3 unless stated otherwise. Regulation 68 covers assessment of incoming food and records of suppliers, received quantities, relevant receipt temperatures and corrective action. Regulation 69 addresses identification and storage of unsafe or unsuitable stock. Food Control Plan businesses should follow their own applicable provisions and plan.

The workflow below is an AFVA recommendation for organising those decisions. It is not a new national receiving form or permission to accept food contrary to an applicable rejection, disposal or other requirement.

Prepare the criteria before the vehicle arrives

Give receiving staff a usable reference: the expected product and supplier, pack configuration, relevant storage conditions and any required accompanying information. Identify who can assess a discrepancy and which decisions the receiving person may make. A purchase description such as “usual ingredient” is inadequate if several similar variants exist.

Use criteria grounded in the actual food and system. Separate a food-safety condition from a customer quality target or a commercial shortage. Both may need action, but they have different consequences. Do not turn a number copied from another operation into the acceptance limit for yours.

The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene, section 13.2.8 recommends specification-based purchasing and appropriate incoming checks. It is technical guidance, not New Zealand law. The controlled product specification guide explains how to connect a product requirement with its supporting evidence.

Check identity, condition and evidence on arrival

Compare the actual goods with the expected delivery. Note the supplier, product identity, lot or batch references where relevant, date marks, quantity and arrival time. Check the condition of the food and its protective packaging, including signs of damage, contamination or deterioration. Do not inspect by opening packs in a way that creates a new contamination risk.

MPI’s December 2025 National Programme 1 guidance includes receipt checks for food condition, temperature where relevant, frozen state, packaging and use-by dates. Apply the relevant requirements for your operation. This article deliberately does not provide a universal temperature, measurement method, sampling frequency or allowable excursion time.

On a small screen, swipe sideways to view all columns.

Suggested consignment acceptance record
Check group	Evidence to connect	Decision or handover
Identity and traceability	Supplier, product, quantity, lot references, date marks and delivery reference.	Confirm what was received and which part of the delivery each check covers.
Physical condition	Food and packaging condition, with a precise description of any issue.	Record the actual observation; distinguish an outer-carton defect from damage to a food-protective pack.
Required conditions	Relevant readings or transport information, method and applicable criterion.	Identify what the evidence measures and whether the requirement is met or needs assessment.
Stock status	Accepted quantity, controlled hold quantity or rejected quantity and location.	Keep the operational decision clear so unchecked goods are not selected for production.
Exception and completion	Person informed, assessment reference, authorised outcome and action completed.	Show what happened to the affected goods, not just who was asked to investigate.

Use one consignment reference across the delivery note, receiving record and any exception report. If several lots or products are present, make clear which were checked and which are affected by a failure. Avoid a single “OK” mark that conceals a mixed outcome.

Keep acceptance, hold and rejection distinguishable

Accepted for the intended use

Record the checks completed and the quantity accepted. Move goods promptly into the storage conditions required for the food. An accepted delivery still needs the normal storage, rotation and production controls; receipt is not a guarantee of every characteristic that cannot be observed at the door.

Held while an uncertainty is assessed

Where your applicable procedure permits a hold pending assessment, identify the stock clearly, control its location and access, and maintain necessary storage conditions. Name the decision owner and the evidence needed. A hold is not acceptance, and it must not be used to override a requirement to reject or dispose of the food.

Rejected or otherwise unsuitable for use

Record the reason and affected quantity, prevent accidental use and agree the appropriate return or disposal route under your procedure. Keep the physical movement and record status consistent. A supplier credit does not prove that rejected stock was removed, and re-labelling or re-cooling does not, by itself, resolve the original problem.

If the concern is a temperature history or food already used or distributed, follow the relevant incident arrangements. Our temperature-excursion assessment guide explains why restoring the equipment and deciding the food’s disposition are separate questions.

Plan for split deliveries and out-of-hours handovers

Agree a workable method before unattended deliveries occur: where goods may be placed, how necessary conditions are maintained, what evidence is left, and when an authorised person will check them. Do not assume a delivery left in the correct room was at the right conditions throughout the unobserved period.

For split or part-rejected deliveries, preserve the link between each lot, its quantity and status. Communicate the result to purchasing and production so an automatic stock entry does not make held goods appear available. The driver, receiver and technical decision-maker may hold different information; record the handover rather than assuming it happened.

A hypothetical receiving decision and mistakes to avoid

Example only: A delivery includes several cases of an ingredient. Two outer cases are wet, and the receiver cannot establish whether the food-protective packs are affected. The relevant stock is identified and controlled while an authorised assessment is arranged. Unaffected stock is considered separately against the actual criteria. The record follows the outcome and movement of each quantity; this example does not decide that any food is safe.

Accepting a familiar supplier’s delivery without checking the goods.
Writing a vehicle-air reading as though it were a product measurement.
Entering a missing check later as if it happened on arrival.
Moving held goods into normal picking stock without the authorised decision.
Closing the exception on a credit note while the physical goods remain.

Before the next delivery, check that staff can find the current criteria, identify the decision-maker and show where held stock would go. Test the handover with a real consignment rather than adding fields nobody understands.

Frequently asked questions

1. Does an approved supplier make every delivery acceptable?

No. Approval concerns the defined supplier and supply arrangement. The actual consignment still needs the checks required by your system, including its identity, condition and relevant evidence.

2. Can every receiving form use the same temperature limit?

Do not assume so. Use the conditions and controls applying to the actual food and operation. Also identify what the reading represents; one spot reading does not reconstruct the entire journey.

3. Must we reject food because the outer carton is damaged?

Check what the damage means under your applicable criteria. Damage to an outer carton and loss of food-protective packaging are different observations. Do not assume the contents are acceptable or unacceptable without the appropriate assessment.

4. What if deliveries arrive before staff?

Agree protected storage, necessary condition control, evidence and responsibility in advance. If the later check cannot establish whether requirements were met, follow the exception procedure rather than filling the gap with an assumed result.

5. Can we accept the rest of a delivery after one case fails?

Identify the potentially affected scope and the basis for any separate decision. A failure in one case does not establish the condition of every other case, and a passing case does not clear everything automatically.

6. Is signing the delivery note the same as releasing the food?

Not necessarily. Make the operational meaning clear in your system. A record of arrival or a commercial document should not accidentally authorise use of stock that is still awaiting food-safety assessment.

Make the receiving decision easy to follow

AFVA’s food safety and quality consulting includes supplier and receiving records, non-conforming product controls and corrective actions. Send your current receiving form, product criteria and an example of a difficult handover so the appropriate support can be scoped. Consulting does not replace the business’s responsibilities or independent verification.

Contact AFVA to discuss your delivery checks, stock controls and record gaps. Start with the actual decision your team needs to make.

Official and technical references

General information only: Requirements depend on the food, intended use, complete business activities and applicable food-safety system. This guide does not authorise release, reprocessing, relabelling or disposal, or replace required incident reporting.

Need Practical Food Safety Support for Your Business?

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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.

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Food Delivery Acceptance NZ: Check, Hold or Reject the Consignment