Importing Food into NZ: What Changes on 1 February 2027?

Importing food into NZ in early 2027 needs a clear distinction between the rules applying now and the next notice. The Food Notice: Requirements for Registered Food Importers and Imported Food for Sale 2026 was issued on 1 May 2026 and comes into force on 1 February 2027.

This guide is for importers, distributors and food brands preparing their product files and shipment arrangements for that change. Its purpose is a practical transition review: identify affected products, check the correct provisions and turn any gaps into actions before relying on a future shipment plan.

Which notice applies, and when?

At this article’s review date, 5 November 2026, the 2026 Notice is a future instrument. Its commencement and revocation clauses replace the notice issued on 17 April 2024 from 1 February 2027. Use the 2024 food importing notice for the current position and the 2026 food importing notice for the forthcoming requirements.

Keep both references in your transition file, clearly marked by effective date. If a purchase, dispatch or arrival falls near the change, ask MPI to confirm the requirements for the particular circumstances. A purchase order date alone is not a sound basis for choosing which clearance arrangement to use.

Where to check the food import changes

The 2026 Notice has dedicated Parts 7–10 for dried spices, milk and dairy products, bivalve molluscan shellfish (BMS) and BMS products, and tahini and sesame paste products. It also consolidates general clearance provisions and places sampling-frequency rules in Schedule 2. The document history explains which text was added, moved or clarified.

Use the following as a review map. The actions are AFVA preparation suggestions; the short descriptions do not determine whether your particular product is included or excluded.

A change review should finish with a decision, not only a highlighted PDF. For each product, record the applicable part, the source of the information, what already meets the intended arrangement and what still needs resolution. If the scope remains uncertain, write the question precisely and keep that decision open.

Understand the tahini clearance choices

Part 10 sets out three clearance options: official certification; GFSI-recognised manufacturer certification together with sampling and testing; and sampling and testing without that certification route. Official certification depends on agreed country arrangements. The Notice’s guidance records no agreed official certificates for this route; confirm current availability with MPI before planning to use it. Under Option 2, the certificate requires MPI checking and a confirmation letter before its first use, with the specified consignment evidence and testing also required.

GFSI means the Global Food Safety Initiative. Do not describe its recognised certification route as “no testing” or assume any food safety certificate qualifies. Read the complete option, including the certificate requirements, matching manufacturer details and relevant sampling rule, before deciding what to request.

For business planning, compare the evidence you can actually obtain. A familiar supplier may be able to send a current certificate quickly but still need time to resolve a mismatch in factory identity, product scope or export documentation. Treat those as separate questions with separate answers.

• Ask the supplier which manufacturing site produces the ordered food, rather than accepting only the trading company’s name.
• List the exact certificate and correspondence proposed for the route, including unresolved questions about their relevance.
• Check how shipment information will stay connected to the reviewed manufacturer and product.
• Agree who will communicate with MPI and who will keep the decision record.
• Plan sufficient time for clarification instead of promising a clearance date to customers.

The current notice’s Schedule 1 lists testing for tahini and other crushed sesame products. The upcoming options therefore deserve a deliberate review of purchasing and clearance arrangements, not just a replacement date on an existing procedure.

Build a useful transition file

AFVA recommends one controlled review file with a short product register and linked evidence. Keep the structure simple enough that purchasing, compliance and logistics staff can find the same answer without searching separate email chains.

Start with the products and decisions

• Product identity: record the internal code, supplier’s code, manufacturer, site and current specification.
• Review scope: name the part and clause being checked, the proposed route and any question still awaiting an answer.
• Existing evidence: identify the current documents by title, version and date; avoid a folder of attachments with no explanation.
• Required action: state the missing information or decision, its owner and the date needed for the shipment plan.
• Decision record: record who reviewed the evidence, the conclusion and any conditions or remaining limitations.

These are recommended management fields, not a prescribed MPI form. They help separate “supplier asked” from “evidence received”, and “evidence received” from “review completed”. Use a status that describes what has actually happened.

Make the handover practical

Give purchasing a clear instruction about any unresolved item. Give logistics the documents and contacts relevant to the agreed plan. Give the person making the final business decision access to the supporting record. Where responsibilities cross organisations, confirm who will obtain an answer and how it will reach the importer.

If a label or product specification changes during the review, keep the revised file linked to the same product entry. AFVA’s food labelling review service can help scope a label question separately from the importing-notice review. The existing India packaged-food supplier and label guide provides a related product-file approach; this transition exercise adds the notice-specific decision and timing.

Test one planned shipment before relying on the new process

Choose an upcoming shipment and ask a colleague to follow its proposed evidence trail. This is a recommended preparation exercise, not an MPI clearance decision. Its purpose is to find confusing instructions while there is still time to correct them.

1. Identify the actual product and manufacturer from the purchase information.
2. Find the review entry and confirm which requirement set the plan relies on.
3. Locate the exact supporting documents and explain what each one demonstrates.
4. Identify any open question and the person responsible for resolving it.
5. Explain what evidence would allow the next decision, and who will make that decision.
6. Record what the exercise could not establish; correct the handover and check that part again.

For example, a fictional importer preparing a tahini shipment might initially record “supplier certificate available”. The exercise could reveal that nobody has checked the manufacturing site against the order or defined the intended clearance option. The useful outcome is a specific follow-up and an open decision, rather than a reassuring tick beside an incomplete file.

Do not copy the exercise result to every product. Select further checks where the product, supplier, manufacturing site or route differs. The review should reflect the differences that matter to the importing decision.

Avoid common transition mistakes

• Treating issue date as commencement. Keep the 1 May 2026 issue date separate from the 1 February 2027 start date.
• Calling all added detail a new duty. Check the document history and compare the relevant provisions before describing what has changed.
• Using a food category as the whole assessment. Read the inclusions, exclusions and conditions for the actual product.
• Choosing an option from one document. Review the complete evidence and process required by that option.
• Closing a gap because an email was sent. Keep it open until the information has been received and reviewed.
• Promising a release date from a preparation review. Keep business planning separate from MPI’s regulatory decisions.

How AFVA can help your importing business prepare

Access Food Verification & Auditing Limited provides food safety and quality consulting for importers across New Zealand. Support can include reviewing procedures, specifications, supplier controls and records, identifying gaps and agreeing practical improvements. Start with the products and decisions you need help to review.

For staff learning, see the New Zealand food importer compliance training course. Training and consulting support preparation; neither replaces the importer’s responsibilities, MPI decisions or product-specific clearance. Agree the appropriate scope and independent arrangements where separate verification is involved.

To discuss a focused transition review, prepare your product list, relevant specifications, proposed suppliers and manufacturing sites, existing clearance information and the unanswered questions. State your expected shipment dates so the review can address the decision that matters to your business.

Start with one clear transition decision

Choose the first affected product, name the importing question and assemble its supporting file. Work through the unresolved items in an order that supports the actual shipment plan, then apply what you learn to the remaining products.

For the wider sequence around this transition review, use our first commercial food shipment planning guide to organise the importer, border checks and receiving handovers.

Sources and review date: Reviewed 5 November 2026 against the 2024 and 2026 MPI food importing notices linked above. This article describes preparation for the stated future commencement; confirm current official requirements for your exact product and shipment.

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.