Official Assurances Specifications Animal Material and Animal Products
Effective 24 February 2016

http://www.foodsafety.govt.nz/elibrary/industry/ap-notice-official-assurances-specifications-animal-material-animal-products.htm

Three key matters of importance to the Apiculture Industry:-

  • Transfer Documentation
  • Labelling – unlabelled retail packs and bulk honey
  • The Listing of Beekeepers 

For a copy of the full document please click on the link above. 

7.2 Transfer Documentation
Eligibility declarations – Effective 24th May 2016                  

  1. 7.2.1 Eligibility declarations required for inter-premises transfers
    Subject to sub clauses (2) and (3), the consignor must raise an eligibility declaration electronically in E-cert to the consignee where:
    a) the bee products are transferred between RMP premises; or
    b) the bee products are transferred between exporters.

7.3 Eligibility requirements
Unlabelled retail packs and bulk honey  – Effective 24th March 2016                                                            

In order to be eligible for export with an official assurance, unlabelled retail packs and bulk honey must be indelibly marked with the following information:

  1. a) the RMP number of the premises where the honey was packed; and
  2. b) product description (i.e. the word “honey”); and
  3. c) country of origin; and
  4. d) the product’s batch code.

7.4 Eligibility requirements
Listing of beekeepers  – Effective 24th August 2016

7.4.1 Application

  1. Clause 7.4 applies to all beekeepers who wish to supply honey to an RMP premises for the purpose of export to countries for which official assurances are required.
  2. Clause 7.4 does not apply to beekeepers who:
  3. a) operate their own RMP premises; or
  4. b) are already listed with MPI as a result of an OMAR; or
  5. c) only supply honey for the purposes of sale in the domestic market or for export to countries for which official assurances are not required.

7.4.2 Honey to be from listed beekeepers

  1. Operators of RMP premises which process honey for export to countries for which official assurances are required must:

a) not claim eligibility to countries for which official assurances are required unless the bee products are sourced from a listed beekeeper; and
b) at all times, have a system which clearly identifies and distinguishes between honey supplied by listed beekeepers and honey supplied by non-listed beekeepers.

7.4.3 Listing of beekeepers

  1. A beekeeper may apply to the Director-General for listing by:
    a) applying at any time in the manner and form approved by the Director-General; and
    b) paying the applicable fee (if any is prescribed by regulations).
  2. An application for listing must contain the following information, which must be current at the time of application:
    a) the beekeeper’s name and, if different, trading name; and
    b) the beekeeper’s address and, if different, his or her business address; and
    c) the beekeeper’s contact details, as specified by the Director-General.
  3. The Director-General must add a beekeeper to the list unless:
    a) the beekeeper has been delisted in the past; and
    b) the reason for the delisting is such that, in the opinion of the Director-General, the person should not, at the time of application, be permitted to be listed.

7.4.4 Information on the beekeeper list

  1. Information on the list must
    a) be available publicly on the MPI website; and
    b) include all of the information in clause 7.4.3.
  2. Beekeepers must update their listing, in the manner and form required by the Director-General, whenever any of the information in sub clause 7.4.3 (2) changes.
  3. The beekeeper list may be maintained by the Director-General in whatever form the Director-General considers appropriate.

7.4.5 Delisting of beekeepers

  1. The Director-General may remove a beekeeper from the beekeeper list in any of the following circumstances:
    a) the Director-General believes on reasonable grounds that any of the information on the list is incorrect or no longer current; or
    b) the beekeeper has failed to update the information on the list when asked to do so, or has at any time provided incorrect information; or
    c) the beekeeper, or any person engaged by the beekeeper in an activity associated with the beekeeping business, has been convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty in connection with beekeeping, hive management, or any business involving bee product; or
    d)the Director-General believes on reasonable grounds that the beekeeper, or any person engaged by the beekeeper in an activity associated with the beekeeping business, is or has been involved in illegal activity in connection with beekeeping, hive management, or any business involving bee product; or
    e) the Director-General believes on reasonable grounds that the person is no longer engaged in business as a beekeeper; or
    f) the beekeeper asks to be delisted.
  2. Before delisting a beekeeper, the Director-General must:
    a)give the beekeeper written notice (unless the beekeeper cannot reasonably be found) of the intention to delist; and
    b) give the beekeeper a reasonable opportunity, within the time specified in the notice, to provide reasons why the Director-General should not delist the beekeeper.
  3. A person who has been delisted may apply for listing again at any time.