PrimeSafe was established on 1 July 2003 under the Seafood Safety Act 2003 and the Meat Industry Act 1993 with responsibility for ensuring safety of food produced from red meat, poultry and seafood, including the management of pet meat and pet food, the transport of these products.

The Gluten-Free Certification Program Scheme (GFCP) is designed for manufacturers of gluten-free food, drug and pharmaceutical products that are intending to use the Gluten-free certification mark on product labelling, and meet the consumer requirements for ensuring rigorous standards that manage and eliminate gluten in products and ingredients.

New Zealand winemakers and wine bottlers who intend to make any wine for trade or retail sale, then under the New Zealand Wine Act, must have a Wine Standards Management Plan (WSMP) registered with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and operate in accordance with the WSMP and applicable export standards if appropriate.  Further information is available from the Ministry for Primary Industries.

The IFS is an association of retailers and industrial companies with a common aim. They inspect their producers, logistics companies, brokers and agents according to a set of harmonized standards to establish whether they are able to manufacture and handle safe products in accordance with customer specifications.

The scheme is based on the following standards:

The scheme is based on the SQF Code maintained by the Safe Quality Food Institute, a division of the Food Marketing Institute. The HACCP-based Code helps suppliers in the food sector (including primary producers, food manufacturers, distributors, retailers, agents and exporters) to meet regulatory, food safety and commercial quality criteria.

Applicants should also pay attention to relevant sections in Part A of the SQF Code - A HACCP-Based Supplier Assurance Code for the Food Industry.

​

The New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) requires that dairy products for export which need official assurances (export certificates) to meet importing country requirements must be produced under the requirements of the New Zealand Animal Products Act 1999. To be eligible for official assurances, producers of dairy products must have a Risk Management Program (RMP) registered with MPI.

MPI recognises and uses verifying agencies to audit and verify dairy products RMPs so they can be registered with MPI.

The New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) requires that bee products for export which need official assurances (export certificates) to meet importing country requirements must be produced under the requirements of the New Zealand Animal Products Act 1999. To be eligible for official assurances, producers of bee products must have a Risk Management Program (RMP) registered with MPI.

MPI recognises and uses verifying agencies to audit and verify bee products RMPs so they can be registered with MPI.

The New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has an agreement with some countries to facilitate exports of organic products under its Official Organic Assurance Program (OOAP). Requirements are based on the Overseas Market Access Requirements (OMARs) for each market (country), usually resulting in export controls that are equivalent to the destination country’s own organic standard.

The following organic products are usually covered by the OOAP:

Most importing governments need official assurances from the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) for any live animals and germplasm being exported from New Zealand. The Official Assurance Program (OAP) gives importing governments confidence that any animal material, including live animals and germplasm (semen and embryos) from New Zealand meets the import requirements for those markets.

Before it can issue an official assurance, MPI needs to verify any claims made on the assurance. For exporting live animals and germplasm, MPI does this through: