The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is seeking feedback on proposed regulations for organic primary sector products.
The proposals set out the details of the proposed regime for organic food, beverages, and plant and animal products, said Fiona Duncan, director of food skills and science policy.
The proposals outline the processes that would apply to businesses marketing organic products. Producers and processors of organic primary products, as well as importers, exporters and domestic-focused businesses, will be interested in how these proposals could apply to them.
“With these proposals, consumers would be better able to tell which products are organic and make more informed choices about what they buy,” said Ms Duncan.
“The proposals will also benefit our primary sector exports by providing greater assurance to our trading partners about New Zealand’s standards, which will help us negotiate new and more secure market access.
“The new requirements aim to strike a balance between providing certainty that businesses are meeting organic standards and ensuring the costs to those businesses are reasonable.
“We want to work with the organic sector to ensure the settings are right and we achieve this balance.”
MPI is also developing a national organic standard linked to these proposals.
It will be working with people and organisations from across the sector to get their involvement in the early stages of this process.
Interested parties can have their say on the proposed regulations either in writing, via an online survey, and/or in online discussions and workshops.
The ministry will update its website with the details of the online discussions and workshops when there’s more information available.
“We want to hear from anyone with an interest in organic products to make a submission on the proposals,” Ms Duncan said.
The consultation period closes at 5pm on 8 June 2021.
Find out more about the consultation and have your say
Register your interest in a workshop
Source: Ministry for Primary Industries
