Changes to the Food Act
The Food Act 2014 (the Act) has been amended recently.
The key change to the Act is the introduction of a scale assessing the level of food health and safety risk for each business dealing with food. This scale includes all food-related businesses, from multinational food processing companies to street-corner coffee carts.
All food businesses must adhere to different levels of control depending on their risk. The Ministry of Primary Industries monitors this through:
Food control plans – written plans for managing food safety on a day-to-day basis. These are used by higher-risk businesses; and
National programmes – “a set of food safety rules for medium- and low-risk businesses. You must register, meet food safety standards under the Act, keep some records, and get checked.”
If you have a food business, you must adhere to one of these two controls, together with the general principles under the Act.
https://www.mpi.govt.nz/food-safety/food-act-2014/overview/
What the fence?
Under the Fencing Act 1978, if a property owner chooses to build a new fence or refurbish an existing fence, the neighbouring property is expected to contribute 50% of the total price. The proposed fence must be “adequate” to reasonably satisfy its purpose. The neighbour is not expected to contribute 50% of the cost if the current or proposed fence is more than adequate to serve its purpose.
A fencing notice must be served on the neighbour 21 days before starting the build, and must include specific information. Neighbours can object to the proposed fence altogether, or to the type of fence being built. If an objection is raised, the neighbour must serve a cross-notice on the owner building the fence within 21 days of receiving the fencing notice.
If an objection is raised and the parties cannot agree, options include mediation, arbitration, the Disputes Tribunal or the District Court.
For more information, contact a lawyer who will be able to guide you through the process.
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