Guidelines for proposed food premises, food registration and food related trading licences

If you’re setting up a new food business and submitting the design of your proposal, you should speak to the following teams at Council for advice:

Resource Consent

Check with Council’s District Planner for compatibility with the Wairarapa Combined District Plan. There may be District Plan requirements like operating hours or car parking provisions.

Building Consent

The Council’s Building Team should also be approached if structural alterations, grease traps, plumbing, or gas fitting (LPG) is contemplated. There may be building requirements you need to meet depending on the type of food you are preparing.

Environmental Services

Check with Council’s Environmental Health Officer for suitability of proposed buildings (if existing), physical aspects, trade wastes, and for information on legal requirements of food.

Alcohol Licence

If you are planning to sell alcohol, check with the Alcohol Licensing Inspector for information on legal requirements for the sale and supply of alcohol.

Other Agencies

Ministry for Primary Industries
For information on Food Safety, Regulators, and Verifiers

Greater Wellington Council
For information regarding consents on discharge to land or air

Wellington Water
For information regarding drinking water and wastewater

Fire Services
For information regarding Fire Exits, Fire-fighting Equipment

If you are making or selling food, you need to be operating under either a template Food Control Plan (FCP) or National Programme (NP).

You can use The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Food Safety Rules to find out what you need to do.

The operator must ensure that the design, construction, and location of the food business keeps food safe and suitable by:

• Identifying and managing risks posed to the safety or suitability of food.
• Providing adequate space for:
  • producing, handling, and processing food
  • fixtures, fittings, and equipment
• Ensuring that the design of the premises enables staff and visitors to move, and food to flow in a way that prevents and manages risk.
• Providing easy access for cleaning and maintenance.
• Ensuring the design, construction, and location of the premises:
  • excludes dirt, dust, fumes, smoke, and other contaminants
  • stops pests entering and staying.
• Making sure materials used in the construction of the premises aren’t capable of contaminating food.

You need to ensure that the design, construction and location of your facilities, equipment and essential services enable food to be safe and suitable. This includes:

• Ensuring facilities, equipment, and essential services aren’t operated beyond their capacity or capability.
• Water used for producing, processing, handling food, and for personal hygiene and cleaning:
  • is suitable for purpose;
  • doesn’t adversely affect the safety and suitability of food; and
  • that there’s an adequate supply of cold and hot water for your food business.

It is recommended and good practice for at least one person (preferably the manager) to have completed a basic food safety course.

If you’re operating under a Template Food Control Plan (FCP), the day-to-day operator or manager of the food business needs to understand and implement all FCP procedures relating to the food business. They need to complete a staff training record for themselves as well as any staff members.

Every home kitchen is different. It’s important that you give us as much information on what you are planning to do so we can give you appropriate advice. If you are renting the property, do you have permission from your landlord to operate from the site?

Domestic kitchens are not designed for commercial use and so might need some alteration to comply with the Food Act 2014, Food Regulations 2015, and other Council legislation such as the Building Act, District Plan and Trade Wastes Bylaw, as well as very careful planning in regard to how to use the shared space for both domestic (home) and commercial activities.

There are three key questions to consider when deciding whether or not to operate a commercial food business from a home kitchen:

1. Can commercial food be produced safely?
2. What type of food will be produced?
3. What does the business need to consider/put in place to achieve this?

SWDC Guidelines to Setting up a Commercial Home Kitchen (Information Sheet)
SWDC Guidelines for Food Premises Design and Construction (Information Sheet)

Food trucks – also known as mobile food premises – are licensed, motorised vehicles used to sell food. They often contain all the facilities required to prepare and cook food safely on-board.

Food trucks are like any other food business and need to be registered and verified to ensure they’re preparing and selling safe food.

Mobile food premises will need to comply with Code of Compliance Requirements including:

• all food trucks connecting to power must have an up-to-date electrical Warrant of Fitness
• all electrical equipment /appliances brought on site must have a current electrical safety test tag
• all food trucks that have cooking or reheating appliances must have a fire extinguisher and/or fire blanket, and a first aid kit as part of their equipment.

Food Truck(s) must also:

• make sure all surfaces (floors, walls, ceiling, shelving, and benches) are smooth, waterproof, and easy to clean
• provide ventilation to maintain comfortable conditions for people working in the truck, prevent condensation and remove bad odours
• have enough space for everyone who’ll be working in the truck, and to be able to clean effectively
• provide sinks and hand wash basins, with enough hot water to allow effective cleaning and hand washing
• drain wastewater to a big enough holding tank, and dispose of it into the sewerage system or through a sink attached to a grease trap

If there is not enough space to prepare food, you can use an alternative preparation kitchen. You’ll need to make sure this preparation kitchen is covered by your registration.

Once your mobile operation is registered you can operate anywhere in New Zealand, as long as you have permission from landowners, and trading from that land fits with permitted activities in the District Plan. You do not need a mobile trading licence (hawking licence) to trade from private land.

If you want to trade in a public space (refer to the Combined Wairarapa District Plan or otherwise submit a written proposal to Council for consideration on a public space you want to trade in), you’ll need to apply to the Council for a hawking licence.

SWDC Guidelines for Setting up a Mobile Food Premises (Information Sheet)

Food Stall Licence and Hawking Licence

Any food business looking to trade in the South Wairarapa district is encouraged to contact Council to ensure you comply with local Council Bylaws. Depending on the nature of your stall you may require either a Food Stall Licence or a Hawkers Licence.

Selling food at fairs, markets, and occasional events (Food Stalls)

Application Form For Food Stall For Events On Public Ground (with Fee)
Application Form For Food Stall For Events On Public Ground (without Fee)

Food stalls are temporary structures used to sell or give away food at events, fairs, or markets. For Event Organisers, if you’re running an event where there will be food stalls, you need to make sure stallholders have a certificate.

Major events like festivals can require any or all of our licenses and consents. Visit our Events Management page to see which licenses and consents may apply.

SWDC Guide to Organising An Event

An event organiser is responsible for ensuring that all food stalls at the event have the right documentation. They should either be registered or have a Council Food Stall form (if the operator of a food stall is operating a temporary stall or is exempted from registration).

Any person who sells food must ensure it is safe and suitable. As such, food stall holders must ensure standard food hygiene requirements are followed such as handwashing, thorough cooking etc. If you have a registered food business, please attach a copy of your registration certificate to your food stall application. For more information, refer to the Food Stall Information Sheet below.

SWDC Food Stall Information Sheet for Organisers

Trading in Public Place (Hawking)

Application Form For Trading in Public Places (Hawking)

Any person who carries around goods for sale (usually on foot) is sometimes referred to as a hawker. This includes Mobile Food Premises who reside and hold food premises registrations in another district, (mobile premises secondary registration). Hawking, also referred to as itinerant trading, is governed by Council’s Trading in Public Places Bylaw and requires a licence.

If you would like to set up a stall to sell things in public places please complete the Hawkers Licence form, two weeks before you intend to set up. Contact Council’s Environmental Services Department on 06 306 9611 or email health@swdc.govt.nz for more information.

See the Food Premise Registration page for details on how to register your food premise.

We will process your application once you have contacted the relevant teams, and you have sent us:

• your Food Registration Application
• the site plan(s)
• proposal(s)
• completed checklist(s)

For new businesses, once your application and design are approved, the Environmental Services Team would prefer to have your site and commercial kitchen visually pre-inspected and visited before the intended opening of the new business.

If you are feeling unwell and suspect that food poisoning has been caused by eating or drinking contaminated food or drink from a food outlet, then:

• seek medical attention from a doctor
• contact the Regional Public Health. The Public Health Unit staff will notify MPI if there is evidence that the illness was caused by food, and they will need to know:
  • what you ate;
  • when you ate it;
  • when symptoms started;
  • where you bought it from; and
  • anyone else who ate there with you.

Contact us with complaints about food premises that include:

• Cleanliness and Sanitation
• Unacceptable Disposal of Rubbish
• No Food Trading Licenses
• Pest Infestation (Cockroaches, Flies, Rodents)
• Uncooked and Unsafe Food
• Public Safety Concern (Noise, Odour, Smoke)

Complaints about the taste or presentation of the food, or the quality of service should always be discussed with the manager of the food premises.