Authorities work to keep jam makers producing

Public health authorities are working together to try and solve the case of Kerikeri charity jam makers caught by rules that are more than 30 years old.

The problem highlights the need for updated food legislation, and the Food Bill recently given the green light by Food Safety Minister Kate Wilkinson has been welcomed as a solution to the current unsatisfactory situation, they say.

Far North District Council general manager of environmental management Fran Mikulicic, Hospice Mid-Northland general manager Shelley Kirton and New Zealand Food Safety Authority assistant director Glen Neal are working on a solution that will enable the restoration of the valuable fund raising initiative.

"We all want to see this issue resolved as quickly as possible so that these jam makers can resume their commendable community work. We want to ease the way for this type of work in our communities to continue and are currently working on an option with the greatest chance of enabling this to happen," Ms Mikulicic says.

NZFSA advice is that the best way of being exempted from the Food Hygiene Regulations of 1974 is to register a food safety programme.

The council, hospice and NZFSA are now working together to progress this option with the expected outcome being the resumption of the jam makers’ activities.

"We do want to get these jams and pickles back in our shop," Ms Kirton says.

"People used to come in to buy the items and would often buy something else from the shop, so it is not just the loss in direct sales that is affecting us but the indirect as well.

"We have lost a really valuable and important revenue stream and we would like it back.

"We are working with the authorities on the solution they have identified as being the most affordable and effective way to enable this to happen," Ms Kirton says.

The issue became public when the council’s environmental health service, contracted from the Northland District Health Board, acted on a complaint about the sale of homemade jams and pickles through the Hospice Shop in Kerikeri.

The funds raised contributed about $5000 to hospice funds each year and at the same time gave the jam makers an opportunity to keep busy and raise funds for the betterment of their community.

The operation came to a halt when the council’s environmental health officers determined that the activity was illegal under the provisions of the Food Hygiene Regulations (FHR), which requires people who regularly cook home foods for public consumption to do so in a kitchen separate from their home kitchen.

This option was not one the jam makers could pursue and so their products were removed from hospice shelves, attracting national scrutiny about the issue of charitable home bakers and the FHR, which are recognised as outdated legislation and will be replaced by a new Food Act that places the emphasis on the degree of risk that a food operation might present to public health.

Mr Neal says low risk operations, such as small-scale home jam making for charity are likely to be exempt from regulation and those involved will be able to use freely available food handler guidance, some of which has already been produced by NZFSA.

"We are very grateful for council and NZFSA willingness to work with us on this issue and we are hopeful that a realistic solution can be found and that we can once again enjoy this beautiful home produce and the fundraising dollars that it contributes to our free community service, Ms Kirton says.

- © Fairfax NZ News