Source: NZ Ministry for Primary Industries
Why we are consulting
The Minister for Food Safety is seeking feedback on a proposal to enable a trial of digital labelling for certain imported food sold in designated retail stores.
Under the proposal, approved retailers would temporarily be exempt from the requirement to bear all information on packaging for certain imported food under section 343 of the Food Act 2014. The aim of the trial would be to see whether it’s feasible to shape a future compliance pathway for the use of digital labelling as an adjunct to physical labels.
Before recommending an exemption, the minister must consult stakeholders who may be affected by the exemption.
We welcome your feedback about this proposal. This consultation opened on 20 November and submissions will be accepted until 11.59pm on 19 December 2025.
Background to the proposal
Food retailers must comply with requirements under the Food Act 2014, including applicable requirements of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. The physical label of prepackaged foods in grocery retail must comply with labelling requirements of the code.
We propose to enable a limited number of food retailers to trial the use of digital labelling technology. For a limited trial period, the non-compliance of the physical label with requirements of the code would be supplemented by digital means where feasible. There would be no change to expectations of what information must be provided.
Digital labelling technology refers to any electronic or digital means, including but not limited to websites, online platforms, and mobile applications. It may be presented as a QR code on the product or on a shelf that can be scanned by a smartphone camera.
Section 343 of the Food Act 2014 allows the Minister for Food Safety to recommend an exemption where he is satisfied that there are sufficient safeguards to minimise any risk to public health. Before recommending an exemption, the minister must take into account:
- the need to protect public health
- the desirability of avoiding unnecessary restrictions on trade
- the desirability of maintaining consistency between the standards in regulations made under section 383 of the Food Act 2014 and any relevant standards, requirements, or recommended practices that apply or are accepted internationally
- the need to give effect to New Zealand’s obligations under a relevant international agreement, convention, protocol, or treaty
- the identifiable costs of the exemption, who bears those costs, and the positive and negative effects on New Zealand consumers and food businesses
- the most effective way of achieving the safety and suitability of food
- any other matters that the minister considers relevant.
Why trial digital labelling?
While physical labels continue to be the primary risk management tool for protecting public health, digital labelling technology has the potential to provide trust, transparency, and efficiency benefits. It can also better inform and empower consumers.
It also has the potential to increase access to more affordable food. For overseas manufactured and labelled food, the cost of physical re-labelling or over-labelling can in some cases be a barrier to import. For some products, this cost may still be warranted to manage public health risk. In other cases, the public health risk may be lower, and the costs may not be as warranted, particularly where digital solutions are available.
This trial will support a consideration of the proper role of digital labelling in our food system. It will also support a greater understanding of how to best regulate digital labels: from setting the rules through to monitoring and enforcement. Ensuring food safety and suitability will continue to be paramount throughout the trial.
Proposed trial parameters
The trial will be enabled for:
- A limited number of operators and for limited number of sites at a time.
- A period of one year.
- Products imported from a mature food regulatory system¹ and labelled in English that meet the labelling requirements of that system.
- Approved food retailers who can meet trial scope and conditions.
¹Labelling and compositional legislative requirements are in line with Codex, have been in place for more than 5 years and oversight of compliance is in place.
Proposed exemption scope
General pre-packaged food
The exemption scope would be limited to pre-packaged food that is otherwise required to bear a physical label and which meets the compositional requirements of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. It would not apply to higher-risk products, including dietary supplements, supplemented foods, alcohol products, or special-purpose food, such as infant formula.
Approved food retailer
Operators must be registered under the Food Act 2014. They must also be approved to participate in the trial.
The food could only be sold from the approved food retailer in New Zealand and not exported.
Proposed exemption conditions
Digital presentation
Consumers must be provided with all feasible information required by the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code as a digital label.
Reasonable access
Consumers must have reasonable access to the information in digital format at the time of purchase and information after sale.
Consistency with information on-pack
Food information provided digitally must not conflict with information provided on-pack.
Have your say
Tell us what you think about the proposal. All submissions must be received by 11.59pm on Friday 19 December 2025.
Submissions are public information
Note that all, part, or a summary of your submission may be published on this website. Most often this happens when we issue a document that reviews the submissions received.
People can also ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we must make the content of submissions available unless we have good reason for withholding it. Those reasons are detailed in sections 6 and 9 of the OIA.
If you think there are grounds to withhold specific information from publication, make this clear in your submission or contact us. Reasons may include that it discloses commercially sensitive or personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold details can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may direct us to release it.
