Assured Food Safety Ltd - providing practical food safety solutions since 2002

Foodstuffs Approved Supplier Programme

What's it all about?

To supply food products to Foodstuffs as an importer, broker and/or brand owner, your business must be certified as an approved supplier.

To gain certification, you must be assessed for compliance with Foodstuffs' food safety requirements, along with many other commercial and technical requirements. (We can't help you with these other requirements – you must discuss them directly with the category manager or store buyer).

For more information, see –

Foodstuffs Prerequisites for Supply

Assured Food Safety can certify you for Foodstuffs food safety compliance

We can help you with the food safety requirements for becoming a Foodstuffs Approved Supplier – both with your assessment and with putting the right systems in place if needed.

We're a preferred service provider to Foodstuffs, able to certify you as being compliant in food safety.

Your certification will be recognised nationally, by both cooperatives – Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs South Island.

Foodstuffs' member stores and business units

• New World
• Pak'n Save
• Four Square
• Gilmours
• Toops
• Trents

Your food safety assessment – how it works

1. We confirm the date of your assessment and give you:

 - a detailed list of Foodstuffs' requirements
 - some basic templates for you to use
 - an estimate of the cost.

2. You compile all documentation before we visit, which saves you time and money.

Focus on the products you wish to supply, how these products are manufactured, stored and transported to New Zealand, then on to Foodstuffs' member stores.

You need to obtain:

√ the food safety certification (eg. MPI registration as a food importer, National Programme, Food Control Plan, Risk Management Programme, HACCP, FSSC 22000, ISO 22000, SQF, BRC, Global Food Standard) for all manufacturers and suppliers of products you wish to supply to Foodstuffs member stores.

√ product technical specifications and product labels for each product you wish to supply.

√ food safety information/certification for any contracted warehousing and/or transport companies.

√ procedures you have in place for product traceability, handling customer complaints, and product withdrawals and recalls.

√ you will also need to sign up to GS1 Product Recall NZ, complete the on-line training, and conduct a mock recall exercise (including stock reconciliation) and the GS1 mock recall simulation exercise

Having the right paperwork available in advance will speed up the process. That's how you save time and money.

If there are documentation requirements that you can't currently meet, we can help with templates or suggest options once you've been assessed.

3. We conduct your assessment

Typically we meet with you for about 1-2 hours to confirm your current systems and processes, and to help you achieve Foodstuffs' requirements.

Alternatively, if you are based outside the Auckland region, we are able to conduct your assessment via phone/email/Skype.

4. When all requirements are met, you receive certification

Following your assessment, we prepare a report for you. For any Foodstuffs requirements that you don't already meet, we agree a time frame for you to do so.

When you're fully compliant, we issue you with certification detailing your success in the programme. This is valid for a set period (12 months to 3 years depending on the type of business you are).

Maintaining approved supplier status

You need a re-assessment at the required frequency to maintain your approved supplier status. Again, we can do this for you.

You are responsible for ensuring that your re-assessment is conducted before your approved supplier certificate expires.