Eligible/ineligible product
Eligible
- Products containing honey only from New Zealand
Ineligible
- Honey from any jurisdictions other than New Zealand
Note: Bee products for human consumption, such as honeycomb (comb honey), flavoured honey, royal jelly, bee propolis, and bee pollen, are also regulated under the Food and Drugs Act, the Food and Drugs Regulations. Additionally, honey for human consumption is regulated under the Safe Food for Canadians Act and Safe Food for Canadians Regulations.
Production controls and inspection requirements
- The exporter should contact the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regional office closest to where the shipment will be loaded at least seven (7) business days before the scheduled date of shipment, and request the following documents:
- Health Certificate Request to Export of Honey Products to New Zealand
- Manufacturer's declaration for the export of honey products to New Zealand
- The exporter may be required to provide additional information to the CFIA to support the submission of the above documents and ultimate certification.
Imported honey
- Imported honey from New Zealand must be tracked through the entire manufacturing process until the time of export to ensure that no cross-contamination exists with honey from any other sources:
- Each imported shipment of New Zealand bulk honey must be legally imported into Canada and accompanied by an export certificate issued by New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industry (NZ MPI).
- Imported container numbers must be verified to match the container numbers on the export certificate issued by NZ MPI.
- The original relevant export documentation from NZ MPI must be copied to file and kept available for reference and future re-export.
- Upon receipt of incoming materials, original lot numbers must be recorded and entered into inventory systems.
- Manufacturer's standard operating procedure (SOP) must refer to "Inspection and receiving of incoming goods", ensuring all honey is received in proper condition with attached lot numbers and paperwork.
- Each final package must be traceable back to the exact lot of imported New Zealand honey.
- Lot number assignments must be applied to all incoming raw material, through to the finished packaged product according to manufacturer's SOP "Lot Number Assignment – Manuka Honey".
- The establishment must have procedures in place to segregate incoming goods, through receiving to the finished packaged products.
- All honey products must be produced following a full sanitary clean up according to manufacturer's SOP "Production Area Premise Inspection" ensuring there is no product addition, mixing or substitution.
- The final packaging must be controlled by manufacturer's SOP "Procedure for Packaging Dried Product", which clearly identifies all proper packaging and labelling for all products.
- Product labels must be carefully inspected and shipping documents including accompanying export certificate from NZ MPI must be verified against the actual order received.
- Products that have lost original labelling must be rejected, will not be used for manufacture, and will not be returned to New Zealand.
- Packaging of finished product must be correctly labelled reflecting exact content, including the name of the product, lot and or batch number.
Documentation requirements
Certificate
- Health certificate for imports of honey and other apiculture products intended for human consumption