Date
15 April 2025

Review food safety policies and procedures

Develop safe practices that prevent people experiencing anaphylactic reactions.

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Food policy

Food policy

Schools and early learning services can be held accountable if their practices result in people becoming sick.

Consider how your food policy provides guidelines and systems for:

  • recording ingredients when food is shared, such as shared lunches, cake stalls, or fundraisers
  • the supervision of learners when food is eaten inside and outside the service or classroom (morning teas, lunchtimes, trips, or excursions)
  • the supervision of students as part of Food in School programmes, such as Milk in Schools and Breakfast in Schools
  • the use of resources in learning experiences, for example, ice cream containers, milk-bottle tops and construction boxes
  • sharing food
  • hygiene procedures for food preparation
  • ensuring cross contamination doesn’t occur.

Source: Ministry of Education (opens in a new tab/window)

Food Act

Food Act

Do you need a food control plan?

The 2014 Food Act applies to schools and kura that sell or provide food as part of their paid holiday programmes.

A food control plan sets out the steps you will take to make food safe, identify risks, and show how they're being managed.

Find out what your:

Source: Ministry of Education (opens in a new tab/window)

Preventing anaphylactic reactions

Preventing anaphylactic reactions

General food policy measures for preventing anaphylaxis.

  • There should be no trading and sharing of food, food utensils, and food containers.
  • Children with severe food allergies should eat only lunches and snacks that have been prepared at home.
  • Bottles and lunch boxes provided by parents for their children should be clearly labelled with the name of the child for whom they are intended.
  • The use of food in crafts, cooking classes, and science experiments may need to be restricted, depending on the allergies of particular children.
  • Food preparation personnel should be instructed about measures necessary to prevent cross contamination while handling, preparing, and serving food.
  • Display information on allergens and safe practices

– New Zealand Food standards – allergens
– Early Childhood Education – five food safety practices

Source: Allergy NZ (opens in a new tab/window)

Avoid cross contamination

Avoid cross contamination

Cross contamination occurs when an allergen is transferred from one item, such as an utensil, pan, or countertop, to another.

Watch this video from Allergy Adventures (YouTube):

How to avoid cross-contamination

Useful resources

Useful resources

Website

Allergy and Anaphylaxis Guidelines for Schools and Kura 2023

These guidelines have been developed to support school leadership, management, and teachers throughout New Zealand. They are intended to promote safe and inclusive school environments for all students.

Publisher: Allergy New Zealand

Visit website

Next steps

More suggestions for implementing the strategy “Develop and implement health and safety policies and procedures”:

Return to the guide “Allergies and learning”

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