Food (Continuation of Dietary Supplements Regulations) Amendment Bill

I move, That the Food (Continuation of Dietary Supplements Regulations) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Primary Production Committee to consider the bill.

The bill aims to provide certainty and continuity to New Zealand’s dietary supplements industry. Demand for health and wellness products is high in New Zealand and, indeed, overseas. Dietary supplements are products that provide specific nutrients or substances that supplement the diet, usually in the form of capsules, tablets, liquids, or powders. Examples include vitamin and mineral supplements, omega-3 fish oils, and glucosamine tablets. It’s important from a health and safety perspective that we continue to have oversight and regulations of ingredients and product labelling.

We need to ensure that protective measures are in place, such as minimum doses for vitamins and minerals, and the prohibition of misleading statements and therapeutic claims in labelling. Through regulation and oversight, we provide confidence and assurance to consumers that these products are safe and do what they say they do. This ensures the maintenance, both domestically and internationally, of New Zealand as a provider of safe and reputable dietary supplements. Such a brand and such a reputation of reliability are critical to the industry.

It’s estimated that New Zealand’s natural product industry, the majority of which is represented by dietary supplements, was worth approximately $2.3 billion in 2019. This is a growth of 64 percent since 2014—indeed, outstanding performance and growth. By extending the regulations, we will secure the ongoing growth and sustainability of the industry.

The purpose of this bill is to maintain consumers’ current access to New Zealand dietary supplements until a fit-for-purpose natural health products regulatory regime can commence. The bill will ensure the continued operation and function of pre-existing safety measures while we take the necessary time to develop and implement a new regime.

In a time of great uncertainty for many New Zealanders, this bill provides stability in the status quo. It allows businesses to continue to operate with certainty and provides a period of assurance. The bill achieves this by extending the Dietary Supplements Regulations 1985 by five years to 1 March 2026. A five-year period is proposed to avoid further extensions that would needlessly require resources from both officials and the House. It should not be interpreted as meaning the new regime will take five years to implement. We hope it will take far less. It instead allows sufficient time to implement the natural health products regime and provides a minimum two-year transition period.

It recognises the challenges of accommodating conflicting interests in bringing a comprehensive regulation package for natural health products. It also takes into account changing health priorities due to unforeseen events such as COVID-19.

In closing, I note that this bill provides certainty and continuity to New Zealand’s dietary supplements industry, ensuring a business-as-usual approach. During this period, the regulations will continue to offer specified safeguards that will protect the interests of consumers both domestically and internationally. Our products will continue to be safe and relationships built as a result will be secure. Mr Speaker, I am proud to commend this bill to the House.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. As the new spokesperson for food safety for the National caucus, I would like to congratulate the Minister, in a time of COVID-19, for giving at least one industry certainty—at least 5½ years’ certainty—when actually most businesses are not sure what’s happening tomorrow or next week.

Look, while all of the things, for the reasons the Minister outlined, in this bill around safety of these products are extremely important, I find it bizarre to stand here at 10.32 on a Thursday night, debating a bill that’s taking regulations that are 35 years old, that expire in March 2021, and allowing an extra five years to update those regulations. So, while I agree that the topic of this bill is important, to me it’s a point of certainty, but at this time I’m not quite sure if there’s nothing else going on in food safety that’s far more important than this, because there’s no urgency about this bill at all.

What we would like to do in terms of when this goes to select committee—it is important to ensure that the businesses are satisfied with an extension and feel that progress is actually being made on the development of a new dietary supplement regime. The Minister just mentioned the fact that, while there are five years, he doesn’t expect that it will take five years. I would hope not, because it’s 5½ years away. So I’m looking forward to taking the feedback from the submitters on this piece of legislation.

The Ministry for Primary Industries report states that industry consultation on this bill is not necessary as consultation is already under way for the new regime. However, an extension is pointless if the industry feels the regime is not developing at an acceptable pace. So, in closing on this bill—because I think that, under urgency, it’s not really a priority to spend more time on it—it is really important to get it to select committee, to talk to the industry, to understand what their views are on it. So thank you, Mr Speaker.

First of all, can I congratulate the member that just spoke, the member Barbara Kuriger, for her promotion as the spokesperson of food safety and, indeed, for her role and her elevation to the chair of the Primary Production Committee. We’re really looking forward to working with you to the end of this term.

I must say, though, I do slightly disagree with my friend’s contribution in the House. Food safety is always a critical concern and of critical importance for every member in this House. We know how important this sector is to New Zealand as we move to re-establish and re-kickstart our economy.

Dietary supplements and these particular products right now—the legislation that they sit under is going to expire. It is very important that we continue to move from a health and safety perspective to ensure that we have the appropriate oversight and regulations and, for that purpose, we look forward to turning our minds in some detail to this bill when it comes to our select committee. So, without further ado, I commend this bill to the House.

Thank you, Mr Speaker—unexpectedly soon. I’d just like to add New Zealand First’s support to this Food (Continuation of Dietary Supplements Regulations) Amendment Bill. It is important to the industry that they do have the certainty of these regulations being rolled over. As we heard from the Minister for Food Safety, it is a $2.3 billion industry that has grown by 64 percent in the last six years—$2.3 billion is extraordinary. When we talk a lot in this House about value over volume, this is an absolute exemplar of that, where we’re taking food products, essentially, and selling them at many times their raw value in a dietary supplement form.

I would like to pick up on the point made by Barbara Kuriger, and I too congratulate on her on her ascension to the food safety spokesperson role in the Opposition—it’s a little hard for us to keep up with what’s going on over there, but it’s great to see you in that role, Barbara—

💬 Hon Maggie Barry: We’ll send you a flow chart.

—we might need it; it might change next week, though—and also, as Kiritapu Allan pointed out, the chair of the Primary Production Committee. You’ve got a lot of experience in that field, and I’m sure you’ll do well. It’ll be a less exciting ride, I think, than we had under David Bennett, but that might be a good thing.

While it’s appropriate to have fit for purpose oversight in this field, I just would like to pick up on the point that Barbara Kuriger did make. New Zealand First actually had a bill drawn from the ballot on this issue. This area does need to be tidied up. It’s fair to say we’re a little disappointed that we’re here rolling these regulations over and that it could, in fact, extend out another five years. I know that’s the absolute maximum, as the Minister has pointed out. As it goes through the select committee and we do hear from the submitters, I’m sure we will get that feedback, and I know, in New Zealand First, we’ll be pushing as hard as we can to expedite this work. I know that it hasn’t come to the top of the heap, and I know that it hasn’t been the highest priority, particularly in the last few months, but, nevertheless, when you’ve got a $2.3 billion industry, it is vitally important that the regulations are fit for purpose. So we will be pushing as hard as we can in that direction.

So, without further ado, we commend this bill to the House.

Just to contribute briefly the Greens’ support of this “Food (Extension of Dietary Supplements and Regulations) Amendment Bill”, as I believe it actually is referred to as in my notes, which is when we were negotiating this with the Minister, but it is now in fact called the Food (Continuation of Dietary Supplements Regulations) Amendment Bill.

This is, for all intents and purposes, a relatively technical piece of legislation, in that it extends the regulatory scheme, which is currently due to expire in 2021, until 2026. We look forward to seeing the scrutiny that the select committee applies to this, and I would join with my colleagues in congratulating Barbara Kuriger for her ascent to the chairpersonship there and look forward to seeing what comes out of that select committee to tighten it up, improve it, and very much tautoko the sentiments of my colleague Mark Patterson and the focus on this sector, which is so critical to resetting and rebuilding our economy.

Bill read a first time.

Bill referred to the Primary Production Committee.