An Auckland food producer and manager have been fined a total of NZD 16,500 after failing to keep food production records.
All food businesses must have and follow a plan to manage any potential food safety risk to consumers, and the records must be kept for a minimum of four years.
Soma & Sons Limited, which trades as Tasty Foods, along with manager Bhavesh Soma, were on the 20th of January 2025 sentenced in the Auckland District Court on two charges under the Food Act, following a successful prosecution by New Zealand Food Safety.
Soma & Sons Ltd were fined NZD 13,500 for failing to comply with their Food Control Plan, and Bhavesh Soma was fined NZD 3,000 for providing false information to a food safety officer.
New Zealand Food Safety Deputy Director General Vincent Arbuckle said Soma & Sons was an experienced food producer. Under its Food Control Plan, it was expected to record samosa cooling and cooking temperatures.
"The rules are there for a reason – to protect consumer health, and the vast majority of food businesses do the right thing,” said Arbuckle.
“Good record keeping is an important part of a food safety culture and ensures that if there was a food safety risk to consumers, we’d be able to access records and quickly find the origin. Poor record keeping makes this challenging and increases the risk to people’s health."
In March 2021, a trade-level food recall of fully cooked samosas was undertaken because the samosas found on-site were stored at an unsafe temperature, and no records were available for cooking and cooling temperatures.
An investigation by New Zealand Food Safety found Soma & Sons Ltd did not record cooling and cooking temperatures as part of its Food Control Plan on four occasions between 2020 and 2022.
"While we are not aware of anyone becoming ill from eating these products, the absence of records means there is no assurance that the plan is being followed.”
Arbuckle added that New Zealand Food Safety visited Soma & Sons Ltd several times and clarified what was required, but they deliberately failed to act.
“It’s very disappointing to see this disregard for consumer health. New Zealand Food Safety will continue to hold such businesses to account to ensure consumers are protected and to demonstrate to the vast majority of food businesses that do the right thing that the overall system is being monitored."
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