Food Act Exemptions
Exemption for home-based cake makers and decorators of shelf-stable cakes
The Ministry for Primary Industries issued a food notice effective, 31 October 2025 under section 33 of the Food Act 2014 which grants exemption for businesses that produce shelf-stable cakes from the requirement to register a business under the Food Act 2014.
Guidance for food businesses on the Food Notice
Click here for more information on MPI's website
Eligibility and conditions
Who is exempt?
- Home-based cake-makers and/or decorators, making shelf-stable cakes at home to sell directly to the consumer.
What conditions must be met?
- Cakes must be made in a home kitchen for sale direct to the consumer - they cannot be sold to another food business or person for retail sale.
- The cakes must be shelf-stable, meaning that they can be safely stored at room temperature until they are eaten, or is safe to eat after being stored at room temperature for 3 to 5 days.
- Food must still be safe (so it doesn't make people sick) and suitable (meets composition requirements, and you are able to provide relevant consumer information, such as allergens, and is in the condition a customer expects it to be).
- Cakes must be able to be recalled if unsafe or unsuitable.
- MPI must be informed if something is wrong with a product that is likely to pose an immediate threat to people's health and notified as soon as practicable after the business becomes aware of the matter.
Definition of a shelf-stable cake
- Cake means an item of soft sweet food traditionally made from a mixture that may include flour, fat, eggs, sugar, and other ingredients, baked and sometimes iced or decorated. This definition also includes cakes made with substitute ingredients, for example to make the cake dairy-free or egg-free.
- Shelf-stable cake means a cake which may safely be consumed (together with any filling or decoration) when it is stored at room temperature until it is eaten, or cake that is intended to be consumed within 3-5 days and which does not need to be refrigerated during this time to keep it safe to eat.
What other products come under the definition of a “cake”?
| MPI categories the following products as coming under the cake definition: | The following products are examples of foods that would not come under the definition of cake: |
| Cupcakes, Brownies, Muffins, Panettone, Panforte, Doughnuts | Cookies, Biscuits, Cheesecake, Macarons, Cinnamon Rolls, Rusks |
Other considerations
- Planning: It is advisable to speak with Council's Planning department to ascertain any requirements from their perspective - particularly if you intend to use your domestic kitchen for food preparation as the District Plan rules have specific requirements about manufacture of food from a residential unit therefore you need to first determine if this will be permitted.
- Building: It is advisable to speak with Council's Building department to ascertain any requirements from their perspective (i.e. if Building Consent is required for any structural or plumbing changes; or if there has been a change in use of the building that food will be prepared within).
- Trade Waste: It is advisable to speak with Council's Trade Waste department as there are likely to be requirements to meet under the Trade Waste Bylaw 2017 (i.e. trade waste consent and/or installation of a grease trap/removal system) if the property is connected to the wastewater network.
- Trading location: It is advisable to speak with Council's Environmental Health department as there may be other requirements to consider depending on the location of proposed sale (i.e. licensing under the Public Places Bylaw 2022). Additionally, it is recommended that requirements be checked with the relevant Council if trading outside of the South Waikato district.
