Some Far North food businesses are paying significant sums of money to training providers only to find they still don't meet new rules set by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
The warning comes from the Far North District Council which says some food retailers are being talked into paying for extensive food safety training that isn't required under the new law.
The training providers are promising to help businesses make the changeover from the old Food and Hygiene Regulations, which date back to 1974, to the new Food Act which is being phased in over a three-year period.
After completing the training some businesses are discovering they still don't comply - and that the deadline for meeting the new rules is still a year away.
District services manager Dean Myburgh urged all cafe, takeaway and commercial food businesses to check their obligations under the 2014 Food Act before they commit to food safety training.