Market traders stung by $149 food licence fee

Food sellers at Wanganui's River Traders' market are now expected to have a food licence with Wanganui District Council - at a cost of $149.

This has upset some traders but the market's food safety manager Annette Main said it gave them the ability to sell food at festivals and other events in the district.

The licence is just another in a list of requirements for people who sell food at the weekly Saturday market.

Food sellers have to each have a food safety plan and a certificate to say they have attended a food safety course.

They have to have labels with nutritional information, and to make any packaged food in a commercial kitchen.

The food safety plans set rules like required temperatures in chilly bins, and hot water available for washing hands and dishes.

An inspector went through the market in mid April and checked whether stallholders were complying. Only minor breaches were found, said Ms Main, who is also mayor of Wanganui.

The only exception to the rules was for jams, which could be made in home kitchens.

But jams, like other packaged foods, still needed ingredient percentages and nutritional information on their labels.

This could be challenging for small producers, but Ms Main said there was a website that made it very simple for people with computers and internet.

"You just put the recipe in and the information comes out the other end."

The requirement for a council food licence is an extra on top of all that. Ms Main said it involved filling out a form and paying $149. The licence would then be valid for selling food outside the market as well.

"In many respects that's a huge advantage." Wanganui was charging a lot less than other councils for the licence, she said.

"The days of markets being tiny and casual are gone.

"Some of the food sellers are serious businesses, and they need to meet the same regulations as everybody else."

The market's Omelette Man, Grenville Pomeroy, saw the new food licence as a potential advantage if he wants to set up his mobile kitchen at the Bushy Park Festival or Round the Bridges fun run.

He's in the process of getting a trailer to transport it, and a sign written, and said he wouldn't miss his time at the weekly market.

"To me it's huge fun. I have made a lot of friends."

Wanganui's market had a national reputation for excellence and for drawing tourists, and the regulations would help raise standards, Ms Main said.