Water, Food & Environmental Health
Kaikōura District Council has a responsibility to protect the community’s health and wellbeing. This includes providing safe drinking water, looking after local food businesses, checking public swimming pools, and reporting infectious diseases.
Water Services
Kaikōura District Council operates eight public water supply schemes supplying to over 3,000 properties.
All Kaikōura District Council water schemes meet New Zealand drinking water standards.
Food
Information about; applying to open a food business in Kaikōura, temporary Food Stalls and Fundraising, home kill and food safety complaints.
Environmental health
Council's Environmental Health Officers are responsible for monitoring and enforcing specific statutory standards relating to food safety, public and environmental health. We contract Food & Health Standards NZ to provide these on our behalf.
Staff from Food and Health Standards NZ:
- Register and inspect camping grounds, hairdressing salons, funeral homes, offensive trades and mobile shops
- Investigate infectious diseases notified by the Medical Officer of Health e.g. salmonellosis, cryptosporidiosis, giardiasis, yersiniosis.
- Investigate health hazards and/or nuisances including insanitary housing conditions.
- Monitor the water quality of recreational waters.
Notifiable Diseases
The Health Act 1956 lists certain infectious diseases that must be notified to the Medical Officer of Health who oversees public health in Kaikōura. This allows authorities to watch for outbreaks and trends. The list includes diseases such as Salmonella and Campylobacter.
If you are diagnosed with a notifiable food poisoning infection, a health officer will contact you for an interview to try to establish the source of your infection and to help you prevent further spread of the disease.
If you have any food left that you think is the source of your illness, keep it in a sealed container in the fridge as it may be needed for testing to confirm your suspicions.
You may have to take time off from school or work until your symptoms pass and/or further faecal samples return clear tests. You will need to take time off work if you work in: the food industry, hospitals, custodial institutions, childcare centres.
