When people think of New Zealand, they often picture pristine nature, wide green pastures, clean oceans and, of course, Manuka honey.
But New Zealand is also home to a wide range of natural health ingredients, including propolis, royal jelly, sheep-derived ingredients, dairy ingredients, fish oils and green-lipped mussel, all closely connected to the country's natural environment and primary industries.
At Brilliant Life Products NZ, we have been delivering New Zealand supplements and natural health products to customers in Japan for many years.
When choosing a supplement, it is worth looking beyond the ingredients and amounts listed on the label and asking:
"What rules apply in the country where it is made, and what kind of manufacturer is behind the product?"
In this article, we take a closer look at New Zealand's supplement regulations, some similarities with Japan, the country's highly developed biosecurity system, and the manufacturing and quality-management background behind New Zealand natural health products.
How Are Supplements Regulated in New Zealand?
In New Zealand, dietary supplements are covered by the
Dietary Supplements Regulations 1985,
together with legislation such as the
Food Act 2014,
which establishes requirements relating to the manufacture, packing and sale of food products.
There are also requirements relating to labelling and limits for certain vitamins and minerals, while businesses involved in manufacturing, packing and selling supplements must meet relevant food-safety responsibilities.
In other words, New Zealand supplements are produced and sold within
an established regulatory framework for food products.
New Zealand and Japan Share Some Similar Principles
Overseas regulatory systems can sometimes seem very different from those in Japan.
However, when we look at the basic principles behind them, there are also some similarities.
One of these is the concept that
the business placing a product on the market is responsible for its safety, quality and appropriate labelling.
In Japan, for example, the Foods with Function Claims system also places responsibility on businesses to assess the relevant evidence for safety and functionality and submit the required information before marketing a product.
Naturally, the detailed laws and regulatory structures in Japan and New Zealand are not identical.
However, both systems share the broader principle that
businesses are responsible for the products they place on the market.
For this reason, rather than judging a supplement by its country of origin alone, it is useful to consider
the regulatory environment in which it is produced and the manufacturer behind it.
One of New Zealand's Key Strengths: Biosecurity
One of the defining features of New Zealand is its
strict approach to biosecurity.
As an island nation, New Zealand has major agricultural, dairy, livestock, horticultural, forestry and seafood industries.
At the same time, protecting the country's native plants, animals and natural environment from invasive pests and diseases is extremely important.
For this reason, New Zealand has developed a comprehensive national biosecurity system centred around the
Biosecurity Act 1993.
New Zealand has long positioned its biosecurity system as being among the leading systems of its kind internationally.
Anyone who has travelled to New Zealand may remember being asked detailed questions at the airport about food, plants, seeds, wooden products and animal-derived items.
Even soil attached to footwear or outdoor equipment can be checked, reflecting just how seriously New Zealand treats biological risks entering the country.
Biosecurity Does Not Stop at the Border
New Zealand's biosecurity system is not limited to checking luggage at airports.
Broadly speaking, risks are managed across several stages:
before goods leave another country, at the New Zealand border, and after they have entered the country.
For example, goods that may present a biosecurity risk can be subject to
Import Health Standards (IHS).
These standards may apply to plants and plant products, animals and animal products, foods, biological products and, in some cases, even shipping containers, vehicles and tyres.
Import Health Standards identify potential pest and disease risks and specify the conditions that must be met before certain goods can enter New Zealand.
Where those requirements are not met, the goods cannot simply enter the country as normal.
New Zealand does not only inspect risks at the border. It also works to manage them before arrival and to monitor them after entry.
This layered approach helps protect New Zealand's natural environment and primary industries.
New Zealand not only benefits from its natural resources;
it has also built extensive systems to protect them.
This is an important part of understanding the environment in which New Zealand food and natural health ingredients are produced.
Animal Products Act 1999 and Animal-Derived Ingredients
New Zealand produces a wide range of foods and natural health ingredients derived from sheep, deer, dairy and marine sources.
One important piece of legislation relating to animal products is the
Animal Products Act 1999.
For certain animal-product processing and manufacturing activities, a
Risk Management Programme (RMP)
may be required to manage food-safety and related risks.
An RMP identifies potential hazards within production and sets out
how those risks will be controlled, monitored and recorded, as well as how problems will be addressed if they occur.
Registered RMPs operate under the
Animal Products Act 1999
and may also be subject to independent verification.
Systems such as these form part of the wider framework supporting the use of animal-derived ingredients associated with New Zealand's primary industries.
Look Beyond "Made in New Zealand" and Consider the Manufacturer
New Zealand has many different supplement and natural health brands.
At Brilliant Life Products NZ, we believe it is worth looking beyond the words
"New Zealand product"
and considering the manufacturer behind it.
- How long has the company been operating?
- What types of products has it developed over time?
- How are raw materials and finished products managed?
- How does the manufacturer approach quality testing and traceability?
- Has the company continued to produce and develop products over many years?
Supplements can look very similar from the outside, which can make differences between manufacturers difficult to see.
That is why, in addition to ingredients and amounts, it can be helpful to understand
the company behind the product.
Health Life: Established in New Zealand in 2002
One of the brands Brilliant Life Products NZ has worked with for many years is
Health Life®.
Health Life was established in New Zealand in 2002 and has been developing natural health products for more than 20 years.
Over the years, the company has developed products across a broad range of categories, including marine ingredients, farm-derived ingredients, plant ingredients, bee products and high-strength formulations.
Its product range has included propolis, royal jelly, Manuka honey, fish oil, krill oil, colostrum, sheep placenta, grape seed, milk thistle and oyster with zinc, among many other natural health ingredients.
Rather than focusing on only one trend or ingredient,
Health Life has accumulated experience across a wide variety of natural and nutritional ingredients over many years.
Health Life Focuses on Management as Well as Ingredients
Natural ingredients can be appealing, but with supplements it is also important to consider
how those ingredients are managed and how they are turned into finished products.
Health Life places emphasis on quality management, including
strict standards for traceability and quality testing from raw materials through to finished products.
What is particularly notable is that its quality and manufacturing approach is not based on only one framework.
It is also important to understand that
not every one of these systems is applied uniformly to every supplement manufacturer in New Zealand.
The regulatory and quality-management requirements that apply can vary according to the type of product, raw materials, manufacturing process and business activity.
In other words, not every supplement manufacturer operates under exactly the same combination of quality-management systems.
Health Life states that
all of its products comply with quality, manufacturing and food-safety frameworks including TGA, GMP, RMP and HACCP requirements.
Its products are also produced under the oversight of the
New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI),
which is responsible for areas including food safety, animal products, imports and exports, and biosecurity.
The terms below are therefore not simply examples of systems that happen to exist in New Zealand.
They are frameworks and requirements that Health Life itself identifies as part of the quality and manufacturing standards applied to its products.
- Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
- Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)
- Risk Management Programme (RMP)
- Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)
These do not all represent the same type of certification.
Instead, they perform different roles across regulation, manufacturing control, food safety and risk management.
Together, they demonstrate a multi-layered approach to product quality and safety.
Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)
Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) refers to manufacturing and quality-management principles designed to help products be produced consistently to an appropriate standard.
GMP is not based on the idea that quality can be assured simply by testing a finished product at the end.
Instead, quality controls are incorporated throughout processes such as raw-material receipt, production, hygiene, quality control, storage and release.
In other words,
quality is built into the manufacturing process itself.
Risk Management Programme (RMP)
A Risk Management Programme (RMP) is an important risk-management framework used in New Zealand for certain animal-product activities.
It identifies potential risks within production and sets out how those risks are controlled, monitored and recorded, as well as how corrective action is taken if problems occur.
This type of structured risk management is particularly relevant where animal-derived ingredients are involved.
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a food-safety management approach used to identify potential hazards and control important points within production.
Rather than relying only on action after a problem occurs,
HACCP focuses on identifying and managing risks throughout the production process.
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is Australia's regulatory authority for therapeutic goods, including medicines and complementary medicines.
Under the TGA system, relevant products and manufacturing facilities are subject to strict requirements relating to manufacturing and quality, including Good Manufacturing Practice.
TGA is therefore not the name of a certification equivalent to GMP or HACCP.
It is
a regulatory authority responsible for overseeing therapeutic goods and manufacturing requirements.
Although these systems and organisations perform different functions, together they show that Health Life's approach to quality management is not based on a single standard alone.
Are raw materials appropriately managed?
Are production risks identified and controlled?
Are hygiene standards maintained?
Are critical processes continuously monitored?
Are appropriate records maintained?
Can raw materials and finished products be traced?
Is finished-product quality checked?
Looking at quality from these different angles forms part of Health Life's overall approach to product manufacturing.
This is particularly relevant because its range includes bee products, marine ingredients, dairy-derived ingredients and animal-derived ingredients such as sheep products.
For these types of products, the value of the ingredient itself is only one part of the story.
How that ingredient is managed and transformed into a finished product is equally important.
Using natural ingredients from New Zealand is one part of the process. Managing those ingredients carefully and producing them within structured quality systems is another.
This approach is also one of the reasons Brilliant Life Products NZ has continued to work with Health Life for many years.
More Than 20 Years of Manufacturing Experience
The natural health industry is constantly changing, with new ingredients and products appearing every year.
Health Life has continued to develop a wide range of natural health products since its establishment in 2002.
Producing products, managing quality and adapting to new ingredients while maintaining a brand for
more than 20 years represents experience that cannot be built overnight.
That accumulated history as a manufacturer matters.
It is another useful factor to consider when looking at the background behind a supplement brand.
Brilliant Life Products NZ Is Now in Its 16th Year
Health Life is not a brand that Brilliant Life Products NZ only recently began carrying.
Brilliant Life Products NZ is now in its 16th year.
We have carried Health Life products since the early days of our business and have been supplying them to customers in Japan for many years.
Health Life itself now has more than two decades of history, and a substantial part of that history overlaps with our own years of working with the brand.
Operating a New Zealand-based store for 16 years means seeing many different products and brands come and go, evolve and change.
Throughout that time, Health Life has remained
one of the brands with which we have maintained a long-standing relationship since the early years of our business.
This is not simply a case of finding an overseas brand online and deciding to stock it recently.
It is a brand whose products we have handled for many years while operating our business here in New Zealand and supplying customers in Japan.
More than 20 years as a manufacturer.
16 years of experience at Brilliant Life Products NZ.
That long relationship is part of the background we consider important when introducing Health Life products to our customers.
What Does It Mean to Choose a New Zealand Supplement?
There is more to a supplement than its dosage, price or packaging.
Where is it made?
What regulations apply to its manufacture and sale?
Who is the manufacturer?
How does that manufacturer approach quality management?
How long has it been producing products?
Understanding these factors can give you a much clearer picture of the product behind the label.
New Zealand has a number of systems relating to food, animal products, imported materials and biosecurity, including the
Food Act 2014, Dietary Supplements Regulations 1985, Biosecurity Act 1993, Animal Products Act 1999, Import Health Standards and Risk Management Programmes.
Among these, New Zealand's strict biosecurity system is one of the country's most distinctive features, reflecting the importance placed on protecting its natural environment and primary industries.
Within this environment, New Zealand produces and uses a wide range of natural health ingredients, including Manuka honey, bee products, marine ingredients and farm-derived ingredients.
Rather than looking only at the words "New Zealand made", it is worth understanding the country's systems, the manufacturer's approach and the experience behind the product.
At Brilliant Life Products NZ, we believe these are all useful points to consider when choosing supplements.
From New Zealand to Our Customers in Japan
Brilliant Life Products NZ is now in its 16th year of delivering New Zealand products to customers in Japan.
Because we have spent many years working with products here in New Zealand, we want to share more than just the products themselves.
We also want to share
the history of the manufacturers, their approach to product development, and the wider New Zealand background behind the products we carry.
Brands such as Health Life, along with other New Zealand products we have handled for many years, each have their own ingredient stories, manufacturing backgrounds and histories.
We will continue to share not only products, but also
the knowledge that comes from being based in New Zealand and the experience that comes from working with these products over many years.
