Flour dust standards in bakeries

We stopped unworkable new limits on flour dust in bakeries from driving up prices for consumers.

New Zealand workplaces must follow health and safety guidance, including specific limits on flour dust exposure for bakers. Currently, the WorkSafe Exposure Standard (WES) allows 1mg/m³, but a proposed reduction to 0.2mg/m³ raised concern among commercial bakers. At such a low level, the flour dust can't be reliably measured or distinguished from other particles, making compliance nearly impossible, and requiring significant new costs in air filtration and cleaning systems.

We met with industry stakeholders and WorkSafe, and researched international standards in Australia, the UK, and the US. Our analysis showed the proposed standard was misaligned with comparable countries and risked imposing excessive, unworkable costs on businesses.

In response, WorkSafe paused the proposal to reassess its suitability. This outcome supports sensible, practical regulation – protecting worker health without unnecessary compliance burdens – and helps ensure continued access to affordable baked goods for New Zealanders.