TL;DR:
- Planned community barbecues for National Lamb Day have been postponed due to updated food safety regulations.
- AgProud, the organising group, still plans to hold events at Parliament and the Southern Field Days near Gore.
- The public is encouraged to celebrate by enjoying New Zealand-grown lamb and sharing their experiences online.
In an unexpected turn of events, five community barbecues intended to celebrate National Lamb Day across New Zealand have been postponed until next year. The rapid organisation of the event, set before Christmas, led to an oversight regarding recent changes in food safety regulations, which the organisers, including AgProud co-founder Jon Pemberton, realised too late to comply with.
Despite this setback, AgProud, a key organiser of National Lamb Day, has confirmed that celebrations scheduled for Parliament on Tuesday and at the Southern Field Days near Gore on Thursday will proceed as planned. These events aim to honour the significance of lamb in New Zealand’s agriculture and cuisine.
Looking forward, AgProud is committed to hosting a series of community barbecues for next year’s National Lamb Day, ensuring compliance with all food safety regulations. In the meantime, Pemberton encourages New Zealanders to commemorate this year’s event by indulging in New Zealand-grown food, particularly lamb, and sharing their festive moments online.
This adaptation underscores the importance of regulatory awareness in event planning and highlights the community’s resilience in celebrating national agricultural milestones. National Lamb Day remains a testament to New Zealand’s proud farming heritage, with the public’s participation crucial in keeping the spirit of the occasion alive, even in the face of unforeseen challenges.
