Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
FOOD
Made
15th August 1996
Coming into operation
1st October 1996
The Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Agriculture, being the Departments concerned(1), in exercise of the powers conferred on them by Articles 15(1)(e) and (f), 16(1), 25(1) and (3), 26(3) and 47(2) of the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991(2) and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf and after consultation in accordance with Article 47(3) of the said Order with such organisations as appear to them to be representative of interests likely to be substantially affected by these Regulations hereby make the following Regulations:
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 and shall come into operation on 1st October 1996.
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“additive” means any substance not normally consumed as a food in itself and not normally used as a characteristic ingredient of food, whether or not it has nutritive value, the intentional addition of which to a food for a technological purpose in the manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packaging, transport or storage of such food results, or may be reasonably expected to result, in its or its by-products becoming directly or indirectly a component of such foods;
“the additives regulations” means the Flavourings in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992(3), the Food Additives Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992(4), the Sweeteners in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(5), the Colours in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(6) and the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(7);
“advertisement” includes any notice, circular, invoice or other document, and any public announcement made orally or by any means of producing or transmitting light or sound, but does not include any form of labelling;
“appropriate durability indication” means—
in the case of a food other than one specified in sub-paragraph (b), an indication of minimum durability, and
in the case of a food which, from the microbiological point of view, is highly perishable and in consequence likely after a short period to constitute an immediate danger to human health, a “use by” date;
“aromatised wine” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 2 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1601/91(8);
“biscuits” includes wafers, rusks, oatcakes and matzos;
“the Bread and Flour Regulations” means the Bread and Flour Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(9);
“carbohydrate” means any carbohydrate which is metabolised in man and includes polyols;
“catering establishment” means a restaurant, canteen, club, public house, school, hospital or similar establishment (including a vehicle or a fixed or mobile stall) where, in the course of a business, food is prepared for delivery to the ultimate consumer and is ready for consumption without further preparation;
“cheese” means the fresh or matured product intended for sale for human consumption, which is obtained as follows—
in the case of any cheese other than whey cheese, by combining, by coagulation or by any technique involving coagulation, of any of the following substances, namely milk, cream, skimmed milk, partly skimmed milk, concentrated skimmed milk, reconstituted dried milk, butter milk, materials obtained from milk, other ingredients necessary for the manufacture of cheese provided that those are not used for replacing, in whole or in part, any milk constituent, with or without partially draining the whey resulting from coagulation;
in the case of whey cheese—
by concentrating whey with or without the addition of milk and milk fat, and moulding such concentrated whey, or
by coagulating whey with or without the addition of milk and milk fat;
“chocolate product” has the meaning assigned to it by the Cocoa and Chocolate Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976(10);
“clotted cream” means cream which has been produced and separated by the scalding, cooking and skimming of milk or cream;
“cream” means that part of cows' milk rich in fat which has been separated by skimming or otherwise and which is intended for sale for human consumption;
“cocoa product” has the meaning assigned to it by the Cocoa and Chocolate Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976;
“Community controlled wine” means wine, grape must, sparking wine, aerated sparkling wine, liqueur wine, semi-sparkling wine and aerated semi-sparkling wine;
“confectionery product” means any item of chocolate confectionery or sugar confectionery;
“disease” includes any injury, ailment or adverse condition, whether of body or mind;
“edible ice” includes ice-cream, water ice and fruit ice, whether alone or in combination, and any similar food;
“EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area(11) signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol(12) signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993;
“EEA State” means a state which is a Contracting Party to the EEA Agreement;
“fancy confectionery product” means any confectionery product in the form of a figure, animal, cigarette or egg or in any other fancy form;
“fat”, in the context of nutrition labelling, means total lipids, and includes phospholipids;
“flavouring” means an additive consisting of material used or intended for use in or on food to impart odour, taste or both, provided that such material does not consist entirely of—
any edible substance (including herbs and spices) or product, intended for human consumption as such, with or without reconstitution, or
any substance which has exclusively a sweet, sour or salt taste,
and the components of which include at least one of the following—
a flavouring substance,
a flavouring preparation,
a process flavouring,
a smoke flavouring;
“flavouring preparation” means a product (other than a flavouring substance), whether concentrated or not, with flavouring properties, which is obtained by physical, enzymatic or microbiological processes from appropriate material of vegetable or animal origin;
“flavouring substance” means a chemical substance with flavouring properties the chemical structure of which has been established by methods normally used among scientists and which is—
obtained by physical, enzymatic or microbiological processes from appropriate material of vegetable or animal origin,
either obtained by chemical synthesis or isolated by chemical processes and which is chemically identical to a substance naturally present in appropriate material of vegetable or animal origin, or
obtained by chemical synthesis but not included under sub-paragraph (b),
and for the purposes of this definition and the definition of “flavouring preparation”—
distillation and solvent extraction shall be regarded as included among types of physical process;
material of vegetable or animal origin is appropriate material of vegetable or animal origin if it either is raw or has been subjected to a process normally used in preparing food for human consumption and to no process other than one normally so used; and
drying, torrefaction and fermentation shall be treated as included among the types of process normally so used to which sub-paragraph (ii) refers;
“flour confectionery” means any cooked food which is ready for consumption without further preparation (other than reheating), of which a characterising ingredient is ground cereal, including shortbread, sponges, crumpets, muffins, macaroons, ratafias, pastry and pastry cases, and also includes meringues, petits fours and uncooked pastry and pastry cases, but does not include bread, pizzas, biscuits, crispbread, extruded flat bread or any food containing a filling which has as an ingredient any cheese, meat, offal, fish, shellfish, vegetable protein material or microbial protein material;
“follow-on formula” has the meaning assigned to it by the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995(13);
“food for a particular nutritional use” means a food intended for human consumption which—
owing to its special composition or process of manufacture, is clearly distinguishable from food intended for normal human consumption,
is suitable for its claimed particular nutritional purpose, and
is sold in such a way as to indicate that suitability;
“grape must” has the meaning assigned to it by Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 822/87(14) on the common organisation of the market in wine;
“infants” means children under the age of twelve months;
“infant formula” has the meaning assigned to it by the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995;
“ingredient” means any substance, including any additive and any constituent of a compound ingredient, which is used in the preparation of a food and which is still present in the finished product, even if in altered form, and a “compound ingredient” shall be composed of two or more such substances;
“intense sweetener” means an additive with a sweetness many times that of sucrose, which is virtually non-calorific and used solely for its sweetening properties;
“ionising radiation” means any gamma rays, x-rays or corpuscular radiations which are capable of producing ions either directly or indirectly other than those rays or radiations—
which are emitted by measuring or inspection devices,
which are emitted at an energy level no higher than the appropriate maximum level, and
the dose of energy imparted by which does not exceed 0.5 Gy,
and for the purposes of this definition the appropriate maximum level is 10 MeV in the case of x-rays and 5 MeV otherwise;
“irradiated” means subjected to treatment by ionising radiation;
“labelling”, in relation to a food, includes any words, particulars, trade mark, brand name, pictorial matter or symbol relating to the food and appearing on the packaging of the food or on any document, notice, label, ring or collar accompanying the food;
“liqueur wine”—
in relation to a drink produced in the European Community, has the meaning assigned to it by Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 822/87, and
in relation to a drink originating from elsewhere, has the meaning assigned to it by Article 2 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2391/89(15);
“member State” means a member State of the European Community;
“milk” means the milk intended for sale, or sold, for human consumption of—
one or more cows, and includes skimmed milk, semi-skimmed milk and whole milk, or
one or more ewes, goats or buffaloes;
“mono-unsaturates” means fatty acids with one cis double bond;
“natural mineral water” has the meaning assigned to it by the Natural Mineral Waters Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1985(16);
“nutrient”, in the context of nutrition labelling, means any of the following: protein, carbohydrate, fat, fibre, sodium, any vitamin or mineral listed in Table A or B in Schedule 6 and present in any food in a significant amount as described in the Note to those Tables;
“nutrition claim” means any statement, suggestion or implication in any labelling, presentation or advertising of a food that that food has particular nutrition properties, but does not include a reference to any quality or quantity of any nutrient where such reference is required by law;
“nutrition labelling”, in relation to a food (other than a natural mineral water or other water intended for human consumption or any food supplement) means any information appearing on labelling (other than where such information appears solely as part of a list of ingredients) and relating to energy value or any nutrient or to energy value and any nutrient, including any information relating to any substance which belongs to, or is a component of, a nutrient;
“nutrition properties” means either or both of—
the provision (including the provision at a reduced or increased rate), or the lack of provision, of energy,
the content (including content in a reduced or increased proportion), or the lack of content, of any nutrient (including any substance which belongs to, or is a component of, a nutrient);
“the Order” means the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991;
“particular nutritional purpose” means the fulfilment of the particular nutritional requirements of—
a person whose digestive processes are, of whose metabolism is, disturbed, or
a person whose physiological condition renders him able to obtain a special benefit from the controlled consumption of any substance in food, or
infants or young children in good health;
“polyunsaturates” means fatty acids with cis, cis-methylene interrupted double bonds;
“prepacked”, in relation to a food, means put into packaging before being offered for sale in such a way that the food, whether wholly or only partly enclosed, cannot be altered without opening or changing the packaging and is ready for sale to the ultimate consumer or to a catering establishment, and includes a food which is wholly enclosed in packaging before being offered for sale and which is intended to be cooked without opening the packaging and which is ready for sale to the ultimate consumer or to a catering establishment, but does not include individually wrapped sweets or chocolates which are not enclosed in any further packaging and which are not intended for sale as individual items;
“prepacked for direct sale” means—
in relation to a food other than flour confectionery, bread, edible ices and cows' milk, prepacked by a retailer for sale by him on the premises where the food is packed or from a vehicle or stall used by him,
in relation to flour confectionery, bread and edible ices, prepacked by a retailer for sale as in sub-paragraph (a), or prepacked by the producer of the food for sale by him either on the premises where the food is produced or on other premises from where he conducts business under the same name as the business conducted on the premises where the food is produced, and
in relation to cows' milk, put into containers on the premises where the milk is produced by the person owning or having control of the herd from which the milk is produced for sale by him on those premises or from a vehicle or stall used by him;
“preparation”, in relation to food, includes manufacture and any form of processing or treatment;
“prescribed nutrition labelling” means nutrition labelling given in accordance with Schedule 7;
“processing aid” means any substance not consumed as a food by itself, intentionally used in the processing of raw materials, foods or their ingredients, to fulfil a certain technological purpose during treatment or processing, and which may result in the unintentional but technically unavoidable presence of residues of the substance or its derivatives in the final product, provided that these residues do not present any health risk and do not have any technological effect on the finished product;
“process flavouring” means a product which is obtained according to good manufacturing practices by heating to a temperature not exceeding 180°C for a continuous period not exceeding 15 minutes a mixture of ingredients (whether or not with flavouring properties) of which at least one contains nitrogen (amino) and another is a reducing sugar;
“protein” means the protein content calculated using the formula: protein = total Kjeldahl nitrogen × 6.25;
“raw milk”, in relation to cows' milk, has the meaning assigned to it by Article 3.1 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1411/71(17) laying down additional rules on the common market organisation in milk and milk products for drinking milk, as amended(18), and in relation to the milk of ewes, goats or buffaloes means milk which has neither been heat-treated beyond 40°C nor undergone any treatment having the same effect;
“recommended daily allowance”, in relation to a vitamin or mineral, means the recommended daily allowance specified for that vitamin or mineral in column 2 of Table A or B in Schedule 6;
“saturates” means fatty acids without double bond;
“seasonal selection pack” means a pack consisting of two or more different items of food which are wholly or partly enclosed in outer packaging decorated with seasonal designs;
“sell” includes offer or expose for sale and have in possession for sale;
“semi-skimmed milk”, in relation to cows' milk, has the meaning assigned to it by Article 3.1 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1411/71, as amended;
“skimmed milk”, in relation to cows' milk, has the meaning assigned to it by Article 3.1 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1411/71, as amended;
“smoke flavouring” means an extract from smoke of a type normally used in food smoking processes;
“sparkling wine”, “aerated sparkling wine”, “semi-sparkling wine” and “aerated semi-sparkling wine”—
in relation to drinks produced in the European Community, have the meanings respectively assigned to them by Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 822/87, and
in relation to drinks produced elsewhere, have the meanings respectively assigned to them by Article 2 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2391/89;
“sterilised cream” means cream which has been subjected to a process of sterilisation by heat treatment in the container in which it is to be supplied to the consumer;
“sugars”, in the context of nutrition labelling, means all monosaccharides and disaccharides present in food, but excludes polyols;
“treating”, in relation to disease, includes doing or providing anything for alleviating the effects of the disease, whether it is done or provided by way of cure or not;
“ultimate consumer” means any person who buys otherwise than—
for the purpose of resale,
for the purposes of a catering establishment, or
for the purposes of a manufacturing business;
“whole milk”, in relation to cows' milk, has the meaning assigned to it by Article 3.1 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1411/71, as amended;
“wine” has the meaning assigned to it by Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 822/87;
“young children” means children aged between one and three years.
(2) All proportions mentioned in these Regulations are proportions calculated by weight.
(3) Where any Schedule to these Regulations contains any note, the provisions of that Schedule shall be interpreted and applied in accordance with such note.
3.—(1) Except for regulation 31, these Regulations shall not apply in respect of—
(a)any food to which the provisions of the EEA Agreement applies brought into Northern Ireland from an EEA State in which it was lawfully produced and sold;
(b)any food lawfully produced in another member State brought into Northern Ireland from a member State in which it was lawfully sold;
(c)any food lawfully produced outside the European Community brought into Northern Ireland from a member State in which it was in free circulation and lawfully sold,
which is labelled with a name that is sufficiently precise to inform a purchaser of its true nature and to enable it to be distinguished from food with which it could be confused, the label being in a language easily understood by the purchaser.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), “free circulation” has the same meaning as in Article 9.2 of the Treaty establishing the European Community.
(3) These Regulations, except in so far as they relate to advertising, shall not apply to any food which is—
(a)not intended for sale for human consumption, or
(b)supplied under Government contracts for consumption by Her Majesty’s forces or supplied for consumption by a visiting force within the meaning of any of the provisions of Part I of the Visiting Forces Act 1952(19), and was prepared and labelled for sale before 7th December 1992.
(4) Subject to paragraph (5), regulation 29 and Part III shall not apply to natural mineral water (other than such water which has been artificially carbonated).
(5) Regulations 40 and 41 shall apply to natural mineral water in so far as they relate to item 1 in Part II of Schedule 6, and regulation 41 shall apply to such water in so far as it relates to the descriptions “dietary” and “dietetic” in Schedule 8.
4.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), this Part applies to food which is ready for delivery to the ultimate consumer or to a catering establishment.
(2) Except for regulations 33 and 34 and, insofar as they relate to regulations 33 and 34, regulations 35 and 38, this Part does not apply to—
(a)any specified sugar product as defined in the Specified Sugar Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976(20);
(b)any cocoa product or chocolate product as defined in the Cocoa and Chocolate Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976;
(c)any honey as defined in the Honey Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976(21);
(d)any condensed milk product or dried milk product as defined in the Condensed Milk and Dried Milk Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1977(22) which is ready for delivery to a catering establishment other than any such product which is specially prepared for infant feeding and in the labelling of which there appears a clear statement that such food is intended for consumption by infants and no statement to the effect that such is intended for consumption by any other class of person;
(e)any coffee, coffee mixture, coffee extract product, chicory extract product or other designated product as defined in the Coffee and Coffee Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1979(23) which is ready for delivery to a catering establishment;
(f)hen eggs, in so far as their labelling is regulated by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1907/90(24) on certain marketing standards for eggs, as amended(25), Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1274/91(26) introducing detailed rules for implementing Regulation (EEC) No. 1907/90, as amended(27), and Council Decision 94/371/EC(28) laying down specific public health conditions for the putting on the market of certain types of eggs;
(g)spreadable fats, in so far as their labelling is regulated by Council Regulation (EC) No. 2991/94(29) laying down standards for spreadable fats;
(h)wine or grape musts, in so far as their labelling is regulated by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2392/89(30) laying down general rules for the description and presentation of wine and grape musts, as amended(31);
(i)sparkling wines and aerated sparkling wines, in so far as their labelling is regulated by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2333/92(32) laying down general rules for the description and presentation of sparkling wines and aerated sparking wines;
(j)liqueur wines, semi-sparkling wines and aerated semi-sparkling wines, in so far as their labelling is regulated by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3895/91(33) laying down rules for the description and presentation of special wines and Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3901/91(34) laying down certain detailed rules on the description and presentation of special wines;
(k)any spirit drinks, in so far as their labelling is regulated by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1576/89(35) laying down general rules on the definition, description and presentation of spirit drinks, Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3773/89(36) laying down transitional measures relating to spirituous beverages, as amended(37), and Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1014/90(38) laying down detailed implementing rules on the definition, description and presentation of spirit drinks, as amended(39);
(l)fresh fruit and vegetables, in so far as their labelling is regulated by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1035/72(40) on the common organisation of the market in fruit and vegetables, as amended(41);
(m)preserved sardines, in so far as their labelling is regulated by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2136/89(42) laying down common marketing standards for preserved sardines;
(n)preserved tuna and bonito, in so far as their labelling is regulated by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1536/92(43) laying down common marketing standards for preserved tuna and bonito;
(o)any additive sold as such which is required to be labelled in accordance with regulation 3(3) of the Extraction Solvents in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993(44), or the appropriate provisions of any of the additive regulations.
(3) This Part does not apply to—
(a)any drink bottled before 1st January 1983 which has an alcoholic strength by volume of more than 1.2 per cent and which is labelled in accordance with the legislation in operation at the time of bottling;
(b)any food prepared on domestic premises for sale for the benefit of the person preparing it by a society registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act (Northern Ireland) 1969(45);
(c)any food prepared otherwise than in the course of a business carried on by the person preparing it.
5. Subject to the following provisions of this Part, all food to which this Part applies shall be marked or labelled with—
(a)the name of the food;
(b)a list of ingredients;
(c)the appropriate durability indication;
(d)any special storage conditions or conditions of use;
(e)the name or business name and an address or registered office of either or both of—
(i)the manufacturer or packer, or
(ii)a seller established within the European Community;
(f)particulars of the place of origin or provenance of the food if failure to give such particulars might mislead a purchaser to a material degree as to the true origin or provenance of the food; and
(g)instructions for use if it would be difficult to make appropriate use of the food in the absence of such instructions.
6.—(1) If there is a name prescribed by law for a food, that is to say if a particular name is required to be used for the food, that name shall be used as the name of the food.
(2) The name used for food specified in Schedule 1 shall be the name required by that Schedule.
(3) A name that is required to be used for a food by paragraph (1) or (2) may be qualified by other words which make it more precise.
7. If there is no name prescribed by law for a food, a customary name, that is to say a name which is customary in the area where the food is sold, may be used for the food.
8. If—
(a)there is no name prescribed by law for a food, and
(b)there is no customary name or the customary name is not used,
the name used for the food shall be sufficiently precise to inform a purchaser of the true nature of the food and to enable the food to be distinguished from products with which it could be confused and, if necessary, shall include a description of its use.
9. The name of a food may consist of a name or description or of a name and description and it may contain more than one word.
10. A trade mark, brand name or fancy name shall not be substituted for the name of a food.
11.—(1) Where a purchaser could be misled by the omission of an indication—
(a)that a food is powdered or is in any other physical condition, or
(b)that a food has been dried, freeze-dried, frozen, concentrated or smoked, or has been subject to any other treatment,
the name of the food shall include or be accompanied by such an indication.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1), the name used for a food specified in Schedule 2 shall include or be accompanied by such indication as is required by that Schedule.
12. The list of ingredients must be headed or preceded by an appropriate heading which consists of or includes the word “ingredients”.
13.—(1) Subject to the following paragraphs, when a food is marked or labelled with a list of ingredients, the ingredients shall be listed in descending order of weight determined as at the time of their use in the preparation of the food.
(2) Subject to regulation 16, water and volatile products which are added as ingredients of a food shall be listed in order of their weight in the finished product, the weight being calculated in the case of water by deducting from the total weight of the finished product the total weight of the other ingredients used.
(3) In the case of an ingredient which is used in a food in concentrated or dehydrated form and which is reconstituted during preparation of the food, the weight used in determining the order of the list of ingredients may be the weight of the ingredient before concentration or dehydration.
(4) Without prejudice to regulation 12, where a food is in concentrated or dehydrated form and is intended to be reconstituted by the addition of water, its ingredient may be listed in descending order of their weight in the food when reconstituted as directed if the heading of the list of ingredients includes or is accompanied by the words “ingredients of the reconstituted product” or “ingredients of the ready to use product” or by some other indication to similar effect.
(5) Where a food consists of, or contains, mixed fruit, nuts, vegetables, spices or herbs and no particular fruit, nut, vegetable, spice or herb predominates significantly by weight, those ingredients may be listed otherwise than in descending order of weight if—
(a)in the case of a food which consists entirely of such a mixture, the heading of the list of ingredients includes or is accompanied by the words “in variable proportion” or other words indicating the nature of the order in which the ingredients are listed, and
(b)in the case of a food which contains such a mixture, that part of the list where the names of those ingredients appear is accompanied by the words “in variable proportion” or other words indicating the nature of the order in which those ingredients are listed.
14.—(1) Subject to the following paragraphs, the name used for any ingredient in a list of ingredients shall be a name which, if the ingredient in question were itself being sold as a food, could be used as the name of the food.
(2) The name used in any list of ingredients for any food which has been irradiated shall include or be accompanied by the word “irradiated” or the words “treated with ionising radiation”.
(3) Where in any case other than one to which paragraph (2) applies a purchaser could be misled by the omission from the name used for an ingredient of any indication which, if the ingredient were itself being sold as a food, would be required to be included in or to accompany the name of the food, the name used for the ingredient in a list of ingredients shall include or be accompanied by that indication unless the provision requiring the indication provides to the contrary.
(4) A generic name which appears in column 1 of Schedule 3 may be used for an ingredient which is specified in the corresponding entry in column 2 of that Schedule in accordance with any conditions that are laid down in the corresponding entry in column 3 of that Schedule.
(5) Where an ingredient being a flavouring is added to or used in a food it shall be identified by either—
(a)the word “flavouring”, or,
(b)a more specific name or description of the flavouring.
(6) The word “natural”, or any other word having substantially the same meaning, may be used for an ingredient being a flavouring only where the flavouring component of such an ingredient consists exclusively of—
(a)a flavouring substance which is obtained by physical, enzymatic or microbiological processes, from material of vegetable or animal origin which material is either raw or has been subjected to a process normally used in preparing food for human consumption and to no process other than one normally so used,
(b)a flavouring preparation, or
(c)both sub-paragraphs (a) and (b).
(7) If the name of an ingredient being a flavouring refers to the vegetable or animal nature or origin of the material which it incorporates, the word “natural”, or any other word having substantially the same meaning, may not be used for that ingredient unless, in addition to satisfying the requirements of paragraph (6), the flavouring component of that ingredient has been isolated by physical, enzymatic or microbiological processes, or by a process normally used in preparing food for human consumption, solely or almost solely from that vegetable or animal source.
(8) In paragraphs (6) and (7)—
(a)distillation and solvent extraction shall be regarded as included among types of physical process, and
(b)drying, torrefaction and fermentation shall be treated as included among the types of process normally used in preparing food for human consumption.
(9) An additive which is added to or used in a food to serve the function of one of the categories of additives listed in Schedule 4 shall be identified by the name of that category followed by the additive’s specific name or serial number (if any). An additive which is added to or used in a food to serve more than one such function shall be identified by the name of the category that represents the principal function served by the additive in that food followed by the additive’s specific name or serial number (if any).
(10) An additive which is required to be named in the list of ingredients of a food and which is neither a flavouring nor serves the function of one of the categories of additives listed in Schedule 4 shall be identified by its specific name.
(11) In this regulation “serial number” means the number specified for an additive in any of the additives regulations or in Schedule 3 to the Bread and Flour Regulations.
15.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), where a compound ingredient is used in the preparation of a food, the names of the ingredients of the compound ingredient shall be given in the list of ingredients of the food either instead of or in addition to the name of the compound ingredient itself.
(2) If the name of a compound ingredient is given, it shall be immediately followed by the names of its ingredients in such a way as to make it clear that they are ingredients of that compound ingredient.
(3) The names of the ingredients of a compound ingredient need not be given in a case where the compound ingredient would not be required to be marked or labelled with a list of ingredients if it were itself being sold prepacked as a food.
(4) The names of the ingredients of a compound ingredient need not be given in a case where—
(a)the compound ingredient is identified in the list of ingredients by a generic name in accordance with regulation 14(4), or
(b)the compound ingredient constitutes less than 25 per cent of the finished product, except that, subject to regulation 17, any additive which is an ingredient of such a compound ingredient shall be named in the list of ingredients in accordance with paragraph (2).
16.—(1) Water which is added as an ingredient of a food shall be declared in the list of ingredients of the food unless—
(a)it is used in the preparation of the food solely for the reconstitution or partial reconstitution of an ingredient used in concentrated or dehydrated form;
(b)it is used as, or as part of, a medium which is not normally consumed; or
(c)it does not exceed 5 per cent of the finished product.
(2) Water which is added to any frozen or quick-frozen chicken carcase to which Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1538/91(46) applies, as amended by Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 2891/93(47), introducing detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1906/90 on certain marketing standards for poultry, need not be declared in the list of ingredients of the food.
17. The following ingredients of a food need not be named in its list of ingredients:
(a)constituents of an ingredient which have become temporarily separated during the manufacturing process and are later re-introduced in their original proportions;
(b)any additive whose presence in the food is due solely to the fact that it was contained in an ingredient of the food, if it serves no significant technological function in the finished product;
(c)any additive which is used solely as a processing aid;
(d)any substance other than water which is used as a solvent or carrier for an additive and is used in an amount that is no more than that which is strictly necessary for that purpose.
18.—(1) The following foods need not be marked or labelled with a list of ingredients:
(a)fresh fruit and vegetables, including potatoes, which have not been peeled or cut into pieces;
(b)carbonated water, to which no ingredient other than carbon dioxide has been added, and whose name indicates that it has been carbonated;
(c)vinegar which is derived by fermentation exclusively from a single basic product and to which no other ingredient has been added;
(d)cheese, butter, fermented milk and fermented cream, to which no ingredient has been added other than lactic products, enzymes and micro-organism cultures essential to manufacture or, in the case of cheese other than fresh curd cheese and processed cheese, such amount of salt as is needed for its manufacture;
(e)any food consisting of a single ingredient, including flour to which no substances have been added other than those which are required to be present in the flour by regulation 4 of the Bread and Flour Regulations;
(f)any drink with an alcoholic strength by volume of more than 1.2 per cent.
(2) Without prejudice to regulation 12, in the case of—
(a)any vinegar which is derived by fermentation exclusively from a single basic product and to which any other ingredient has been added, or
(b)any cheese, butter, fermented milk or fermented cream, to which any ingredient, other than one which is mentioned in paragraph (1)(d), has been added,
only those other added ingredients need be named in the list of ingredients, if the heading of the list includes or is accompanied by the words “added ingredients” or other words indicating that the list is not a complete list of ingredients.
(3) The labelling of any food that is not required to bear a list of ingredients shall not include a list of ingredients unless the food is marked or labelled with a complete list of ingredients in accordance with regulations 12 to 17 as if it were required to be so marked or labelled.
19.—(1) Where a food is characterised by the presence of a particular ingredient, the labelling of the food shall not place special emphasis on the presence of that ingredient, unless it includes a declaration of the minimum percentage of that ingredient in the food, determined as at the time of its use in the preparation of the food.
(2) Where a food is characterised by the low content of a particular ingredient, the labelling of the food shall not place special emphasis on the low content of that ingredient, unless it includes a declaration of the maximum percentage of that ingredient in the food, determined as at the time of its use in the preparation of the food.
(3) Any declaration required by paragraph (1) or (2) shall either—
(a)appear next to the name of the food, or
(b)accompany the name of the ingredient in question in the list of ingredients.
(4) A reference in the name of a food to a particular ingredient shall not of itself constitute the placing of special emphasis on the presence or low content of that ingredient.
(5) A reference in the labelling of a food to an ingredient which is used in a small quantity and only as a flavouring shall not of itself constitute the placing of special emphasis on the presence or low content of that ingredient.
20.—(1) Subject to the following paragraphs, the minimum durability of a food shall be indicated by the words “best before” followed by—
(a)the date up to and including which the food can reasonably be expected to retain its specific properties if properly stored, and
(b)any storage conditions which need to be observed if the food is to retain its specific properties until that date.
(2) The date in the indication of minimum durability shall be expressed in terms of a day, month and year (in that order), except that—
(a)in the case of a food which can reasonably be expected to retain its specific properties for three months or less, it may be expressed in terms of a day and month only;
(b)in the case of a food which can reasonably be expected to retain its specific properties for more than three months but not more than 18 months it may be expressed in terms of a month and year only, if the words “best before” are replaced by “best before end”, and
(c)in the case of a food which can reasonably be expected to retain its specific properties for more than 18 months it may be expressed either in terms of a month and year only or in terms of a year only, if (in either case) the words “best before” are replaced by “best before end”.
(3) Either—
(a)the date up to and including which a food can reasonably be expected to retain its specific properties if properly stored, or
(b)that date and any storage conditions which need to be observed if the food is to retain its specific properties until that date,
may appear on the labelling of a food separately from the words “best before” or “best before end”, as the case may be, provided that those words are followed by a reference to the place where the date (or the date and the storage conditions) appears (or appear).
21.—(1) Where a “use by” date is required in respect of a food it shall be indicated by the words “use by” followed by—
(a)the date up to and including which the food, if properly stored, is recommended for use, and
(b)any storage conditions which need to be observed.
(2) The “use by” date shall be expressed in terms either of a day and a month (in that order) or of a day, a month and a year (in that order).
(3) Either—
(a)the date up to and including which a food required to bear a “use by” date is recommended for use, or
(b)that date and any storage conditions which need to be observed,
may appear separately from the words “use by”, provided that those words are followed by a reference to the place where the date (or the date and the storage conditions) appears (or appear).
22. The following foods need not be marked or labelled with an appropriate durability indication:
(a)fresh fruit and vegetables (including potatoes but not including sprouting seeds, legume sprouts and similar products) which have not been peeled or cut into pieces;
(b)wine, liqueur wine, sparkling wine, aromatised wine and any similar drink obtained from fruit other than grapes;
(c)any drink made from grapes or grape musts and coming within codes 2206 00 39, 2206 00 59 and 2206 00 89 of the Combined Nomenclature given in Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2658/87(48) on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff, as amended(49);
(d)any drink with an alcoholic strength by volume of 10 per cent or more;
(e)any soft drink, fruit juice or fruit nectar or alcoholic drink, sold in a container containing more than 5 litres and intended for supply to catering establishments;
(f)any flour confectionery and bread which, given the nature of its content, is normally consumed within 24 hours of its preparation;
(g)vinegar;
(h)cooking and table salt;
(i)solid sugar and products consisting almost solely of flavoured or coloured sugars;
(j)chewing gums and similar products;
(k)edible ices in individual portions.
23.—(1) This regulation applies to—
(a)food which is—
(i)not prepacked, or
(ii)prepacked for direct sale,
other than any such food to which regulation 27 applies;
(b)any flour confectionery which is packed in a crimp case only or in wholly transparent packaging which is either unmarked or marked only with an indication of the price of the food and any lot marking indication given in accordance with the Food (Lot Marking) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(50), if there is not attached to the flour confectionery or its packaging any document, notice, label, ring or collar (other than a label on which only the price of the food and any lot marking indication are marked); and
(c)individually wrapped fancy confectionery products which are not enclosed in any further packaging and which are intended for sale as single items.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), food to which this regulation applies need not be marked or labelled with any of the particulars specified in regulation 5 except—
(a)the name of the food; and
(b)in the case of milk, the particulars required by regulation 5(f) (where the appropriate circumstances described in that regulation apply) and, if such milk is raw milk, the particulars required by regulation 5(e)(i),
nor, where but for this regulation they would otherwise be required, with any of the particulars specified in regulations 32, 33 and 34.
(3) Food to which this regulation applies which has not been irradiated and which is—
(a)not exposed for sale,
(b)white bread or flour confectionery, or
(c)carcasses and parts of carcasses which are not intended for sale in one piece,
need not be marked or labelled with any of the particulars specified in regulation 5.
24.—(1) Subject to the following paragraphs, any food which—
(a)by virtue of regulation 23 alone is not marked or labelled with a list of ingredients, and
(b)contains any additive which—
(i)but for regulation 23, would be required to be named in the list of ingredients of the food, and
(ii)was added to or used in the food or an ingredient of the food to serve the function of an antioxidant, colour, flavouring, flavour enhancer, preservative or sweetener,
shall be marked or labelled with an indication of every such category of additive that is contained in the food.
(2) Any edible ice or flour confectionery which, but for this paragraph, would be required to be marked or labelled in accordance with paragraph (1) need not be so marked or labelled if there is displayed in a prominent position near the edible ice or flour confectionery a notice stating, subject to paragraph (3), that edible ices or flour confectionery, as the case may be, sold at the establishment where the notice is displayed may contain such categories of additives.
(3) Where, in the circumstances described in paragraph (1) or (2), an additive serves more than one of the functions specified in paragraph (1), it shall only be necessary to indicate that category which represents the principal function served by the additive in the food or ingredient to which it was added or in which it was used.
(4) This regulation does not apply to food which is not exposed for sale.
25.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), any food which—
(a)by virtue of regulation 23 alone is exempted from the requirement to be marked or labelled with a list of ingredients, and
(b)contains any ingredient which has been irradiated (and which comprises a particular with which, had that food not been subject to that exemption, the food would have been required by these Regulations to be marked or labelled),
shall be marked or labelled with an indication that it contains that ingredient, and in such a case the reference within that indication to that ingredient shall include or be accompanied by the word “irradiated” or the words “treated with ionising radiation”.
(2) This regulation does not apply to food which is not exposed for sale.
26.—(1) Subject to the following paragraphs, any prepacked food, either contained in an indelibly marked glass bottle intended for re-use and having no label, ring or collar, or the largest surface of those packaging has an area of less than ten square centimetres, need not by virtue of these Regulations be marked or labelled with any of the particulars specified in regulation 5 except the name of the food and, unless the food is not required to be marked or labelled with such an indication, the appropriate durability indication.
(2) Any bottle referred to in paragraph (1) which contains milk shall also be marked or labelled with the particulars required by regulation 5(f) (where the appropriate circumstances described in that regulation apply) and, if such milk is raw milk, with the particulars required by regulation 5(e)(i).
(3) Subject to paragraphs (4) and (5), any prepacked food which—
(a)is sold or supplied as an individual portion, and
(b)is intended as a minor accompaniment to either—
(i)another food, or
(ii)another service,
need not be marked or labelled with any of the particulars specified in regulation 5 except the name of the food nor, where but for this regulation they would otherwise be required, with any of the particulars specified in regulations 32, 33 and 34. Such prepacked food shall include butter and other fat spreads, milk, cream and cheeses, jams and marmalades, mustards, sauces, tea, coffee and sugar, and such other service shall include the provision of sleeping accommodation at an hotel or other establishment at which such accommodation is provided by way of trade or business.
(4) This regulation does not apply to any food to which regulation 23 or 27 applies.
(5) Any bottle referred to in paragraph (1) need not—
(a)where it contains milk, or
(b)where it contains any other food, in which case until 1st January 1997,
be marked or labelled with an appropriate durability indication.
27.—(1) Subject to the following paragraphs, any food which is sold at a catering establishment and is either—
(a)not prepacked, or
(b)prepacked for direct sale,
need not be marked or labelled with any of the particulars specified in regulation 5 nor, where but for this regulation they would otherwise be required, with any of the particulars specified in regulations 32, 33 and 34.
(2) In the case of any such food being milk which is prepacked for direct sale it shall be marked or labelled with the particulars required by regulation 5(f) (where the appropriate circumstances described in that regulation apply) and also, if such milk is raw milk, the particulars required by regulation 5(e)(i).
(3) In the case of any such food which has been irradiated that food shall be marked or labelled with an indication of such treatment, which indication shall include or be accompanied by the word “irradiated” or the words “treated with ionising radiation.”
(4) In the case of any such food which contains an ingredient which has been irradiated (and which comprises a particular with which, had that food been prepacked, the food would have been required by these Regulations to be marked or labelled), that food shall (subject to regulation 36(3) and (4)) be marked or labelled with an indication that it contains that ingredient and the reference within that indication to that ingredient shall include or be accompanied by the word “irradiated” or the words “treated with ionising radiation”.
28. The outer packaging of a seasonal selection pack need not be marked or labelled with any of the particulars specified by these Regulations, provided that each item contained in the pack is individually prepacked and is marked or labelled in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations or any other Regulations applying to such item.
29.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), where any food is sold from a vending machine, without prejudice to any other labelling requirements imposed by these Regulations, there shall appear on the front of the machine a notice indicating the name of the food (unless that name appears on the labelling of the food in such a manner as to be easily visible and clearly legible to an intending purchaser through the outside of the machine), together with—
(a)in the event that such food is not prepacked, and there is made in respect of it (whether on the machine or elsewhere) a claim of a type described in Part II of Schedule 6, a notice giving the prescribed nutrition labelling described in paragraph 2 of Part II of Schedule 7;
(b)in the event that such food is one which should properly be reheated before it is eaten, but suitable instructions for such reheating are not given on the packaging (if any) of the food, a notice giving such instructions.
(2) A notice required under sub-paragraph (a) or (b) of paragraph (1) shall appear either—
(a)on the front of the vending machine, or
(b)in close proximity to the machine and in such a way as to be readily discernible by an intending purchaser.
30.—(1) In the case of prepacked alcoholic drinks other than Community controlled wine, every drink with an alcoholic strength by volume of more than 1.2 per cent shall be marked or labelled with an indication of its alcoholic strength by volume in the form of a figure to not more than one decimal place (which may be preceded by the word “alcohol” or by the abbreviation “alc”) followed by the symbol “% vol”.
(2) Positive and negative tolerances shall be permitted in respect of the indication of alcoholic strength by volume and shall be those specified in Schedule 5, expressed in absolute values.
(3) For the purposes of this regulation, the alcoholic strength of any drink shall be determined at 20°C.
31.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3), and except in cases to which paragraph (2) applies, the container in which any raw milk is sold shall be marked or labelled “This milk has not been heat-treated and may therefore contain organisms harmful to health”.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), in the case of any raw milk which is not prepacked and is sold at a catering establishment there shall appear—
(a)on a label attached to the container in which that milk is sold, or
(b)on a ticket or notice that is readily discernible by an intending purchaser at the place where he chooses that milk.
the words “Milk supplied in this establishment has not been heat-treated and may therefore contain organisms harmful to health”.
(3) The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply to raw milk from buffaloes.
32. The container in which any product—
(a)consisting of skimmed milk together with non-milk fat,
(b)which is capable of being used as a substitute for milk, and
(c)which is neither—
(i)an infant formula or a follow-on formula, nor
(ii)a product specially formulated for infants or young children for medical purposes,
is sold shall be prominently marked or labelled with a warning that the product is unfit, or not to be used, as food for babies.
33. A food the durability of which has been extended by means of its being packaged in any packaging gas authorised pursuant to Council Directive 89/107/EEC(51), concerning food additives for use in foodstuffs intended for human consumption, shall be marked or labelled with the indication “packaged in a protective atmosphere”.
34.—(1) A food containing a sweetener authorised pursuant to the Sweeteners in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(52) shall be marked or labelled with the indication “with sweetener”.
(2) A food containing both an added sugar and a sweetener authorised pursuant to those Regulations shall be marked or labelled with the indication “with sugar and sweetener”.
(3) A food containing aspartame shall be marked or labelled with the indication “contains a source of phenylalanine”.
(4) A food containing more than 10% added polyols shall be marked or labelled with the indication “excessive consumption may produce laxative effects”.
(5) The indications required by paragraphs (1) and (2) shall accompany the name of the food.
35. When any food other than food to which regulation 23, 27 or 31 applies is sold, the particulars with which it is required to be marked or labelled by these Regulations shall appear—
(a)on the packaging,
(b)on a label attached to the packaging, or
(c)on a label that is clearly visible through the packaging,
save that where the sale is otherwise than to the ultimate consumer such particulars may, alternatively, appear only on the commercial documents relating to the food where it can be guaranteed that such documents, containing all such particulars, either accompany the food to which they relate or were sent before, or at the same time as, delivery of the food, and provided always that the particulars required by regulation 5(a), (c) and (e) shall also be marked or labelled on the outermost packaging in which that food is sold.
36.—(1) When any food to which regulation 23 or 27 applies is sold to the ultimate consumer, the particulars with which it is required to be marked or labelled by these Regulations shall, except in a case to which paragraph (2) applies, appear—
(a)on a label attached to the food, or
(b)on a menu, notice, ticket or label that is readily discernible by an intending purchaser at the place where he chooses that food.
(2) In any case where food to which paragraph (1)(b) applies has been or contains an ingredient which has been irradiated and that food is sold and delivered to the ultimate consumer in a catering establishment, use of alternative labelling shall not alone be treated as a contravention of these Regulations and for this purpose alternative labelling is used where, instead of the particulars referred to in that paragraph appearing in the manner specified therein, alternative particulars are displayed in accordance with paragraph (3), with paragraph (4) or with paragraphs (3) and (4).
(3) Alternative particulars are displayed in accordance with this paragraph in relation to any ingredient which has been irradiated if there appears, in the manner specified in paragraph (1)(b), an indication that the food of which that irradiated ingredient forms part may contain that irradiated ingredient and if the reference within that indication to that ingredient includes or is accompanied by the word “irradiated” or the words “treated with ionising radiation”.
(4) Alternative particulars are displayed in accordance with this paragraph if the irradiated ingredients to which they relate are dried substances normally used for seasoning, if there appears, in the manner specified in paragraph (1)(b), an indication to the effect that food sold in the catering establishment contains (or may contain) those irradiated ingredients and if the reference within that indication to those ingredients includes or is accompanied by the word “irradiated” or the words “treated with ionising radiation”.
(5) When any food to which regulation 23 applies is sold otherwise than to the ultimate consumer, the particulars with which it is required to be marked or labelled by these Regulations shall appear—
(a)on a label attached to the food,
(b)on a ticket or notice that is readily discernible by the intending purchaser at the place where he chooses the food, or
(c)in commercial documents relating to the food where it can be guaranteed that such documents either accompany the food to which they relate or were sent before, or at the same time as, delivery of the food.
37.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), in the case of milk that is contained in a bottle, any particulars which are required to be given under these Regulations may be given on the bottle cap.
(2) In the case of raw milk contained in a bottle, the particulars specified in regulation 31(1) shall be given elsewhere than on the bottle cap.
38.—(1) The particulars with which a food is required to be marked or labelled by these Regulations, or which appear on a menu, notice, ticket or label pursuant to these Regulations, shall be easy to understand, clearly legible and indelible and, when a food is sold to the ultimate consumer, the said particulars shall be marked in a conspicuous place in such a way as to be easily visible.
(2) Such particulars shall not in any way be hidden, obscured or interrupted by any other written or pictorial matter.
(3) Paragraph (1) shall not be taken to preclude the giving of such particulars at a catering establishment, in respect of foods the variety and type of which are changed regularly, by means of temporary media (including the use of chalk on a blackboard).
39.—(1) Where a food is required to be marked or labelled with more than one of the following indications, such indications shall appear in the labelling of the food in the same field of vision—
(a)the name of the food,
(b)an appropriate durability indication,
(c)an indication of alcoholic strength by volume,
(d)the cautionary words in respect of raw milk,
(e)the warning required on certain products by regulation 32, and
(f)an indication of the net quantity as required by the Weights and Measures (Northern Ireland) Order 1981(53) or by any order of Regulations made thereunder.
(2) Paragraph (1)(b), (c) and (f) shall not apply to any food sold in a bottle or packaging where such bottle or packaging is the subject of regulation 26.
40.—(1) A claim of a type described in Part I of Schedule 6 shall not be made, either expressly or by implication, in the labelling or advertising of a food.
(2) A claim of a type described in Part II of Schedule 6 shall not be made, either expressly or by implication, in the labelling or advertising of a food, except in accordance with the appropriate conditions set out in that Part of that Schedule.
(3) Where a claim is a claim of two or more of the types described in Part II of Schedule 6, the conditions appropriate to each of the relevant types of claim shall be observed.
41.—(1) Nothing in regulation 40 or Schedule 6 shall be taken to prevent the dissemination of useful information or recommendations intended exclusively for persons having qualifications in dentistry, medicine, nutrition, dietetics or pharmacy.
(2) A reference to a substance in a list of ingredients or in any nutrition labelling shall not of itself constitute a claim of a type described in Schedule 6.
(3) In Schedule 6 any condition that a food in respect of which a claim is made shall be marked or labelled with the prescribed nutrition labelling shall not apply in the case of—
(a)a food (other than a food sold from a vending machine) which is not prepacked and which is sold to the ultimate consumer at a catering establishment, or
(b)a claim contained within generic advertising,
but in respect of a food described in sub-paragraph (a) there may be given such of the elements of the prescribed nutrition labelling which, but for this paragraph, would have been required or permitted to be given, as it is wished to include, and where all or any such elements are given this shall be in accordance with Part I of Schedule 7, except that in applying paragraph 4 of that Part, in place of sub-paragraph (a)(i) and (ii) to that paragraph there shall be read references to—
(i)an unquantified serving of the food, and
(ii)any one portion of the food.
(4) Where nutrition labelling not being prescribed nutrition labelling is given it shall be given in all respects as if it were prescribed nutrition labelling except that in applying in this context the requirements for prescribed nutrition labelling described in Schedule 7, Part II of that Schedule shall be read as if paragraph 1(d), and the proviso to paragraph 1(a), were omitted.
42.—(1) The words and descriptions specified in column 1 of Part I of Schedule 8 shall not be used in the labelling or advertising of a food, except in accordance with the appropriate conditions set out in column 2 of that Part of that Schedule.
(2) The name specified in column 1 of Part II of Schedule 8 shall not be used in the labelling or advertising of any cheese as the name of the cheese, whether or not qualified by other words, unless—
(a)the amount of water in the cheese expressed as a percentage of the total weight of the cheese does not exceed the percentage stated in column 2 of Part II of Schedule 8 opposite that name, and
(b)the amount of milk fat in the cheese expressed as a percentage of the dry matter of the cheese is not less than 48%.
(3) The name specified in column 1 of Part III of Schedule 8 shall not be used in the labelling or advertising of any cream as the name of the cream, whether or not qualified by other words, unless the cream complies with the requirements specified in column 2 of that Part of that Schedule opposite that name; except that the relevant requirement as to milk fat content need not be complied with if the name contains qualifying words which indicate that the milk fat content of the cream is greater or less than that specified in column 2, as the case may be.
43.—(1) Subject to the following provisions, the word “wine” may be used in a composite name in the labelling or advertising of food for a drink which is not wine as defined in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 822/87.
(2) The word “wine” shall not be used pursuant to paragraph (1) as part of a composite name which is likely to cause confusion with wine or table wine as defined in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 822/87.
(3) Each word that forms part of a composite name used pursuant to paragraph (1) must appear in lettering of the same type and colour and of such a height that the composite name is clearly distinguishable from other particulars.
(4) The composite name “non-alcoholic wine” shall not be used pursuant to paragraph (1), except for a drink derived from unfermented grape juice which is intended exclusively for communion or sacramental use and which is described clearly in its labelling or advertising, as the case may be, as being exclusively for such use.
(5) When the word “wine” is used in a composite name for a drink which is derived from fruit other than grapes, that drink shall be obtained by an alcoholic fermentation of that fruit.
44. If any person—
(a)sells any food which is not marked or labelled in accordance with the provisions of Part II,
(b)sells or advertises for sale any food in respect of which a claim is made, nutrition labelling is given or a description or a name is used in contravention of the provisions of Part III,
(c)sells any food from a vending machine in contravention of regulation 29,
(d)sells any food after the date shown in a “use by” date relating to it, or
(e)being a person other than whichever of—
(i)the manufacturer,
(ii)the packer, or
(iii)the seller established within the European Community,
was originally responsible for so marking the food, removes or alters the appropriate durability indication relating to that food, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
45.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), these Regulations shall be enforced and executed by each district council within its district.
(2) The Department of Agriculture shall enforce and execute these Regulations in relation to any dairy farm, any liquid milk plant and insofar as they relate to the sale of raw milk which is drinking milk, in relation to any farm premises or any processing establishment which comprises part of any farm premises.
(3) In this regulation “farm premises” and “processing establishment” have the meaning assigned to them by the Dairy Products (Hygiene) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995(54).
46. In any proceedings for an offence under regulation 44(1)(e) it shall be a defence for the person charged to prove that each removal or alteration in respect of which the offence is alleged was effected under the written authorisation of a person capable of effecting that removal or alteration without contravention of that provision.
47. In any proceedings for an offence under these Regulations it shall be a defence for the person charged to prove—
(a)that the food in respect of which the offence is alleged to have been committed was intended for export to a country which has legislation analogous to these Regulations and that it complies with that legislation; and
(b)that the legislation complies with the provisions of Council Directive 79/112/EEC(55) on the approximation of the laws of the member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs, as amended(56), in the case of export to an EEA State.
48. The following provisions of the Order shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as they apply for the purposes of Article 7, 13 or 14 of the Order and any reference in them to the Order shall be construed as a reference to these Regulations—
(a)Articles 2(4) and 3 (extended meaning of “sale” etc.);
(b)Article 4 (presumptions that food intended for human consumption);
(c)Article 19 (offences due to fault of another person);
(d)Article 20 (defence of due diligence);
(e)Article 21 (defence of publication in the course of business);
(f)Article 30(8) (which relates to documentary evidence);
(g)Article 34 (obstruction, etc., of officers).
49—(1) The statutory provisions specified in Columns 1 and 2 of Schedule 9 shall be revoked to the extent specified in Column 3 of that Schedule.
(2) In the Specified Sugar Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976(57), in paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (interpretation), for the definition of “sugar confectionery” there shall be substituted—
““sugar confectionery” means any food which is ready for consumption without further preparation, of which a characterising ingredient is carbohydrate sweetening matter, and includes a sweetened liquorice and chewing gum, but does not include any chocolate confectionery, chocolate products, cocoa products, flour confectionery, edible ice, table jellies, slab marzipan or sugar;”.
(3) In the Cocoa and Chocolate Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976(58), in paragraph 2(c) of regulation 7 (declaration of the presence of certain ingredients in chocolate products), for “regulation 22 of the Labelling of Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1970, as amended”, there shall be substituted “regulations 40 and 41 of, as read with items 4 and 5 of Part II of Schedule 6 to, the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”.
(4) In the Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1977(59)—
(a)in—
(i)paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (interpretation), in the definition of “ultimate consumer”, and
(ii)paragraph (9) of regulation 7 (miscellaneous labelling),
for “1984” there shall be substituted “1996”;;
(b)in—
(i)paragraph (1) of regulation 4 (name of the food),
(ii)regulation 6 (list of ingredients), and
(iii)paragraph 7(b)(iii) of regulation 7,
for “1981” there shall be substituted “1996”;
(c)in paragraph (8) of regulation 7, for sub-paragraph (d) there shall be substituted—
“(d)food to which regulation 27 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (which relates to certain food sold at catering establishments) applies.”, and
(d)in regulation 8 (manner of marking or labelling), for “Regulations 31 to 33 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1981” at the beginning, and “Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1981” at the end, there shall be substituted, at the beginning “Regulations 35, 36 and 38 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996” and, at the end “Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”.
(5) In the Condensed Milk and Dried Milk Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1977(60)—
(a)in paragraph (1) of regulation 5 (labelling and description of condensed milk and dried milk products for retail sale), for “Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984” in the first place that it occurs, and, in sub-paragraph (a), for “regulation 7(1) of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984”, there shall be substituted, in the said first place, “Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996” and, in sub-paragraph (a), “regulation 6(1) of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”;
(b)in paragraph (1) of regulation 6 (manner of marking or labelling for retail sale), for “Regulations 32(1) and 34(1) and (2) of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984” at the beginning, and “Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984” at the end, there shall be substituted, at the beginning, “Regulations 35 and 38 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996” and, at the end, “Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”, and
(c)in paragraph (2) of regulation 6, for “regulation 21 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984” there shall be substituted “regulation 20 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”;
(6) In the Coffee and Coffee Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1979(61)—
(a)in paragraph (1) of regulation 5 (labelling and description of designated products for retail sale), for “Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984” in the first and last places that it occurs, and, in sub-paragraph (a), for “regulation 7(1) of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984”, there shall be substituted, in the said first and last places, “Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996” and, in sub-paragraph (a), “regulation 6(1) of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”;
(b)in paragraph (1) of regulation 6 (manner of marking or labelling), for “Regulations 32(1) and 34(1) and (2) of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984” at the beginning, and “Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984” at the end, there shall be substituted, at the beginning, “Regulations 35 and 38 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996” and, at the end, “Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”, and
(c)in paragraph (2) of regulation 6, for “regulation 21 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984” there shall be substituted “regulation 20 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”.
(7) In the Jam and Similar Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1982(62)—
(a)in—
(i)paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (interpretation), in the definitions of “additive”, “ingredient”, “labelling” and “prepacked”,
(ii)paragraph (1) of regulation 5 (name of the food),
(iii)paragraph (1) of regulation 7 (list of ingredients), and
(iv)sub-paragraph (c) of regulation 9 (field of vision),
for “1981” there shall be substituted “1996”;
(b)in paragraph (1) of regulation 7A, for “1984” there shall be substituted “1996”;
(c)in paragraph (7) of regulation 8 (miscellaneous labelling requirements), for sub-paragraph (c) there shall be substituted—
“(c)food to which regulation 27 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (which relates to certain foods sold at catering establishments) applies.”, and
(d)in regulation 10 (manner of marking or labelling), for “Regulations 31 to 33 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1981” at the beginning, and “Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1981” at the end there shall be substituted, at the beginning, “Regulations 35, 36 and 38 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996” and, at the end, “Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”.
(8) In the Meat Products and Spreadable Fish Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984(63)—
(a)in paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (interpretation), after the definition of “prepacked” there shall be inserted—
““prepacked for direct sale” has the meaning assigned to it by the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996,”,
(b)in—
(i)paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (interpretation), in the definitions of “catering establishment”, “ingredient”, “labelling”, “prepacked” and “ultimate consumer”;
(ii)paragraph (1) of regulation 4 (restrictions on the use of certain names);
(iii)paragraph (2) of regulation 5 (name of the food for certain meat products);
(iv)paragraphs (2) and 6(c) of regulation 10 (miscellaneous provisions relating to declarations), and
(v)paragraph (2)(c) of regulation 11 (lean meat content),
for “1984” there shall be substituted “1996”;
(c)in paragraph (1) of regulation 6 (list of ingredients), for “regulation 15(1) of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984” there shall be substituted “regulation 14(1) of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”;
(d)in paragraph (1)(a) of regulation 10 the words “(within the meaning of regulation 24 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984)” shall be deleted;
(e)in paragraph (4) of regulation 10, for “Regulations 32, 33 and 34 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984” at the beginning, and “Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984” at the end, there shall be substituted, at the beginning, “Regulations 35, 36 and 38 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996” and, at the end, “Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”;
(f)in paragraph (6) of regulation 10, for sub-paragraph (d) there shall be substituted—
“(d)food to which regulation 27 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (which relates to certain food sold at catering establishments) applies.”.
(9) In the Caseins and Caseinates Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1986(64), in paragraph (1) of regulation 5 (labelling of casein products), for “Food Labelling (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1984” there shall be substituted “Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”.
(10) In the Quick-frozen Foodstuffs Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1990(65), in paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (interpretation and scope), in the definitions of “catering establishment”, “prepackaging” and “ultimate consumer”, for “1984” there shall be substituted “1996”.
(11) In the Food Premises (Registration) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992(66), in paragraph (2) of regulation 1 (citation, commencement and interpretation), in the definition of “ultimate consumer”, for “1984” there shall be substituted “1996”.
(12) In the Flavourings in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992(67)—
(a)in paragraph (4) of regulation 1 (interpretation), in the definition of “ultimate consumer”, for “1984” there shall be substituted “1996”;
(b)in sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph 2 of Part I of Schedule 3 (requirements for sales), for “regulation 21 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984”, there shall be substituted “regulation 20 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”.
(13) In the Food Additives Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992(68)—
(a)in paragraph (2) of regulation 1 (interpretation), in the definition of “ultimate consumer”, for “1984” there shall be substituted “1996”;
(b)in paragraph 2(b)(iii) of Part I of Schedule 3 (requirement for sales), for “regulation 21 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984” there shall be substituted “regulation 20 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”.
(14) In the Aflatoxins in Nuts, Nut Products, Dried Figs and Dried Fig Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993(69), in paragraph (2) of regulation 1 (interpretation), in the definition of “ultimate consumer”, for “1984” there shall be substituted “1996”.
(15) In the Food Safety (Fishery Products) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993(70), in Schedule 3 (requirements as to identification marks), for “Food Labelling (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1990 and the Food Labelling (Amendment) (Irradiated Food) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991” there shall be substituted “Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”.
(16) In the Food Safety (Live Bivalve Molluscs and Other Shellfish) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993(71), in Schedule 1 (marking of consignments), in paragraph 1, for “Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984 and subject to paragraph 4, All” there shall be substituted “Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 and subject to paragraph 4, all”.
(17) In the Egg Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993(72), in paragraph 1 of Schedule 10 (marking of egg products), for “1984” there shall be substituted “1996”.
(18) In the Dairy Products (Hygiene) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995(73)—
(a)in paragraph 2 of Part I (labelling) of, and paragraph 5 of Part II (health mark) of, Schedule 10 (labelling and health marking), for “regulation 27 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984” there shall be substituted “regulation 26 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”, and
(b)in paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 10, for “1984” there shall be substituted “1996”.
(19) In the Food Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995(74), in paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (interpretation)—
(a)for the definition of “shelf life” there shall be substituted—
“ “shelf life” means—
in relation to food with respect to which an indication of minimum durability is required in accordance with regulation 20 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (form of indication of minimum durability), the period up to and including the date required to be included in that indication;
in relation to food with respect to which a “use by” date is assigned in the form required in accordance with regulation 21 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (form of indication of “use by” date), the period up to and including that date;”, and
(b)in the definition of “special storage conditions” for “6(d) of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984” there shall be substituted “5(d) of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”.
(20) In the Bread and Flour Regulations—
(a)in regulation 2 (interpretation), in the definitions of “ingredient” and “labelling”, for “1984” there shall be substituted “1996”;
(b)in regulation 5 (additional ingredients)—
(i)in paragraph (3), for “18 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984” there shall be substituted “17 of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”;
(ii)in paragraph (3)(a), for “15” there shall be substituted “14”;
(iii)in paragraph (3)(b), for “33” and “24” respectively there shall be substituted “36” and “23”.
50.—(1) Subject to the following paragraphs, in any proceedings for an offence under these Regulations it shall be a defence to prove that—
(a)(i)the act was committed before 1st October 1997, or
(ii)the act was committed in relation to food prepacked before 1st October 1997; and
(b)the matters constituting the offence would not have constituted an offence under the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984(75) or the Cheese and Cream Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(76) if those Regulations had been in operation when the act was committed or the food was prepacked.
(2) In any proceedings for an offence under regulation 44(1)(a), as read with—
(a)regulation 14(4) and Schedule 3, or
(b)regulation 14(9) and Schedule 4,
paragraph (1) shall be read as if for “1st October 1997” there were substituted, in both places where it occurs, “1st October 1996”.
(3) In any proceedings for an offence under regulation 44(1)(a) as read with regulation 33, paragraph (1) shall be read as if for “1st October 1997” there were substituted “1st January 1997”.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health and Social Services
L.S.
D. A. Baker
Assistant Secretary
on 15th August 1996.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Agriculture on 15th August 1996.
L.S.
P. T. Toal
Assistant Secretary
Regulation 6(2)
1.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraphs (2) and (3), the name used for any species of fish specified in column 2 of the following Table shall be a name specified for that species in the corresponding entry in column 1 of the said Table.
(2) A customary name may be used for any species of fish which has been subjected to smoking or any similar process, unless the name of the species in column 2 of the following Table is followed by an asterisk. In such cases the name used for the food when the fish is smoked shall be either—
(a)a name specified for that species in column 1 of the said Table preceded by the word “smoked”, or
(b)except in the case of Salmo salar (L.), “smoked Pacific salmon”.
(3) Sub-paragraph (1), as read with the following Table, shall not apply to fish regulated by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2136/89(77) laying down common marketing standards for preserved sardines, or Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1536/92(78) laying down common marketing standards for preserved tuna and bonito.
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| Name | Species of Fish |
| SEA FISH | |
| Anchovy | All species of Engraulis |
| Bass | Dicentrarchus labrax (L.) |
| Brill | Scophthalmus rhombus (L.) |
| Brisling | Sprattus sprattus (L.) when canned |
| Catfish or Rockfish | All species of Anarhichas |
| Cod or Codling | Gadus morhua (L.) (including Gadus morhua callarias and Gadus morhua morhua) |
| Pacific cod or cod | Gadus macrocephalus |
| Greenland cod or cod | Gadus ogac |
| Coley or Saithe or Coalfish | Pollachius virens (L.) |
| Conger | All species of Conger |
| Croaker or Drum | All species of the family Scianidae |
| Dab | Limanda limanda (L.) |
| Dogfish or Flake or Huss or Rigg | All species of Galeorhinus |
| All species of Mustelus | |
| All species of Scyliorhinus | |
| Galeus melastomus Rafin. | |
| Squalus acanthias (L.) | |
| Dory or John Dory or St Peter’s fish | Zeus faber (L.) |
| Eel | All species of Anguilla |
| Emperor | All species of Lethrinus |
| Flounder | Platichthys flesus (L.) |
| Grey mullet | All species of Mugil |
| All species of Liza | |
| All species of Chelon | |
| Grouper | All species of Mycteroperca |
| All species of Epinephelus | |
| Gurnard | All species of the family Triglidae |
| Peristedion cataphractum (L.) | |
| Haddock | Melanogrammus aeglefinus (L.) |
| Hake | All species of Merluccius |
| Halibut | Hippoglossus hippoglossus (L.) |
| Hippoglossus stenolepis | |
| Black halibut | Reinhardtius hippoglossoides (Walbaum) |
| Herring | Clupea harengus (L.) |
| Hilsa | Hilsa elisha |
| Hoki | Macruronus novaezelandiae |
| Jack | All species of Caranx |
| All species of Hemmicaranx | |
| All species of Seriola | |
| All species of Trachurus | |
| All species of Decapterus | |
| Ling | All species of Molva |
| Lumpfish or Lumpsucker | Cyclopterus lumpus |
| Mackerel | All species of Scomber |
| Megrim | All species of Lepidorhombus |
| Monkfish or Angler | Lophius piscatorius (L.) |
| Orange roughy | Hoplosteppus atlanticus |
| Parrot-fish | All species of the family Scaridae |
| Pilchard | Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum) |
| Pacific pilchard | Sardinops sagax caerulea (Girard) |
| Sardinops sagax sagax (Jenyns) | |
| Sardinops sagax melanosticta (Schlegel) | |
| South Atlantic pilchard | Sardinops sagax ocellata (Pappe) |
| Plaice | Pleuronectes platessa (L.) |
| American plaice | Hippoglossoides platessoides (Fabr.) |
| Pollack or Pollock or Lythe | Pollachius pollachius (L.) |
| Pacific pollack or Pacific pollock or Alaska pollack or Alaska pollock | Theragra chalcogramma (Pallas) |
| Pomfret | All species of Brama |
| All species of Stromateus | |
| All species of Pampus | |
| Redfish or Ocean perch or Rose fish | All species of Sebastes |
| Helicolenus maculatus | |
| Helicolenus dactylopterus (De la Roche) | |
| Red Mullet | All species of Mullus |
| Sardine | Small Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum) |
| Sardinella | All species of Sardinella |
| Sea bream or Porgy | All species of the family Sparidae |
| Sild | Small Clupea harengus (L.), when canned |
| Small Sprattus sprattus (L.), when canned | |
| Skate or Ray or Roker | All species of Raja |
| Smelt or Sparling | All species of Osmerus |
| Sole or Dover sole | Solea solea (L.) |
| Lemon sole | Microstomus kitt (Walbaum) |
| Snapper | All species of the family Lutjanidae |
| Sprat | Sprattus sprattus (L.), except when canned |
| Swordfish | Xiphias gladius |
| Tuna or Tunny | All species of Thunnus |
| Skipjack tuna (or tuna) | Euthynnus (Katsuwonus) pelamis |
| Albacore tuna (or tuna) | Thunnus alalunga |
| Yellowfin tuna (or tuna) | Thunnus (neothunnus) albacores |
| Bluefin tuna (or tuna) | Thunnus thynnus |
| Bigeye tuna (or tuna) | Thunnus (parathunnus) obesus |
| Bonito | All species of Sarda |
| All species of Euthynnus, with the exception of the species Euthynnus (Katsuwonus) pelamis | |
| All species of Auxis | |
| Turbot | Scophthalmus maximus (L.) |
| Whitebait | Small Clupea harengus (L.) |
| Small Sprattus sprattus (L.){except when canned} | |
| Whiting | Merlangius merlangus (L.) |
| Blue whiting | Micromesistius poutassou (Risso) |
| Southern Blue whiting | Micromesistius australis |
| Winter flounder | Pseudopleuronectes americanus (Walbaum) |
| Witch | Glyptocephalus cynoglossus (L.) |
| SALMON AND FRESHWATER FISH | |
| Catfish | All species of the family Ictaluridae |
| Carp | All species of the family Cyprinidae |
| Char | All species of Salvelinus |
| Salmon or Atlantic salmon | Salmo salor (L.)* |
| Cherry salmon or Pacific salmon | Oncorhynchus masou (Walbaum)* |
| Chum salmon or Keta salmon | Oncorhynchus keta (Walbaum)* |
| Medium red salmon or Coho salmon or Silver salmon | Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum)* |
| Pink salmon | Oncorhynchus gorbuscha (Walbaum)* |
| Red salmon or Sockeye salmon | Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum)* |
| Spring salmon or King salmon or Chinook salmon or Pacific salmon | Oncorhynchus tschwytscha (Walbaum)* |
| Brown trout or trout | Salmo trutti (L.) which has spent all of its life in fresh water |
| Sea trout or Salmon trout | Salmo trutta (L.) which has spent part of its life in sea water |
| Cut-throat trout or trout | Oncorhynchus clarkii |
| Rainbow trout or Steelhead trout or trout | Oncorhynchus mykiss |
| Tilapia | All species of Tilapia |
| SHELLFISH | |
| Abalone or Ormer | All species of Haliotis |
| Clam or Hard shell clam | Mercenaria mercenaria (L.) |
| Venus verrucosa (L.) | |
| Clam or Razor clam | All species of Ensis and Solen |
| Cockle | All species of Cerastoderma |
| Crab | All species of the section Brachyura |
| All species of the family Lithodidae | |
| Crawfish or Spiny Lobster or Rock lobster | All species of the family Palinuridae Jasus spp. |
| Crayfish | All species of the family Astacidae |
| All species of the family Parastacidae | |
| All species of the family Austroastacidae | |
| Lobster | All species of Homarus |
| Slipper lobster | All species of Scyllaridae |
| Squat lobster | All species of the family Galatheidae |
| Mussel | All species of the family Mytilus |
| Oyster | All species of Crassostrea |
| All species of Ostrea | |
| Oyster or Portuguese oyster | Crassostrea angulata (Lmk.) |
| Oyster or Pacific oyster | Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg) |
| Oyster or Native oyster | Ostrea edulis (L.) |
| King prawn | All species of Penaeus where the count is less than 123 per kg (head on/shell on) or less than 198 per kg (head off/shell on) or less than 242 per kg (head off/shell off) |
| Prawn or Shrimp | Whole fish (of a size which, when cooked, have a count of less than 397 per kg) or tails (of a size which, when peeled and cooked, have a count of less than 1,323 per kg) of—
|
| Shrimp | Whole fish (of a size which, when cooked, have a count of 397 per kg or more) or tails (of a size which, when peeled and cooked, have a count of 1,323 per kg or more) of—
|
| Shrimp or Pink shrimp | Pandalus montagui Leach |
| Shrimp or Brown shrimp | All species of Crangon |
| Scallop | All species of Pectinidae |
| Scallop or Queen scallop or Queen | Chlamys (Acquipecton) opercularis (L.) |
| Scampi or Norway lobster or Dublin Bay prawn or Langoustine | Nephrops norvegicus (L.) |
| Pacific scampi | Metanephrops adamanicus |
| Metanephrops challengeri | |
| Tiger prawn | Penaeus monodon |
| Penaeus semisuloalus | |
| Penaeus esculentus | |
| Whelk | All species of Buccinum |
| Winkle | All species of Littorina |
2. The name used for melons sold as such shall include or be accompanied by an indication of their variety.
3. The name used for potatoes sold as such shall include or be accompanied by an indication of their variety.
4.—(1) The name used for a vitamin specified in Table A in Schedule 6 shall be the name specified for that vitamin in column 1 of that Table, except that in respect of folacin the name “folic acid” may also be used.
(2) The name for vitamin K shall be “vitamin K”.
Regulation 11(2)
1. The name used for any meat which has been treated with proteolytic enzymes shall include or be accompanied by the word “tenderised”.
2. The name used for a food which has been irradiated shall include or be accompanied by the word “irradiated” or the words “treated with ionising radiation”.
Regulation 14(4)
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Generic name | Ingredients | Conditions of use of generic name |
| Cheese | Any type of cheese or mixture of cheese | The labelling of the food of which the cheese is an ingredient must not refer to a specific type of cheese |
| Cocoa butter | Press, expeller or refined cocoa butter | |
| Crumbs or rusks, as is appropriate | Any type of crumbed, baked cereal product | |
| Crystallised fruit | Any crystallised fruit | The proportion of crystallised fruit in the food of which it is an ingredient must not exceed 10 per cent |
| Dextrose | Anhydrous dextrose or dextrose monohydrate | |
| Fat | Any refined fat | The generic name must be accompanied by either— (a)the description “animal” or “vegetable”, as is appropriate, or (b)an indication of the specific animal origin or the specific vegetable origin of the fat, as is appropriate. In the case of an hydrogenated fat, the generic name must also be accompanied by the description “hydrogenated”. |
| Fish | Any species of fish | The labelling of the food of which the fish is an ingredient must not refer to a specific species of fish |
| Flour | Any mixture of flour derived from two or more cereal species | The generic name shall be followed by a list of the cereals from which the flour is derived in descending order of weight |
| Glucose syrup | Glucose syrup or anhydrous glucose syrup | |
| Gum base | Any type of gum preparation used in the preparation of chewing gum | |
| Herb, herbs or mixed herbs | Any herb or parts of a herb or combination of two or more herbs or parts of herbs | The proportion of herb or herbs in the food of which it or they are an ingredient must not exceed 2 per cent by weight of the food |
| Milk proteins | Any caseins, caseinates or whey proteins, or any mixture of these | |
| Oil | Any refined oil, other than olive oil | The generic name must be accompanied by either— (a)the description “animal” or “vegetable”, as is appropriate, or (b)an indication of the specific animal origin or the specific vegetable origin of the oil, as is appropriate. In the case of an hydrogenated oil, the generic name must also be accompanied by the description “hydrogenated” |
| Spice, spices or mixed spices | Any spice or any combination of two or more spices | The proportion of spice or spices in the food of which it or they are an ingredient must not exceed 2 per cent by weight of the food |
| Starch | Any unmodified starch or any starch which has been modified either by physical means or by enzymes | |
| Sugar | Any type of sucrose | |
| Vegetables | Any mixture of vegetables | The proportion of vegetables in the food of which they are an ingredient must not exceed 10% by weight of the food |
| Wine | Any type of wine defined in Council Regulation (EEC) No. 822/87 |
Regulation 14(9)
| Notes 1. In the case of an additive which is added to or used in food to serve the function of an acid and whose specific name includes the word “acid”, it shall not be necessary to use the category name. 2. Neither the specific name nor the serial number need be indicated. | |
| Acid1 | Flour treatment agent |
| Acidity regulator | Gelling agent |
| Anti-caking agent | Glazing agent |
| Anti-foaming agent | Humectant |
| Antioxidant | Modified starch2 |
| Bulking agent | Preservative |
| Colour | Propellant gas |
| Emulsifier | Raising agent |
| Emulsifying Salts | Stabiliser |
| Firming agent | Sweetener |
| Flavour enhancer | Thickener |
Regulation 30
| Description of alcoholic drink | Positive or negative tolerance |
|---|---|
| Note The above tolerances shall apply without prejudice to the tolerances deriving from the method of analysis used for determining the alcoholic strength. | |
1.—(a) Beers having an alcoholic strength not exceeding 5.5% volume; (b)alcoholic drinks made from grapes and falling within sub-heading No. 2206-0093 and No. 2206- 0099 of the combined nomenclature (1988). | } 0.5% vol. |
2.—(a) Beers having an alcoholic strength exceeding 5.5% volume; (b)alcoholic drinks made from grapes and falling within subheading No. 2206-0091 of the combined nomenclature (1988); (c)ciders, perries, fruit wines and other wines obtained from fruits other than grapes whether or not semi-sparkling or sparkling; (d)alcoholic drinks based on fermented honey. | } 1% vol. |
3. Alcoholic drinks containing macerated fruit or parts of plants. | } 1.5% vol. |
4. Any other alcoholic drink. | 0.3% vol. |
Regulations 40 and 41
1. A claim that a food has tonic properties.
The use of the word “tonic” in the description “Indian tonic water” or “quinine tonic water” shall not of itself constitute a claim of a type described in this item.
2. A claim that a food has the property of preventing, treating or curing a human disease or any reference to such a property.
A claim of a type described in item 1 of Part II shall not of itself be regarded as a claim of a type described in this item.
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| Vitamin | Recommended daily allowance |
| Vitamin A | 800 μg |
| Vitamin D | 5 μg |
| Vitamin E | 10 mg |
| Vitamin C | 60 mg |
| Thiamin | 1.4 mg |
| Riboflavin | 1.6 mg |
| Niacin | 18 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 2 mg |
| Folacin | 200 μg |
| Vitamin B12 | 1 μg |
| Biotin | 0.15 mg |
| Pantothenic acid | 6 mg |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| Mineral | Recommended daily allowance |
| Note As a rule, a significant amount means 15% of the recommended daily allowance listed in respect of each vitamin and mineral specified in Tables A and B that is supplied by 100 g or 100 ml of a food, or per package of a food if the package contains only a single portion | |
| Calcium | 800 mg |
| Phosphorus | 800 mg |
| Iron | 14 mg |
| Magnesium | 300 mg |
| Zinc | 15 mg |
| Iodine | 150 μg |
Regulation 41(3) and (4)
1. Prescribed nutrition labelling shall consist of such of the following items as under Part II are either required or permitted to be given. Subject to paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, the items and, where applicable, their order and manner of listing, are—
| energy | [x[ kJ and [x] kcal |
| protein | [x] g |
| carbohydrate | [x] g |
| of which: | |
| [x] g |
| [x] g |
| [x] g |
| fat | [x] g |
| of which: | |
| [x] g |
| [x] g |
| [x] g |
| [x] mg |
| fibre | [x] g |
| sodium | [x] g |
| [vitamins] | [x units] |
| [minerals] | [x units]. |
2. In the event that there is also required to be given the name and amount of any substance which belongs to, or is a component of, one of the items already given such substance or component shall be listed immediately after the item to which it relates, and in the following manner—
| [item] | [x] g or mg |
| of which | |
| [x] g or mg |
3.—(a) For [vitamins] and [minerals] there shall be substituted, as appropriate, the names of any vitamin or mineral listed in Table A or B in Schedule 6.
(b)For [item] there shall be substituted the name of the relevant item from the list in paragraph 1.
(c)For [substance or component] there shall be substituted the name of the substance or component.
(d)For [x] there shall be substituted the appropriate amount in each case and, in respect of vitamins and minerals, such amounts—
(i)shall be expressed in the units of measurement specified in relation to the respective vitamins and minerals given in Table A or B in Schedule 6, and
(ii)shall also be expressed as a percentage of the recommended daily allowance specified for such vitamins and minerals in those Tables.
4. All amounts given—
(a)are to be per hundred grams or hundred millilitres of the food, as is appropriate, and, where it is wished to do so, those in either—
(i)a quantified serving of the food, or
(ii)provided that the total number of portions contained in that sales unit of the food is stated, in one such portion of the food,
(b)shall be such amounts as are contained in the food as sold to the ultimate consumer or to a catering establishment save that, where sufficiently detailed instructions are given for the preparation for consumption of the food, they may (if expressly said to be so) be such amounts as are contained in the food after the completion of such preparation in accordance with the said instructions, and
(c)shall be averages based, either alone or in any combination, on—
(i)the manufacturer’s analysis of the food,
(ii)a calculation from the actual average values of the ingredients used in the preparation of the food,
(iii)a calculation from generally established and accepted data,
and “averages” for the purposes of this sub-paragraph means the figures which best represent the respective amounts of the nutrients which a given food contains, there having been taken into account seasonal variability, patterns of consumption and any other factor which may cause the actual amount to vary.
5. In the calculation of the energy value the following conversion factors shall be employed—
(a)1 gram of carbohydrate (excluding polyols) shall be deemed to contribute 17 kJ (4 kcal);
(b)1 gram of polyols shall be deemed to contribute 10 kJ (2.4 kcal);
(c)1 gram of protein shall be deemed to contribute 17 kJ (4 kcal);
(d)1 gram of fat shall be deemed to contribute 37 kJ (9 kcal);
(e)1 gram of ethanol shall be deemed to contribute 29 kJ (7 kcal);
(f)1 gram of organic acid shall be deemed to contribute 13 kJ (3 kcal).
6. Any prescribed nutrition labelling shall be presented together in one conspicuous place—
(a)in tabular form with any numbers aligned, or
(b)if there is insufficient space to permit tabular listing, in linear form.
1. In respect of any food other than one to which paragraph 2 applies, prescribed nutrition labelling shall be given as follows—
(a)it shall include either—
(i)energy and the amounts of protein, carbohydrate and fat, or
(ii)energy and the amounts of protein, carbohydrate, sugars, fat, saturates, fibre and sodium,
provided that, where sugars, saturates, fibre or sodium is, or are, the subject of a nutrition claim, it shall be given in accordance with paragraph (ii);
(b)where such is the subject of a nutrition claim, it shall also include the amounts of any polyols, starch, mono-unsaturates, polyunsaturates, cholesterol, vitamins or minerals, and in the absence of such a claim it may include any of these, provided that in either case only those vitamins or minerals present in a significant amount as described in the Note to Tables A and B in Schedule 6 shall, or may, be so included;
(c)where labelling is given in accordance with sub-paragraph (a)(i) and, further to sub-paragraph (b) the amount of any of mono-unsaturates, polyunsaturates or cholesterol has been included, it shall also include the amount of saturates, and
(d)where such is the subject of a nutrition claim, it shall also include the name and amount of any substance which belongs to, or is a component of, one of the nutrients already required or permitted to be included.
2.—(1) In respect of any food which is not prepacked and which is sold—
(a)to the ultimate consumer other than at a catering establishment,
(b)to the ultimate consumer from a vending machine, whether or not such machine is located at a catering establishment, or
(c)to a catering establishment,
the prescribed nutrition labelling shall include such of energy and the amounts of any nutrient and the name and amount of any substance which belongs to, or is a component of, any nutrient, in respect of which a nutrition claim is made, and it may include any of the items listed in paragraph 1 of Part I in respect of which there is no such claim.
Regulation 42
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| Words and descriptions | Conditions |
| The description “dietary” or “dietetic”. | Shall not be applied to any food unless it is a food for a particular nutritional use (excluding such foods formulated for infants and young children in good health) which— (a) has been specially made for a class of persons whose digestive process or metabolism is disturbed or who, by reason of their special physiological condition, obtain special benefit from a controlled consumption of certain substances, and (b) is suitable for fulfilling the particular nutritional requirements of that class of persons. |
| Any description incorporating the name of a food in such a way as to imply that the food, or the part of a food, being described has the flavour of the food named in the description. | Shall not be applied to any food unless the flavour of the food being described is derived wholly or mainly from the food named in the description, except that any description incorporating the word “chocolate” which is such as to imply that the food being described has a chocolate flavour may be applied to a food which has a chocolate flavour derived wholly or mainly from non fat cocoa solids where the purchaser would not be misled by the description. This shall not be taken to prevent the use of the word “flavour” preceded by the name of a food when the flavour of the food being described is not wholly or mainly from the food named in the description. |
| A pictorial representation of a food which is such as to imply that the food to which the representation is applied has the flavour of the food depicted in the representation. | Shall not be applied to any food unless the flavour of the food to which the representation is applied is derived wholly or mainly from the food depicted in the representation. |
| The description “ice cream”. | Shall not be applied to any food other than the frozen product containing not less than 5% fat and not less than 2.5% milk protein, not necessarily in natural proportions, and which is obtained by subjecting an emulsion of fat, milk solids and sugar (including any sweetener permitted in ice cream by the Sweeteners in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(79)), or without the addition of other substances, to heat treatment and either to subsequent freezing or evaporation, addition of water and subsequent freezing. |
| The description “dairy ice cream”. | Shall not be applied to any food other than one which fulfills the conditions relating to application of the description “ice cream” to a food (provided that the fat in respect of which a minimum of 5% is specified shall here consist exclusively of milk fat) and which contains no fat other than milk fat or any fat present by reason of the use as an ingredient of such ice cream of any egg, any flavouring, or any emulsifier or stabiliser. |
| The word “milk” or any other word or description which implies that the food being described contains milk. | Shall not be used as part of the name of a food, which contains the milk of an animal other than a cow, unless— (a) (i) such milk has all the normal constituents in their natural proportions, and (ii) the word or description is accompanied by the name of that animal; or (b) (i) such milk has been subjected to a process or treatment, and (ii) the word or description is accompanied by the name of that animal and an indication of that process or treatment; or (c) the word or description is used in accordance with any regulations made, or having effect as if made, under the Order or any order having effect as if contained in regulations so made. |
| The word “milk”. | Shall not be used as the name of an ingredient where the ingredient is the milk of an animal other than a cow unless— (a) the word is accompanied by the name of the animal, and (b) the use of the word as the name of the ingredient complies in all other respects with these Regulations. |
| The description “starch-reduced”. | Shall not be applied to any food, unless— (a) less than 50% of the food consists of anhydrous carbohydrate calculated by weight on the dry matter of the food, and (b) the starch content of a given quantity of the food is substantially less than that of the same quantity of similar foods to which the description is not applied. |
| The word “vitamin” or any other word or description which implies that the food to which the word or description relates is a vitamin. | Shall not be used in the labelling or advertising of any food, unless the food to which the word or description relates is— (a) one of the vitamins specified in column 1 of Table A in Schedule 6; or (b) vitamin K. |
| The description “alcohol-free”. | Shall not be applied to any alcoholic drink from which the alcohol has been extracted, unless— (a) the drink has an alcoholic strength by volume of not more than 0.05%, and (b) the drink is marked or labelled with an indication of its maximum alcoholic strength (in one of the forms specified in regulation 30(1) immediately preceded by the words “not more than”) or, in an appropriate case, with an indication that it contains no alcohol |
| The description “dealcoholised”. | Shall not be applied to any drink, unless— (a) the drink, being an alcoholic drink from which the alcohol has been extracted, has an alcoholic strength by volume of not more than 0.5%, and (b) the drink is marked or labelled with an indication of its maximum alcoholic strength (in one of the forms specified in regulation 30(1) immediately preceded by the words “not more than”) or, in an appropriate case, with an indication that it contains no alcohol. |
| The description “low alcohol” or any other word or description which implies that the drink being described is low in alcohol. | Shall not be applied to any alcoholic drink unless— (a) the drink has an alcoholic strength by volume of not more than 1.2%, and (b) the drink is marked or labelled with an indication of its maximum alcoholic strength (in one of the forms specified in regulation 30(1) immediately preceded by the words “not more than”). |
| The description “low calorie” or any other word or description which implies that the drink being described is low in calories. | Shall not be applied to any soft drink unless the soft drink (where applicable, after subsequent preparation (which may include dilution) in accordance with any accompanying instructions) contains not more than 10 kcal per 100 ml and 42 kJ per 100 ml of the drink. |
| The description “non-alcoholic”. | Shall not be used in conjunction with a name commonly associated with an alcoholic drink, except in the composite name “non-alcoholic wine” when that composite name is used in accordance with regulation 43. |
| The name “liqueur”. | Shall not be applied to any drink other than one so qualifying under the definition of liqueur contained in Article 1.4(r) of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1576/89(80). |
| The name “Indian tonic water” or “quinine tonic water”. | Shall not be applied to any drink unless the drink contains not less than 57 mg of quinine (calculated as quinine sulphate B.P.) per litre of the drink. |
| The name “tonic wine”. | Shall not be applied to any drink unless there appears in immediate proximity to the words “tonic wine” the clear statement: “the name “tonic wine” does not imply health giving or medicinal properties”. No recommendation as to consumption or dosage shall appear in the labelling or advertising of the drink. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| Variety of cheese | Maximum percentage of water |
| Cheddar | 39 |
| Blue Stilton | 42 |
| Derby | 42 |
| Leicester | 42 |
| Cheshire | 44 |
| Dunlop | 44 |
| Gloucester | 44 |
| Double Gloucester | 44 |
| Caerphilly | 46 |
| Wensleydale | 46 |
| White Stilton | 46 |
| Lancashire | 48 |
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| Clotted cream | The cream is clotted and contains not less than 55% milk fat. |
| Double cream | The cream contains not less than 48% milk fat. |
| Whipping cream | The cream contains not less than 35% milk fat. |
| Whipped cream | The cream contains not less than 35% milk fat and has been whipped. |
| Sterilised cream | The cream is sterilised cream and contains not less than 23% milk fat. |
| Cream or single cream | The cream is not sterilised cream and contains not less than 18% milk fat. |
| Sterilised half cream | The cream is sterilised cream and contains not less than 12% milk fat. |
| Half cream | The cream is not sterilised cream and contains not less than 12% milk fat. |
Regulation 49
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Provisions revoked | References | Extent of revocation |
| Cocoa and Chocolate Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976 | S.R. 1976 No. 183 | Regulation 21 |
| Honey Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976 | S.R. 1976 No. 387 | Regulation 13 |
| Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1977 | S.R. 1977 No. 182 | Regulation 18 |
| Jam and Similar Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1982 | S.R. 1982 No. 105 | Regulation 20(2) |
| Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984 | S.R. 1984 No. 407 | The whole Regulations |
| Meat Products and Spreadable Fish Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984 | S.R. 1984 No. 408 | Regulation 18 |
| Natural Mineral Waters Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1985 | S.R. 1985 No. 120 | Regulation 27 |
| Food (Revision of Penalties and Mode of Trial) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 | S.R. 1987 No. 38 | The reference to the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984 in Schedule 1 |
| Coffee and Coffee Products (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1988 | S.R. 1988 No. 23 | Regulation 3 |
| Food Labelling (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1989 | S.R. 1989 No. 229 | The whole Regulations |
| Caseins and Caseinates (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1990 | S.R. 1990 No. 37 | Regulation 3 |
| Milk and Milk Products (Protection of Designations) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1990 | S.R. 1990 No. 103 | Regulation 4 |
| Food Labelling (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1990 | S.R. 1990 No. 440 | The whole Regulations |
| Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 (Consequential Modifications) Order (Northern Ireland) 1991 | S.R. 1991 No. 203 | The references to the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984 in Part I of Schedule 1, and in Schedules 2 and 5 |
| Food Labelling (Amendment) (Irradiated Food) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991 | S.R. 1991 No. 216 | The whole Regulations |
| Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991 | S.R. 1991 No. 251 | Regulation 2(2)(d) and (3)(c) |
| Food Safety (Exports) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991 | S.R. 1991 No. 344 | The reference to the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984 in the Schedule |
| Flavourings in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 | S.R. 1992 No. 416 | Regulation 11 |
| Food Additives Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 | S.R. 1992 No. 417 | Regulation 7(4) |
| Food Safety (Amendment) (Metrication) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 | S.R. 1992 No. 463 | Regulation 8 |
| Food (Forces Exemptions) (Revocations) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 | S.R. 1992 No. 464 | The reference to the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984 in the Schedule |
| Food Labelling (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1994 | S.R. 1994 No. 214 | The whole Regulations |
| Flavourings in Food (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1994 | S.R. 1994 No. 270 | Regulation 3 |
| Preserved Tuna and Bonito (Marketing Standards) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1994 | S.R. 1994 No. 425 | Regulation 5 |
| Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 | S.R. 1995 No. 85 | Regulation 12(2) |
| Food Safety (Live Bivalve Molluscs and Other Shellfish) (Import Conditions and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 | S.R. 1995 No. 112 | Paragraph 13(1) of Schedule 4 |
| Dairy Products (Hygiene) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 | S.R. 1995 No. 201 | Regulation 24(3) and Schedule 13 |
| Cheese and Cream Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 | S.R. 1996 No. 52 | The whole Regulations |
(This note is not part of the Regulations.)
These Regulations consolidate and replace the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984 and continue to implement Council Directive No. 79/112/EEC (O.J. No. L33, 8.2.79, p. 1) on the approximation of the laws of the member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs (apart from the provisions of that Directive relating to net quantity), as now amended by Council Directives 85/7/EEC (O.J. No. L2, 3.1.85, p. 22), 86/197/EEC (O.J. No. L144, 29.5.86, p. 38) and 89/395/EEC (O.J. No. L186, 30.6.89, p. 17) and Commission Directives 91/72/EEC (O.J. No. L42, 15.2.91, p. 27) and 93/102/EEC (O.J. No. L291, 25.11.93, p. 14). They also implement Commission Directive 87/250/EEC (O.J. No. L113, 30.4.87, p. 57) on the indication of alcoholic strength by volume in the labelling of alcoholic beverages for sale to the ultimate consumer, Council Directive 89/398/EEC (O.J. No. L186, 30.6.89, p. 27) on the approximation of the laws of the member States relating to foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses, Council Directive 90/496/EEC (O.J. No. L276, 6.10.90, p. 40) on nutrition labelling for foodstuffs, and Commission Directive 94/54/EC (O.J. No. L300, 23.11.94, p. 14), as now amended by Council Directive 96/21/EC (O.J. No. L88, 5.4.96, p. 5), concerning the compulsory indication on the labelling of certain foodstuffs of particulars other than those provided for in Council Directive 79/112/EEC.
The principal provisions of the Regulations—
(1) require all food which is ready for delivery to the ultimate consumer or to a catering establishment, subject to certain exceptions, to be marked or labelled with—
(a)the name of the food (regulations 5(a), 6 to 11, and Schedules 1 and 2);
(b)a list of ingredients (regulations 5(b), 12 to 18, and Schedules 3 and 4);
(c)the appropriate durability indication (regulations 5(c), 20 to 22);
(d)any special storage conditions or conditions of use (regulation 5(d));
(e)the name and address of the manufacturer or packer or of a seller (regulation 5(e));
and in certain cases—
(f)particulars of the place of origin of the food (regulation 5(f)), and
(g)instructions for use (regulation 5(g));
(2) require, where the labelling of a food places special emphasis on the presence or low content of an ingredient in a food, an indication of the minimum or maximum percentage respectively of that ingredient in the food (regulation 19);
(3) make special provisions for the labelling of food which is not prepacked and certain similar foods, fancy confectionery products, food which is packed in small packages and indelibly marked bottles, certain food sold at catering establishments and seasonal selection packs (regulations 23 to 28);
(4) specify additional labelling requirements for food sold from vending machines and for alcoholic drinks (regulations 29 and 30), and require any compulsory indication of the strength of an alcoholic drink to be in the form “% vol” (regulation 30);
(5) require specified cautionary statements to be given with raw milk (regulation 31) and a warning to be given with products consisting of skimmed milk together with non-milk fat (regulation 32);
(6) specify an additional labelling requirement for food packaged in a gas so as to extend its durability (regulation 33) and specify additional labelling requirements for food containing sweeteners, added sugar and sweeteners, aspartame or more than 10% added polyols (regulation 34);
(7) specify requirements as to the manner of marking or labelling of food (regulations 35 to 39);
(8) prohibit a claim in the labelling or advertising of a food that it has tonic or medicinal properties, and impose conditions for the making of—
(a)claims relating to food for particular uses and similar foods;
(b)reduced or low energy value claims;
(c)protein claims;
(d)vitamin claims;
(e)mineral claims;
(f)cholesterol claims;
(g)nutrition claims, and
(h)claims which depend upon another food (regulations 40 and 41, Schedule 6 and, in relation to nutrition claims, Schedule 7);
(9) specify labelling requirements in the giving of nutritional information for a food, whether or not a nutrition claim is also being made (regulation 41(4) and Schedule 7);
(10) impose restrictions on the use of certain words and descriptions in the labelling or advertising of food (regulation 42 and Schedule 8);
(11) permit the use of the word “wine” in composite names for drinks other than wine or table wine in accordance with Article 43.2 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2392/89 (regulation 43).
The Regulations also—
(12) create offences, prescribe a penalty (regulation 44) and provide for the enforcement of the Regulations (regulation 45);
(13) provide a defence in certain cases of alteration of the appropriate durability indication for a food (regulation 46);
(14) provide a defence in relation to exports, in implementation of Articles 2 and 3 of Council Directives 89/397/EEC (O.J. No. L186, 30.6.89, p. 23) on the official control of foodstuffs, as read with the ninth recital to that Directive (regulation 47);
(15) incorporate specified provisions of the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 (regulation 48);
(16) revoke the provisions specified in Schedule 9 to the extent specified in that Schedule, and make consequential amendments (regulation 49).
The Regulations do not apply—
(a)to food imported from an EEA State in which it was lawfully produced and sold, to food imported from a member State of the European Community in which it was lawfully sold, or to food produced outside the European Community which is imported from a member State of the European Community, and which in all such cases is suitably labelled (regulation 3(1)); and
(b)except insofar as they relate to advertising, to food which is not intended for sale for human consumption or to food prepared and labelled for sale before 7th December 1992 for consumption by Her Majesty’s forces or visiting forces (regulation 3(3));
(c)apart from the provisions relating to packaging in certain gases, nutrition labelling, claims and misleading descriptions, to—
(i)products the labelling of which is controlled by the Specified Sugar Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976, the Cocoa and Chocolate Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976, the Honey Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976, the Condensed Milk and Dried Milk Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1977 (other than such products specially prepared for and clearly specified to be intended to be consumed by infants) or, in relation to any coffee etc. which is ready for delivery to a catering establishment, by the Coffee and Coffee Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1979;
(ii)products the labelling of which is regulated by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1907/90 as read with Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1274/91 and Council Decision 94/371/EC (hen eggs), Council Regulation (EC) No. 2991/94 (spreadable fats), Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2392/89 (wines and grape musts), Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2333/92 (sparkling wines and aerated sparkling wines), Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3895/91 as read with Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3901/91 (liqueur wines, semi-sparkling wines and aerated semi-sparkling wines), Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1567/89 as read with Commission Regulations (EEC) No. 3773/89 and 1014/90 (spirit drinks), Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1035/72 (fresh fruit and vegetables), Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2136/89 (preserved sardines) and Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1536/92 (preserved tuna and bonito);
(iii)additives sold as such the labelling of which is controlled by other Regulations (regulation 4(2));
(d)apart from the provisions relating to nutrition labelling, claims and misleading descriptions, to—
(i)in certain circumstances alcoholic drinks bottled before 1st January 1983, and
(ii)certain food prepared on domestic premises, or food prepared otherwise than in the course of a business (regulation 4(3)).
In certain circumstances the provisions relating to nutrition labelling, claims and misleading descriptions do not apply to natural mineral waters (regulation 3(4) and (5)).
The Regulations come into operation on 1st October 1996 (regulation 1), but there is a transitional provision which makes it a defence to prove that the act was committed before 1st October 1997 or that it was committed in relation to a food that was prepacked before that date (except in the case of either the use of a generic name, or of an additive name, for an ingredient, when the date before which the act was committed or the food was prepacked, shall be 1st October 1996, and in the case of food packaged in packaging gases when that date shall be 1st January 1997); and that the matters constituting the offence would not have been an offence under the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984 or the Cheese and Cream Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (regulation 50).
See S.I. 1991/762 (N.I. 7) Article 2(2) for the definitions of “the Department concerned” and “regulations” and with respect to the powers conferred on each Department jointly and severally by virtue of those definitions.
O.J. No. L149, 14.6.91, p. 1; there is an amendment to the Council Regulation which is not relevant to these Regulations
S.R. 1996 No. 51 as amended by S.R. 1996 No. 385
S.R. 1976 No. 183, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations
O.J. No. L1, 3.1.94, p. 1
O.J. No. L1, 3.1.94, p. 571
O.J. No. L84, 27.3.87, p. 1, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations
O.J. No. L232, 9.8.89, p. 10
S.R. 1985 No. 120, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations
O.J. No. L148, 3.7.71, p. 4 (O.J./S.E. 1971 (II), p. 412)
Relevant amending instruments are Corrigenda (O.J. No. L188, 20.8.71, p. 24), Corrigenda (O.J. No. L199, 19.7.73, p. 38), Commission Regulation 566/76/EEC (O.J. No. L67, 15.3.76, p. 23), Corrigenda (O.J. No. L107, 24.4.76, p. 22), Commission Regulation 222/88/EEC (O.J. No. L28, 1.2.88, p. 1), Council Regulation 2138/92/EEC (O.J. No. L214, 30.7.92, p. 6)
1952 c. 67; the definition of “visiting force” in section 12 was amended by the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33), section 170 and Schedule 15, paragraph 14
S.R. 1976 No. 165; the relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1981 No. 305
S.R. 1976 No. 387, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations
S.R. 1977 No. 196, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations
(d S.R. 1979 No. 51; the relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1988 No. 23
(e O.J. No. L173, 6.7.90, p. 5, as read with Corrigendum at O.J. No. L195, 26.7.90, p. 40
Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2617/93 (O.J. No. L240, 25.9.93, p. 1) and Council Regulation (EC) No. 3117/94 (O.J. No. L330, 12.12.94, p. 4)
O.J. No. L121, 16.5.91, p. 11
Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3540/91 (O.J. No. L335, 6.12.91, p. 12), Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 2221/92 (O.J. No. L218, 1.8.92, p. 81, as read with Corrigendum at O.J. No. L292, 8.10.92, p. 34), Commission Regulation (EC) No. 3300/93 (O.J. No. L296, 1.12.93, p. 52), Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1259/94 (O.J. No. L137, 1.6.94, p. 54), Commission Regulation (EC) No. 3239/94(O.J. No. L338, 28.12.94, p. 48), Commission Regulation (EC) No. 786/95 (O.J. No. L79, 7.4.95, p. 12) and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2401/95 (O.J. No. L246, 13.10.95, p. 6)
O.J. No. L168, 2.7.94, p. 34
O.J. No. L316, 9.12.94, p. 2
O.J. No. L232, 9.8.89, p. 13
Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3886/89 (O.J. No. L378, 27.12.89, p. 12) and Council Regulation (EEC) No. L3897/91 (O.J. No. L386, 31.12.91, p. 5)
(d O.J. No. L231, 13.8.92, p. 9
O.J. No. L368, 31.12.91, p. 1
O.J. No. L368, 31.12.91, p. 15
O.J. No. L160, 12.6.89, p. 1
O.J. No. L365, 15.12.89, p. 48
Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1759/90 (O.J. No. L162, 28.6.90, p. 23), Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3207/90 (O.J. No. L307, 7.11.90, p. 11), and Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3750/90 (O.J. No. L360, 22.12.90, p. 40)
O.J. No. L105, 25.4.90, p. 9
Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1180/91 (O.J. No. L115, 8.5.91, p. 5), Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1781/91 (O.J. No. L160, 25.6.91, p. 5), and Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3458/92 (O.J. No. L350, 1.12.92, p. 59)
O.J. No. L118, 20.5.72, P. 1
The relevant amending instrument is Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1603/91 (O.J. No. L149, 14.6.91, p. 12)
O.J. No. L212, 22.7.89, p. 79
O.J. No. L163, 17.6.92, p. 1
S.R. 1993 No. 330; the relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1995 No. 263
O.J. No. L143, 7.6.91, p. 11
O.J. No. L263, 22.10.93, p. 12
O.J. No. L256, 7.9.87, p. 1
Relevant amendment is Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 2551/93, O.J. No. L241, 27.9.93, p. 1
O.J. No. L40, 11.2.89, p. 27
O.J. No. L33, 8.2.79, p. 1
Act concerning the Conditions of Accession and Adjustment to the Treaties — Accession to the European Communities of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic (O.J. No. L302, 15.11.85, p. 218), Council Directive 85/7/EEC (O.J. No. L2, 3.1.85, p. 22), Council Directive 86/197/EEC (O.J. No. L144, 29.5.86, p. 38), Council Directive 89/395/EEC (O.J. No. L186, 30.6.89, p. 17), Commission Directive 91/72/EEC (O.J. No. L42, 15.2.91, p. 27), Commission Directive 93/102/EEC (O.J. No. L291, 25.11.93, p. 14), as read with the EEA Agreement (O.J. No. L1, 3.1.94, p. 1)
S.R. 1976 No. 165; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1981 No. 305
S.R. 1976 No. 183, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations
S.R. 1977 No. 182; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1983 No. 48 and S.R. 1991 No. 251
S.R. 1977 No. 196; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1987 No. 65
S.R. 1979 No. 51; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1988 No. 23
S.R. 1982 No. 105; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1982 No. 398 and S.R. 1990 No. 388
S.R. 1984 No. 408; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1986 No. 227
S.R. 1986 No. 40, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations
S.R. 1990 No. 455, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations
S.R. 1992 No. 167, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations
S.R. 1992 No. 416, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations
S.R. 1992 No. 417, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations
S.R. 1993 No. 51, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations
S.R. 1993 No. 52; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1995 No. 112
S.R. 1995 No. 201, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations
S.R. 1984 No. 407; the relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1985 No. 120, S.R. 1987 No. 65, S.R. 1988 Nos. 23 and 433, S.R. 1989 No. 229, S.R. 1990 Nos. 37, 103 and 440, S.R. 1991 No. 216, S.R. 1992 Nos. 416 and 463, S.R. 1994 Nos. 214 and 270, S.R. 1995 Nos. 85 and 201 and S.R. 1996 No. 53
O.J. No. L212, 22.7.89, p. 79
O.J. No. L163, 17.6.92, p. 1
O.J. No. L160, 12.6.89, p. 1