Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 and shall come into operation on 22nd April 1996.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“acid” means any substance which increases the acidity of a food or imparts a sour taste to it, or both;

“acidity regulator” means any substance which alters or controls the acidity or alkalinity of a food;

“anti-caking agent” means any substance which prevents or reduces the tendency of individual particles of a food to adhere to one another;

“anti-foaming agent” means any substance which prevents or reduces foaming;

“antioxidant” means any substance which prolongs the shelf-life of a food by protecting it against deterioration caused by oxidation, including fat rancidity and colour changes;

“bulking agent” means any substance which contributes to the volume of a food without contributing significantly to its available energy value;

“carrier” and “carrier solvent” mean any substance, other than a substance generally considered as food, used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a miscellaneous additive, colour or sweetener, or an enzyme which is not acting as a processing aid, without altering its technological function (and without exerting any technological effect itself) in order to facilitate its handling, application or use;

“colour” has the same meaning as in the Colours in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(1);

“Directive 89/107/EEC” means Council Directive 89/107/EEC(2) on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning food additives authorised for use in foodstuffs intended for human consumption;

“Directive 89/398/EEC” means Council Directive 89/398/EEC(3) on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses;

“Directive 95/2/EC” means European Parliament and Council Directive 95/2/EC(4) on food additives other than colours and sweeteners (as corrected(5));

“emulsifier” means any substance which makes it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases, such as oil and water, in a food;

“emulsifying salt” means any substance which converts proteins contained in cheese into a dispersed form, thereby bringing about homogenous distribution of fat and other components;

“firming agent” means any substance which makes or keeps tissues of fruit or vegetables firm or crisp or which interacts with a gelling agent to produce or strengthen a gel;

“flavour enhancer” means any substance which enhances the existing taste or odour, or both, of a food;

“foaming agent” means any substance which makes it possible to form a homogenous dispersion of a gaseous phase in a liquid or solid food;

“food” means food sold, or intended for sale, for human consumption and in regulation 6 and for the purposes of regulation 9 includes a food additive;

“food additive” means—

(a)

any substance nor 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 food for a technological purpose in the manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packaging, transport or storage of such food results, or may reasonably be expected to result, in it or its by-products becoming directly or indirectly a component of such foods; or

(b)

a carrier or carrier solvent;

but does not include—

(i)

any substance used for the treatment of drinking water as provided for in Council Directive 80/778/EEC(6) relating to the quality of water intended for human consumption, as amended by Council Directive 81/858/EEC(7) and Council Directive 91/692/EEC(8);

(ii)

any product containing pectin and derived from dried apple pomace or peel of citrus fruit, or from a mixture of both, by the action of dilute acid followed by partial neutralisation with sodium or potassium salts (liquid pectin);

(iii)

chewing gum bases;

(iv)

white or yellow dextrin, roasted or dextrinated starch, starch modified by acid or alkali treatment, bleached starch, physically modified starch and starch treated by amylolitic enzymes;

(v)

ammonium chloride;

(vi)

blood plasma, edible gelatin, protein hydrolysates and their salts, milk protein and gluten;

(vii)

amino acids and their salts (other than glutamic acid, glycine, cysteine, and cystine and their salts) having no additive function;

(viii)

caseinates and casein;

(ix)

inulin;

“gelling agent” means any substance which gives a food texture through the formation of a gel;

“glazing agent” means any substance which, when applied to the external surface of a food, imparts a shiny appearance or provides a protective coating, and includes lubricants;

“humectant” means any substance which prevents a food from drying out by counteracting the effect of an atmosphere having a low degree of humidity, or which promotes the dissolution of a powder in an aqueous medium;

“infants” means children under the age of 12 months;

“member State” means a member State of the European Community;

“miscellaneous additive” means any food additive which is used or intended to be used primarily as an acid, acidity regulator, anti-caking agent, anti-foaming agent, antioxidant, bulking agent, carrier, carrier solvent, emulsifier, emulsifying salt, firming agent, flavour enhancer, foaming agent, gelling agent, glazing agent, humectant, modified starch, packaging gas, preservative, propellant, raising agent, sequestrant, stabiliser or thickener, but does not include any processing aid;

“modified starch” means any substance obtained by one or more chemical treatments of edible starch, which may have undergone a physical or enzymatic treatment, and may be acid or alkali thinned or bleached;

“the Order” means the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991;

“packaging gas” means any gas, other than air, which is introduced into a container before, during or after the placing of a food in that container;

“permitted miscellaneous additive” means any miscellaneous additive listed in Schedule 1, 2, 3 or 4, which satisfies the purity criteria (if any) for that additive;

“preservative” means any substance which prolongs the shelf-life of a food by protecting it against deterioration caused by micro-organisms;

“processed”, in relation to any food, means having undergone any treatment resulting in a substantial change in the original state of the food, but does not include dividing, parting, severing, boning, mincing, skinning, paring, peeling, grinding, cutting, cleaning, trimming, deep-freezing, freezing, chilling, milling, husking, packing or unpacking;

“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;

“propellant” means any gas, other than air, which expels a food from a container;

“purity criteria” means the purity criteria (if any) for that miscellaneous additive specified or referred to in Schedule 5;

“raising agent” means any substance or combination of substances which liberates gas and thereby increases the volume of a dough or a batter;

“relevant food additive” means any miscellaneous additive, colour or sweetener, or an enzyme which is not acting as a processed aid;

“sell” includes possess for sale, and offer, expose or advertise for sale;

“sequestrant” means any substance which forms a chemical complex with metallic ions;

“stabiliser” means any substance which makes it possible to maintain the physico-chemical state of a food, including any substance which enables a homogenous dispersion of two or more immiscible substances in a food to be maintained, and any substance which stabilises, retains or intensifies an existing colour of a food;

“sweetener” has the same meaning as in the Sweeteners in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(9);

“thickener” means any substance which increases the viscosity of a food;

“young children” means children aged between one and three years.

(2) Other expressions used in these Regulations and in Directive 95/2/EC have the same meaning in these Regulations as they have in that Directive.

(3) Any reference in these Regulations to a Community instrument is a reference to it as amended, modified or otherwise adapted.

(4) Any reference in these Regulations to—

(a) a maximum level of permitted miscellaneous additive in or on a food, or in respect of a food additive, is to the maximum level of that permitted miscellaneous additive in or on the food, or in respect of the food additive, as sold, unless otherwise indicated;

(b) quantum satis means that no maximum level of permitted miscellaneous additive in or on a corresponding food is specified but that in or on such food a permitted miscellaneous additive may be used in accordance with good manufacturing practice at a level not higher than is necessary to achieve the intended purpose and provided that such use does not mislead the consumer.

Use of miscellaneous additives

3.—(1) No person shall use in or on any food any miscellaneous additive other than a permitted miscellaneous additive.

(2) Subject to regulation 4(2) and Note 2 to Schedule 1, no person shall use any permitted miscellaneous additive listed in Schedule 1 in or on any food which is listed in Schedule 6 but not in column 1 of Schedule 7.

(3) Subject to regulation 4(2) and Note 2 to Schedule 1, no person shall use any permitted miscellaneous additive listed in Schedule 1 in or on any food listed in column 1 of Schedule 7, except a permitted miscellaneous additive which is listed, or referred to, in relation to that food in column 2 of that Schedule in an amount not exceeding the maximum level (if any) for such additive in or on such food as listed in column 3 of that Schedule.

(4) No person shall use any permitted miscellaneous additive listed in Schedule 1 in or on any food which is not listed in Schedule 6 or in column 1 of Schedule 7 and is not referred to in paragraph (7) in an amount higher than quantum satis or otherwise than in compliance with Notes 1 and 3 to Schedule 1.

(5) Subject to paragraphs (1) and (2) of regulation 4, no person shall use any permitted miscellaneous additive listed in Schedule 2 or 3 in or on any food which is not referred to in paragraph (7), other than a food listed in either of those Schedules in relation to that additive and in accordance with the provisions contained in those Schedules governing the use of such additive in or on such food.

(6) No person shall use any miscellaneous additive primarily as a carrier or carrier solvent unless that additive is a permitted miscellaneous additive listed in Schedule 4 and its use complies with the restrictions (if any) mentioned in relation to that additive in column 3 of that Schedule.

(7) Subject to Note 2 to Schedule 1, no person shall use any permitted miscellaneous additive in or on any food for infants or young children as referred to in Directive 89/398/EEC (including any food for infants and young children not in good health) unless that additive is listed in Schedule 8, in which case it may be used only in accordance with the conditions contained in that Schedule.

(8) No person shall use in or on any food for infants or young children as referred to in Directive 89/398/EEC (including any food for infants and young children not in good health) any relevant food additive in combination with a miscellaneous additive which has been used primarily as a carrier or carrier solvent unless that miscellaneous additive is listed in Schedule 8 and its presence in or on the food is in accordance with the conditions contained in that Schedule.

Use of miscellaneous additives in or on compound foods

4.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), any food in or on which a permitted miscellaneous additive is used without contravening any of the provisions of paragraphs (2) to (5) or (7) of regulation 3 may itself be used as an ingredient in a compound food in or on which the use of such miscellaneous additive is not otherwise permitted; and the presence in or on that compound food of such miscellaneous additive as a result of its containing such an ingredient shall not constitute a contravention of any of the provisions of those paragraphs of regulation 3.

(2) Subject to paragraph (4), there may be used in or on a food any permitted miscellaneous additive the use of which would otherwise constitute a contravention of any of the provisions of paragraphs (2) to (5) or (7) of regulation 3, where such a food is destined to be used solely in the preparation of a compound food and the resulting presence in or on that compound food of such miscellaneous additive does not itself constitute a contravention of any of the provisions of those paragraphs of regulation 3.

(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply in the case of any compound food listed in Schedule 6 or in column 1 of Schedule 7.

(4) Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply in the case of any food for infants or young children as referred to in Directive 89/398/EEC, except where specifically provided in these Regulations.

Sale of food additives and food containing miscellaneous additives

5.—(1) No person shall sell any miscellaneous additive for use in or on food unless that additive is a permitted miscellaneous additive.

(2) No person shall sell any miscellaneous additive for use primarily as a carrier or carrier solvent unless that additive is a permitted miscellaneous additive listed in Schedule 4.

(3) No person shall sell directly to the consumer any miscellaneous additive other than a permitted miscellaneous additive.

(4) No person shall sell any food having in it or on it any added miscellaneous additive other than a permitted miscellaneous additive which has been used, or is present, in or on that food without contravening any of the provisions of paragraphs (1) to (5), (7) or (8) of regulation 3.

(5) No person shall sell any relevant food additive in combination with a miscellaneous additive which has been used primarily as a carrier or carrier solvent unless that miscellaneous additive has been used in respect of that relevant food additive without contravening the provisions of regulation 3(6).

Condemnation of food

6.  Where any food is certified by a food analyst as being food which it is an offence against these Regulations to sell, that food may be treated for the purposes of Article 8 of the Order (under which a food may be seized and destroyed on the order of a justice of the peace) as failing to comply with food safety requirements, and Article 7(2) of the Order shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies for the purposes of the Order.

Offences, penalties and enforcement

7.—(1) If any person contravenes any of the provisions of these Regulations he shall be guilty of an offence, and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), these Regulations shall be enforced and executed by each district council within its district.

(3) The Department of Agriculture shall enforce and execute these Regulations in relation to milk in liquid milk plants.

Defence in relation to exports

8.  In any proceedings for an offence under these Regulations it shall be a defence for the person charged to prove—

(a) that the food or, as the case may be, the food additive 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 such food or food additive complies with that legislation; and

(b) in the case of export to another member State, that the legislation complies with Directive 89/107/EEC and Directive 95/2/EC.

Application of various provisions of the Order

9.  The following provisions of the Order shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as they apply for the purposes of Articles 7, 13 and 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).

Revocation and amendments

10.—(1) The Regulations and order 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 Mineral Hydrocarbons in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1966(10), in regulation 3 (exemptions)—

(a) there shall be substituted for paragraph (1)—

“(1) Regulation 4 shall not apply in relation to—

(a) any food containing mineral hydrocarbon by reason not of the inclusion of mineral hydrocarbon as an ingredient in such food but because of the use of mineral hydrocarbon as a lubricant or greasing agent on some surface with which such food has necessarily to come into contact during the course of preparation if such food contains by reason thereof not more than 0.2 part by weight of mineral hydrocarbon per 100 parts by weight of the food;

(b) any chewing compound which—

(i) contains no more than 60 parts by weight of solid mineral hydrocarbon per 100 parts by weight of chewing compound, and

(ii) contains no mineral hydrocarbon other than any mineral hydrocarbon which complies with the specification therefor set forth in paragraph 4 of Part 1 of the Schedule;

(c) the rind of any whole pressed cheese;

(d) any food containing mineral hydrocarbon where the use of that mineral hydrocarbon in or on that food is as a miscellaneous additive, as defined in the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 and complies with the provisions of those Regulations.”.

(b) in the proviso to paragraph (2), for “paragraph (1)(e)” there shall be substituted “paragraph (1)(b)”;

(c) in paragraph (3), for “paragraph (1)(a) to (g)” there shall be substituted “paragraph (1)(a) to (c)”.

(3) In the Specified Sugar Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976(11)—

(a) in regulation 2(1) (interpretation)—

(i) before the definition of “anti-foaming agent” there shall be inserted—

• ““anti-caking agent” has the meaning assigned to it by the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996;”;

(ii) for the definition of “anti-foaming agent” there shall be inserted—

• ““anti-foaming agent” has the meaning assigned to it by the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996;”;

(iii) for the definition of “appropriate designation” there shall be substituted—

• ““appropriate designation”, as respects any colour, anti-caking agent or anti-foaming agent, means a name or description or a name and description sufficiently specific, in each case, to indicate to an intending purchaser the true nature of the colour, anti-caking agent or anti-foaming agent to which it is applied;”;

(iv) after the definition of “loaf sugar” there shall be inserted—

““permitted miscellaneous additive” means any miscellaneous additive in so far as its use in food is permitted by the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996;”;

(b) for paragraph (2) of regulation 2 there shall be substituted—

“(2) Any permitted miscellaneous additive (other than E220 sulphur dioxide) specified in Part B of Schedule 2 to the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996, if calculated as, may be used in place of, E220 sulphur dioxide, and any reference in these regulations to the permitted miscellaneous additive sulphur dioxide shall be construed accordingly.”;

(c) in regulation 5(3) (labelling and description of specified sugar products)—

(i) for sub-paragraph (c) there shall be substituted—

“(c) for glucose syrup or dried glucose syrup containing more than 20 milligrams per kilogram of the permitted miscellaneous additive sulphur dioxide, a declaration that the product is not for sale by retail;”;

(ii) for sub-paragraph (e) there shall be substituted—

“(e) for icing sugar or icing dextrose containing any permitted miscellaneous additive used primarily as an anti-caking agent or any starch in accordance with paragraph (a) or (c) of the proviso to regulation 9, the declaration “contains X” or “contains starch” respectively, the declaration in the former case being completed by inserting at X an appropriate designation or the common or usual name of each anti-caking agent present;”;

(iii) in sub-paragraph (f), for “any anti-foaming agent in accordance with paragraph (d) of the proviso” there shall be substituted “any permitted miscellaneous additive used primarily as an anti-foaming agent in accordance with paragraph (a) of the proviso”;

(d) in regulation 8 (declarations of sulphur dioxide in glucose syrup and dried glucose syrup), for the words from “of which the sulphur dioxide” to “20 milligrammes per kilogramme” there shall be substituted “containing more than 20 milligrams per kilogram of the permitted miscellaneous additive sulphur dioxide”;

(e) in the proviso to regulation 9 (permitted additional ingredients in specified sugar products)—

(i) for paragraph (a) there shall be substituted—

“(a) any specified sugar product may contain any permitted miscellaneous additive;”;

(ii) for paragraph (c) there shall be substituted—

“(c) any icing sugar or icing dextrose which does not contain any permitted miscellaneous additive used primarily as an anti-caking agent may contain not more than 5 per centum of starch.”.

(4) In the Cocoa and Chocolate Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976(12)—

(a) in regulation 2(1) (interpretation)—

(i) in the definition of “edible substance”, for paragraph (c) there shall be substituted—

“(c) any permitted miscellaneous additive”;

(ii) after the definition of “permitted cocoa butter” there shall be inserted—

““permitted miscellaneous additive” means any miscellaneous additive in so far as its use in food is permitted by the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996;”;

(b) in the proviso to regulation 15 (permitted additional ingredients in cocoa and chocolate products), for paragraphs (a) to (c) there shall be substituted—

“(a) any cocoa product or chocolate product may contain any permitted miscellaneous additive;”.

(5) In the Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1977(13)—

(a) in regulation 2(1) (interpretation), after the definition of “honey” there shall be inserted—

““permitted miscellaneous additive” means any miscellaneous additive insofar as its use in food is permitted by the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996;”;

(b) in the proviso to regulation 11(1) (permitted additional ingredients in fruit juice, concentrated fruit juice, dried fruit juice and fruit nectar)—

(i) for sub-paragraphs (a), (e), (g), (i) and (j) there shall be substituted—

“(a) any such food may contain any permitted miscellaneous additive, so however that no apple juice, grape juice, pineapple juice or concentrated pineapple juice shall contain both added sugar and added acid;”;

(ii) for sub-paragraph (f) there shall be substituted—

“(f) the fruit nectars referred to in Schedule 4 may contain lemon juice, in total or partial replacement of citric acid, in a proportion not exceeding 5 grams per litre;”;

(c) for Schedule 4 (fruit juices, concentrated fruit juices and fruit nectars which may contain added permitted acid and the nature and proportion of added permitted acid in each case) these shall be substituted—

Regulation 11

“SCHEDULE 4 Fruit Nectars which may contain Lemon Juice in place of Citric Acid

1.   Apple nectar obtained exclusively from apple purée or concentrated apple purée or an admixture thereof.

2.   Peach nectar obtained exclusively from peach purée or concentrated peach purée or an admixture thereof.

3.   Pear nectar obtained exclusively from pear purée or concentrated pear purée or an admixture thereof.

4.   Any admixture of the fruit nectars referred to in items 1 to 3.”.

(6) In the Condensed Milk and Dried Milk Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1977(14)—

(a) in regulation 2(1) (interpretation), for “permitted miscellaneous additive” there shall be substituted—

““permitted miscellaneous additive” means any miscellaneous additive insofar as its use in food is permitted by the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996;”;

(b) in regulation 5(1) (labelling and description of condensed milk and dried milk products for retail sale), in sub-paragraph (b), for “paragraph (c)” there shall be substituted “paragraph (a)”;

(c) in the proviso to regulation 9 (permitted additional ingredients in condensed milk and dried milk products), for paragraphs (a) to (d) there shall be substituted—

“(a) any condensed milk product or dried milk product may contain any permitted miscellaneous additive;”.

(7) In the Coffee and Coffee Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1979(15)—

(a) in regulation 2(1) (interpretation), after the definition of “fig” there shall be inserted—

““permitted miscellaneous additive” means any miscellaneous additive in so far as its use in food is permitted by the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996;”;

(b) in the proviso to regulation 8 (permitted additional ingredients in certain designated products)—

(i) for paragraphs (a), (b) and (e) there shall be substituted—

“(a) any designated product may contain any permitted miscellaneous additive;”; and

(ii) in paragraph (d), after “liquid coffee and chicory extract,” there shall be inserted “chicory and coffee essence,”.

(8) In the Jam and Similar Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1982(16)—

(a) in regulation 2(1) (interpretation)—

(i) immediately before the definition of “permitted sweetener” there shall be inserted—

““permitted miscellaneous additive” means any miscellaneous additive in so far as its use in food is permitted by the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996;”;

(ii) after the definition of “prepacked” there shall be inserted—

• ““preservative” has the meaning assigned to it by the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996;”;

(b) in regulation 8(4) (miscellaneous labelling requirements), for sub-paragraph (c) there shall be substituted—

“(c) in regulation 14(1) (permitted additional ingredients) there shall be inserted at the end “or any permitted miscellaneous additive””.

(9) In the Meat Products and Spreadable Fish Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984(17)—

(a) in regulation 2(1) (interpretation), in the definition of “additive”, for the words from “the Antioxidants in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1978” to “the Miscellaneous Additives in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1981” there shall be substituted “the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996”;

(b) in regulation 5(2) (name of the food for certain meat products), in sub-paragraph (b) after “the conditions” there shall be inserted “(if any)”;

(c) in Schedule 1 (ingredients of cured meat)—

(i) in the first division of ingredients in column 1, after “Water” there shall be inserted—

• “Additives other than flavourings, smoke and smoke solutions.”;

(ii) in the third division of ingredients in column 1, for “Additives” there shall be substituted—

• “Flavourings, smoke and smoke solutions.”.

(10) In the Food Additives Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992(18)—

(a) in regulation 1(2) (interpretation), after the definition of “food additive” there shall be inserted—

• ““miscellaneous additive” has the same meaning as in the 1996 Regulations”;

““the 1996 Regulations” means the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996;”;

(b) in Schedule 1 (categories of food additives), in Part I (list of food additives)—

(i) for item 9 there shall be substituted—

“9.   Flavour enhancers”;

(ii) for item 19 there shall be substituted—

“19.   Flour treatment agents.”;

(iii) for item 25 there shall be substituted—

“25.   Propellants”;

(iv) at the end there shall be inserted—

“27.   Carriers and carrier solvents”;

(c) in Schedule 1, in Part II (supplementary)—

(i) for sub-paragraphs (b) to (m) there shall be substituted—

“(b) “antioxidant”, “preservative”, “emulsifier”, “emulsifying salt”, “thickener”, “gelling agent”, “stabiliser”, “flavour enhancer”, “acid”, “acidity regulator”, “anti-caking agent” and “modified starch” mean any miscellaneous additive primarily used as an antioxidant, preservative, emulsifier, emulsifying salt, thickener, gelling agent, stabiliser, flavour enhancer, acid, acidity regulator, anti-caking agent or modified starch, as the case may be, as defined in the 1996 Regulations;”;

(ii) for sub-paragraphs (o) to (q) there shall be substituted—

“(o) “raising agent”, “anti-foaming agent” and “glazing agent” mean any miscellaneous additive primarily used as a raising agent, anti-foaming agent or glazing agent, as the case may be, as defined in the 1996 Regulations;”;

(iii) for sub-paragraphs (r) and (s) there shall be substituted—

“(r) “flour bleaching agent” means any substance primarily used to remove colour from flour;”;

“(s) “four treatment agent” means any substance which is added to flour or dough to improve its baking quality;”;

(iv) for sub-paragraphs (t) and (u) there shall be substituted—

“(t) “firming agent” and “humectant” mean any miscellaneous additive primarily used as a firming agent or humectant, as the case may be, as defined in the 1996 Regulations;”;

(v) for sub-paragraphs (w) to (z) there shall be substituted—

“(w) “sequestrant”, “bulking agent”, “propellant”, “packaging gas”, “carrier” and “carrier solvent” mean any miscellaneous additive primarily used as a sequestrant, bulking agent, propellant, packaging gas, carrier or carrier solvent, as the case may be, as defined in the 1996 Regulations.”;

(d) in Schedule 3 (requirement for sales), in Part I in paragraph 2 and in Part II in paragraphs 1 and 7 for “European Economic Community” (wherever it occurs) there shall be substituted “European Community”.

Transitional provisions and exemptions

11.—(1) In any proceedings for an offence against these Regulations it shall be a defence to prove that—

(a) (i) the act was committed before 1st July 1997, or

(ii) the act was that of selling a food additive or a food which, in either case, was put on the market or labelled before 1st July 1997; and

(b) the matter constituting the offence would not have constituted an offence under any Regulations now revoked or amended by these Regulations if those Regulations had been in operation (in the case of Regulations now being amended, as if such amendments had not been made) when the act was committed or the food additive or, as the case may be, the food was put on the market or labelled.

(2) These Regulations shall not apply in respect of any food additive or, as the case may be, food which—

(a) is brought into Northern Ireland before 1st July 1997 from a member State in which it was lawfully produced and sold or in which it was in free circulation and lawfully sold; and

(b) is suitably labelled to give the nature of the food additive or, as the case may be, the food.

(3) In so far as the purity criteria specified or referred to in Schedule 5 are not set out in any Community instrument, those purity criteria shall not apply in relation to any food additive or, as the case may be, food which—

(a) is brought into Northern Ireland on or after 1st July 1997 from a member State in which it was lawfully produced and sold or in which it was in free circulation and lawfully sold; and

(b) is suitably labelled to give the nature of the food additive or, as the case may be, the food.

(4) For the purposes of paragraphs (2) and (3), “free circulation” shall be construed in accordance with Article 9.2 of the Treaty establishing the European Community.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health and Social Services on 28th February 1996.

L.S.

D. A. Baker

Assistant Secretary

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Agriculture on 28th February 1996.

L.S.

P. T. Toal

Assistant Secretary