Condensed Milk and Dried Milk Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Condensed Milk and Dried Milk Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 and shall come into operation on 21st July 2003.

Interpretation

12.  In these Regulations –

“the 1996 Regulations” means the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(1);

“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;

“designated product” means any food specified in column 2 of Schedule 1 (as read with the Notes relating to that Schedule);

“Directive 79/1067/EEC” means First Commission Directive 1979/1067/EEC(2) laying down Community methods of analysis for testing certain partly or wholly dehydrated preserved milk for human consumption;

“Directive 87/524/EEC” means First Commission Directive 1987/524/EEC(3) laying down Community methods of sampling for chemical analysis for the monitoring of preserved milk products;

“EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area(4) signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol(5) signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993;

“EEA State” means a State which is a Contracting Party to the EEA Agreement;

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

“partly dehydrated milk” means the liquid product, whether or not sweetened, obtained directly by the partial removal of water from milk, from wholly or partly skimmed milk or from a mixture of those products and includes such a product to which cream or totally dehydrated milk has been added, provided the addition of totally dehydrated milk does not exceed, in the finished product, 25% of total milk solids;

“preparation” includes manufacture and any form of processing or treatment;

“reserved description”, as respects any designated product, means any description specified in relation to that product in column 1 of Schedule 1 or any alternative description permitted by Schedule 2;

“sell” includes offer or expose for sale or have in possession for sale;

“totally dehydrated milk” means the solid product, where the water content does not exceed 5% by weight of the finished product, obtained directly by the removal of water from milk, from wholly or partly skimmed milk, from cream or from a mixture of those products;

“total milk solids” means all the constituents of milk other than water, including milk fat, the constituents other than milk fat being present in their natural proportions; and

“ultimate consumer” means any person who buys otherwise than –

(a)

for the purpose of resale,

(b)

for the purposes of a catering establishment, or

(c)

for the purposes of a manufacturing business.

Scope of the Regulations

3.  These Regulations apply to designated products, intended for human consumption and ready for delivery to the ultimate consumer or to a catering establishment.

Reserved descriptions

4.  No person shall sell any food with a label, whether or not attached to or printed on the wrapper or container, which bears, comprises or includes any reserved description or any derivative thereof or any word or description substantially similar thereto unless –

(a) such food is the designated product to which the reserved description relates;

(b) such description, derivative or word is used in such a context as to indicate explicitly or by clear implication that the substance to which it relates is only an ingredient of that food; or

(c) such description, derivative or word is used in such a context as to indicate explicitly or by clear implication that such food is not and does not contain a designated product.

Labelling and description of designated products

5.  Without prejudice to the generality of Part II of the 1996 Regulations, no person shall sell any designated product unless it is marked or labelled with the following particulars –

(a) the reserved description of the product;

(b) except in the case of the products specified in paragraphs 1(d) and (g) and 2(d) of Schedule 1, the percentage of milk fat, expressed by weight in relation to the finished product;

(c) except in the case of the products specified in paragraph 2(a) to (d) of Schedule 1, the percentage of fat-free dried milk extract;

(d) in the case of the products specified in paragraph 2(a) to (d) of Schedule 1, the recommendations as to the method of dilution or reconstitution and the details of the fat content of the product when diluted or reconstituted;

(e) in the case of the products specified in paragraph 2(a) to (d) of Schedule 1, that the product is “not intended as a food for infants under 12 months”.

Manner of marking or labelling

6.—(1) Regulations 35, 36(1) and (5) and 38 of the 1996 Regulations (which relate to the manner of marking or labelling of food) shall apply to the particulars with which a designated product is required to be marked or labelled by regulation 5 as if they were particulars with which food is required to be marked or labelled by the 1996 Regulations.

(2) The particulars which are required to appear on the label by virtue of regulation 5(b) and (c) shall appear near the name of the product.

(3) Where designated products weighing less than 20 grams per unit are packed in an outer packaging, the particulars required by regulation 5(b) to (e) need appear on the outer packaging only.

Penalties and enforcement

7.—(1) If any person contravenes regulation 4 or 5 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.

(2) Each district council shall enforce and execute these Regulations within its district.

Defence in relation to exports

(8) In any proceedings for an offence under these Regulations it shall be a defence for the person accused 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 the food complies with that legislation; and

(b) in the case of export to an EEA State, that the legislation complies with the provisions of Council Directive 2001/114/EC(6) relating to certain partly or wholly dehydrated preserved milk for human consumption.

Application of provisions of the Order

9.  The following provisions of the Order shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations and any reference in those provisions to the Order shall be construed for the purposes of these Regulations 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) as it applies for the purposes of Article 7, 13 or 14 of the Order;

(e) Article 21 (defence of publication in the course of a business);

(f) Article 30(8) (which relates to documentary evidence);

(g) Article 34 (obstruction, etc., of officers);

(h) Article 36 (punishment of offences) in so far as it relates to offences under Article 34(1) and (2) as applied by paragraph (g).

(2) Article 29 of the Order (procurement of samples) shall apply in relation to the sampling for analysis of designated products for the purposes of these Regulations with the modification that the powers of an authorised officer under that Article and the duties of such an officer under any regulations made under the Order, shall be exercised and performed in accordance with the methods described in the Annex to Directive 87/524/EEC.

Amendments and revocations

10.—(1) In the 1996 Regulations the following provisions shall be omitted –

(a) in regulation 4(2) (scope of Part II) sub-paragraph (d);

(b) in regulation 49 (revocations and amendments), paragraph (5).

(2) The following entries relating to the Condensed Milk and Dried Milk Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1977(7) shall be omitted –

(a) in the Food (Revision of Penalties and Mode of Trial) Regulations (Northern Ireland)1987(8), in Schedule 1;

(b) in the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 (Consequential Modifications) Order (Northern Ireland) 1991(9), in Schedule 1, Part I, and in Schedules 2, 3 and 5;

(c) in the Food Safety (Exports) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1991(10), in the Schedule;

(d) in the Food (Forces Exemptions) (Revocations) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992(11), in the Schedule;

(e) in the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996, in Schedule 9;

(f) in the Miscellaneous Food Additives (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999(12), in regulation 14(1);

(g) in the Miscellaneous Food Additives (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001(13), in regulation 6.

(3) The following statutory provisions are hereby revoked –

(a) the Condensed Milk and Dried Milk Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1977;

(b) the Condensed Milk and Dried Milk (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1983(14);

(c) the Condensed Milk and Dried Milk (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(15);

(d) the Condensed Milk and Dried Milk (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1989(16);

(e) Article 6 of the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 (Consequential Modifications) Order (Northern Ireland) 1991.

(4) In the Colours in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland 1996(17), in Schedule 2, paragraph 6, for “Directive 76/118/EEC” there is substituted “Directive 2001/114/EC”.

(5) In the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 –

(a) in regulation 10, paragraph (6) is revoked;

(b) in Schedule 7, in column 1, for “Partially dehydrated and dehydrated milk as defined in Directive 76/118/EEC” there is substituted “Partially dehydrated and totally dehydrated milk as defined in Directive 2001/114/EC”.

Transitional provision

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

(a) the food concerned was marked or labelled before 17th July 2004, and

(b) the matters constituting the alleged offence would not have constituted an offence under the Condensed Milk and Dried Milk Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1977 as they stood immediately before the coming into operation of these Regulations.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on 10th June 2003.

L.S.

W. B. Smith

A Senior Officer of the

Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety