The Official Controls (Animals, Feed and Food) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations apply and enforce Regulation (EC) No. 882/2004 (OJ No. L191, 28.05.2004, p. 1) (“Regulation 882/2004”) in Northern Ireland in relation to animal health and welfare rules, and feed and food law excluded from the Official Feed and Food Controls Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (“the 2006 Regulations”), which also apply and enforce Regulation 882/2004.

These Regulations provide for the designation of the Department as the competent authority for the purposes of Article 4.1 of Regulation 882/2004 (regulation 3).

The designation relates to:

(a) animal health and welfare rules;

(b) feed and food law which concerns controls on animals;

(c) feed law not listed in Schedule 3 to the 2006 Regulations; and

(d) feed and food law concerning controls on food or feed excluded from the designations in the 2006 Regulations, namely:

(i) organic foods, including imported organic food products;

(ii) protected name food products and specific character food products;

(iii) veterinary medicines residues;

(iv) pesticides residues;

(v) animal by-products (in relation to feed);

(vi) the import from third countries of, and intra-Community trade in, products of animal origin; and

(vii) beef labelling.

They also relate to the prevention, control and eradication of TSEs except at slaughterhouses, cutting plants and butcher shops.

The designations do not include medicated feedingstuffs and zootechnical additives, which are covered in paragraph 4 of Schedule 5 to the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2006, S.I. 2006/2407.

These Regulations provide expressly for the exchange of information between the competent authority in Northern Ireland and competent authorities elsewhere in the United Kingdom, and in the European Union (regulation 4).

They create independent powers for a competent authority’s auditors to conduct audits required under Article 4.6 of Regulation 882/2004 (regulation 5).

The Regulations also supplement existing powers of inspectors so that they may bring Commission experts with them for purposes of the Commission’s own audits (regulation 6). There are provisions to facilitate assistance and co-operation between member States required under Title IV (Articles 34 to 40) of Regulation 882/2004 (regulations 6 and 7), in particular to enable officials of the Commission and other member States to attend with an inspector who investigates suspected breaches under the relevant legislation. Regulation 8 provides for the payment on written demand of expenses charged to a feed or food business operator under Article 40.4 of Regulation 882/2004.

Part V provides for the enforcement of the Regulations, including powers of inspectors for this purpose (regulation 11). It is an offence under regulation 12 to obstruct an auditor or an inspector who brings with him representatives from the Commission or other member States, or any persons accompanying an inspector or auditor. It is also an offence under regulation 12 to provide misleading or false information to, or to fail to provide information requested by, an inspector or auditor. The penalty on summary conviction for the offences is a fine at level 5 of the standard scale (currently £5,000) or three months’ imprisonment, or both (regulation 12(4)). Time limits for prosecution are specified in regulation 13.

Regulation 14 amends the definition of “relevant food law” in the 2006 Regulations by removing from that definition the regulation of TSEs except at slaughterhouses, cutting plants and butcher shops.