Statutory Instruments

1972 No. 1957

CONSUMER PROTECTION

The Cooking Utensils (Safety) Regulations 1972

Made

12th December 1972

Laid before Parliament

21st December 1972

Coming into Operation

1st April 1973

In pursuance of sections 1 and 2(4) of the Consumer Protection Act 1961 and of the Schedule to that Act as amended by the London Government Act 1963, and after consulting with such persons and bodies of persons as appear to me to be requisite, I hereby make the following Regulations:—

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Cooking Utensils (Safety) Regulations 1972 and shall come into operation on 1st April 1973.

(2) In these Regulations “the Act” means the Consumer Protection Act 1961 as amended by the London Government Act 1963 and the Consumer Protection Act 1971.

(3) The Interpretation Act 1889 shall apply for the interpretation of these Regulations as it applies for the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.

2. No kitchen utensil in which to cook food shall be coated, on any surface designed to come in contact with the food, with a tin or other metallic coating which (apart from any local contamination derived from solder forming part of the utensil) contains lead or any compound of lead so that the proportion (by weight) of lead calculated as the element (Pb) exceeds 20 parts in 10,000 parts of that coating.

3. As respects the requirements of these Regulations, subsections (1) and (2) of section 2 of the Act (which prohibits sales and possession for sale of goods and component parts not complying with regulations) shall apply in relation to goods and component parts manufactured before the imposition of those requirements notwithstanding anything in subsection (4) of that section (which exempts such goods and parts unless regulations otherwise provide).

4.—(1) The Schedule to the Act shall have effect in relation to goods to which these Regulations apply.

(2) In relation to goods to which these Regulations apply “local authority” in the Schedule to the Act shall mean the council of a county borough, the council of a London borough, or the Common Council of the City of London; as respects any non-county borough or urban district which has according to the last published census for the time being a population of 60,000 or upwards, the council of the borough or urban district; as respects any other area in England and Wales, the council of the county; and, in Scotland, the council of any county or any town.

Robert Carr

One of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State

Home Office

Whitehall

12th December 1972

EXPLANATORY NOTE

By the Consumer Protection Act 1961 , the Secretary of State is empowered to make regulations imposing requirements, in respect of any prescribed class of goods, to prevent or reduce risk of death or personal injury.

With effect from 1st April 1973, these Regulations impose such requirements in relation to kitchen utensils in which to cook food, and accordingly under the Act, subject to certain exceptions, no person may sell or have in his possession for sale a utensil not complying with the Regulations.

Regulation 2 restricts the lead content of any tin or other metallic coating used on any surface of the utensil designed to come in contact with the food. Regulation 3 provides that goods shall be subject to the Regulations notwithstanding that they were manufactured before the coming into operation of the Regulations.