The Food Labelling (Amendment) Regulations 1998

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations, which apply to Great Britain, amend the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 (“the principal Regulations”). The Regulations implement European Parliament and Council Directive 97/4/EC amending Directive 79/112/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs. This Directive is commonly known as “QUID”.

In implementation of QUID, the Regulations—

(a) require the quantity of certain ingredients or categories of ingredients of a food to be indicated (regulations 6 and 9);

(b) clarify that where a name of a food is prescribed by European Community law, that name must be used as the name of the food (regulation 7); and require food brought into Great Britain in certain circumstances from a member State or an EEA State to comply with detailed rules as to the name of the food (regulations 3, 4 and 14 and Schedule);

(c) provide that food consisting of a single ingredient is exempt from the need to bear a list of ingredients only in certain cases (regulation 8);

(d) require the name “starch” or “modified starch” included in an ingredient list to be accompanied by an indication of its specific vegetable origin if the starch or modified starch may contain gluten (regulations 15 and 16);

(e) include a transitional provision (regulation 13);

(f) make some consequential amendments (regulation 18(1) and (2)).

The Regulations also—

(a) adjust the exemption in the principal Regulations for food brought into Great Britain in certain circumstances from another member State or EEA State, in particular so as to require such food to comply with Articles 2, 3 and 4(2) of Directive 79/112/EEC (regulation 4);

(b) adjust the rule for calculating the percentage of milk fat in any cream for the purposes of regulation 42(3) of the principal Regulations (regulation 11);

(c) update the defence in relation to exports (regulations 3, 12 and 14 and Schedule);

(d) require food to be marked or labelled with the prescribed nutrition labelling if reduced or low energy claims are made (regulation 17);

(e) make some drafting corrections (regulations 10 and 18(3)) and update a cross-reference (regulation 5).

A Regulatory Appraisal has been prepared and placed in the Library of each House of Parliament. Copies may be obtained from the Food Labelling and Standards Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Ergon House, c/o Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR.