- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (01/01/2018)
- Original (As made)
Point in time view as at 01/01/2018. This version of this provision has been superseded.
You are viewing this legislation item as it stood at a particular point in time. A later version of this or provision, including subsequent changes and effects, supersedes this version.
Note the term provision is used to describe a definable element in a piece of legislation that has legislative effect – such as a Part, Chapter or section.
There are currently no known outstanding effects for the The Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991, Section 8.
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.
F1F28.—(1) An authorised officer may at all reasonable times inspect any food intended for human consumption which—
(a)has been sold or is offered or exposed for sale;F3. . .
(b)is in the possession of, or has been deposited with or consigned to, any person for the purpose of sale or of preparation for sale;[F3 or]
[F3(c)is otherwise placed on the market for the purposes of Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002.]
and paragraphs (3) to (9) shall apply where, on such an inspection, it appears to the authorised officer that any food fails to comply with food safety requirements.
(2) The following provisions shall also apply where, otherwise than on such an inspection, it appears to an authorised officer that any food is likely to cause food poisoning or any disease communicable to human beings.
(3) The authorised officer may either—
(a)give notice to the person in charge of the food that, until the notice is withdrawn, the food or any specified portion of it—
(i)is not to be used for human consumption; and
(ii)either is not to be removed or is not to be removed except to some place specified in the notice; or
(b)seize the food and remove it in order to have it dealt with by a justice of the peace;
and any person who knowingly contravenes the requirements of a notice under sub‐paragraph (a) shall be guilty of an offence.
(4) Where the authorised officer gives notice under paragraph (3)(a), he shall, as soon as is reasonably practicable and in any event before the expiration of 21 days from the date of the notice, determine whether or not he is satisfied that the food complies with food safety requirements and—
(a)if he is so satisfied, shall forthwith withdraw the notice;
(b)if he is not so satisfied, shall seize the food and remove it in order to have it dealt with by a justice of the peace.
(5) Where an authorised officer seizes and removes food under paragraph (3)(b) or (4)(b), he shall inform the person in charge of the food of his intention to have it dealt with by a justice of the peace and—
(a)any person who under Article 6[F3 or regulation [F44(b)] of the General Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004] might be liable to a prosecution in respect of the food shall, if he attends before the justice of the peace by whom the food falls to be dealt with, be entitled to be heard and to call witnesses;F5. . .
Sub‐para. (b) rep. by 2003 NI 12
(6) If it appears to a justice of the peace, on the basis of such evidence as he considers appropriate in the circumstances, that any food falling to be dealt with by him under this Article fails to comply with food safety requirements, he shall condemn the food and order—
(a)the food to be destroyed or to be so disposed of as to prevent it from being used for human consumption; and
(b)any expenses reasonably incurred in connection with the destruction or disposal to be defrayed by the owner of the food.
(7) If a notice under paragraph (3)(a) is withdrawn, or the justice of the peace by whom any food falls to be dealt with under this Article refuses to condemn it, the district council or, as the case may be,[F6 the Food Standards Agency or] the Department of Agriculture shall compensate the owner of the food for any depreciation in its value resulting from the action taken by the authorised officer.
(8) Any disputed question as to the right to or the amount of any compensation payable under paragraph (7) shall be determined by a single arbitrator appointed, failing agreement between the parties, by the Head of[F6 the Department];F7. . .
(9) In this Article—
(a)any reference to an authorised officer includes a reference to [F8 the Director of Public Health for Northern Ireland] ;
(b)in paragraph (7) the reference to the district council or, as the case may be,[F6 the Food Standards Agency or] the Department of Agriculture includes, in relation to [F8 the Director of Public Health for Northern Ireland], the Health and Social Services Board;
(c)“Health and Social Services Board” means a Health and Social Services Board established under Article 16 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972F9.
F1mod. by SR 1999/255; 261; 335; 336; 357; 360; 420; 422; 2000/72, 73; 2003/299
F2mod. by SR 2004/385
F3SR 2004/505
F4Word in art. 8(5)(a) substituted (31.12.2013) by The Food Safety, Food Hygiene and Official Controls (Sprouting Seeds and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013 (S.R. 2013/291), regs. 1(1), 5
F8Words in art. 8(9) substituted by S.I. 1991/194 (N.I. 1), art. 32(1A) (as substituted (1.4.2009) by virtue of Health and Social Care (Reform) Act (Northern Ireland) 2009 (c. 1), ss. 32, 34(3), Sch. 6 para. 13(11); S.R. 2009/114, art. 2)
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1Art. 8 applied (with modifications) (1.7.2006) by Contaminants in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (S.R. 2006/256), reg. 5(2) (with reg. 5(3))
C2mod. by SR 2004/487
C3Art. 8 applied (with modifications) (1.3.2007) by Contaminants in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/66), reg. 5(2) (with reg. 5(3))
C4Art. 8 applied (with modifications) (1.7.2009) by Contaminants in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 (S.R. 2009/220), reg. 5(2) (with reg. 5(3))
C5Art. 8 applied (with modifications) (31.7.2009) by Food Irradiation Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 (S.R. 2009/258), reg. 11(2)
C6Art. 8 applied (with modifications) (20.1.2010) by Food (Jelly Mini-Cups) (Emergency Control) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 (S.R. 2009/417), reg. 5(2) (subject to reg. 5(3))
C7Art. 8 applied (with modifications) (20.10.2010) by Contaminants in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 (S.R. 2010/335), reg. 5(2) (with reg. 5(3))
C8Art. 8 modified (20.1.2011) by Flavourings in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 (S.R. 2010/414), reg. 6
C9Art. 8 applied with modifications (31.10.2013) by The Contaminants in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013 (S.R. 2013/229), regs. 1, 8(2)
C10Art. 8 applied (31.3.2016) by The Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R. 2016/54), regs. 1, 32(2)
C11Art. 8 applied with modification(s) (31.3.2016) by The Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R. 2016/54), regs. 1, 32(3)
C12Art. 8 applied with modification(s) (1.1.2018) by The Novel Foods Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 (S.R. 2017/233), regs. 1, 5(2), Sch. 2 Pt. 2 (with reg. 5(4))
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.