17.—(1) In any proceedings for an offence under regulation 3 concerning the sale of a glass jar —
(a)which contains
(i)infant formula or follow-on formula as defined by Commission Directive 91/321/EC(1), or
(ii)processed cereal-based foods or baby foods for infants and young children as defined by Commission Directive 96/5/EC(2), and
(b)the lid of which is sealed by means of a PVC gasket containing epoxydised soybean oil having PM/Ref No. 88640 in Section A of Annex III,
it shall be a defence to prove the matters set out in paragraph (2).
(2) The matters to be proved are that —
(a)the PVC gasket mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) was compliant with the relevant restrictions and specifications in column 4 at Item 259A of Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Plastic Materials and Articles in Contact with Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006(3);
(b)the glass jar was filled and sealed before 19th November 2006;
(c)the date of filling or a coded indication of that date was present on the jar or its lid at the time of sale; and
(d)the labelling or marking with the particulars mentioned in sub-paragraph (c) at the time of sale complied with the requirements relating to durability in Article 2.1(a) of Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(4).
(3) No person shall without reasonable excuse fail to comply with a request made by the enforcement authority to disclose the date signified by the coded indication mentioned in paragraph (2)(c).
OJ No. L175, 4.7.1991, p.35, as last amended by Directive 2003/14/EC (OJ No. L41, 14.2.2003, p.37)
OJ No. L49, 28.2.1996, p.17, as last amended by Directive 2003/13/EC (OJ No. L41, 14.2.2003, p.33)
OJ No. L109, 6.5.2000, p.29, as last amended by Directive 2003/89/EC (OJ No. L308, 25.11.2003, p.15)