The Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009

In these Regulations —

• “acid” means any substance which increases the acidity of a food and/or imparts a sour taste to it;

• “acidity regulator” means any substance which alters or controls the acidity or alkalinity of a food;

• “anti-caking agent” means any substance which reduces the tendency of individual particles of a food to adhere to each other;

• “anti-foaming agent” means any substance which prevents or reduces foaming;

• “antioxidant” means any substance which prolongs the shelf-life of a food by protecting it against deterioration caused by oxidation, including fat rancidity and colour changes;

• “bulking agent” means any substance which contributes to the volume of a food without contributing significantly to its available energy value;

• “carrier” and “carrier solvent” have the meanings respectively given to them in Directive 95/2;

• “colour” has the meaning given to it in Directive 94/36;

• “Directive 88/388” means Council Directive 88/388/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to flavourings for use in foodstuffs and to source materials for their production5;

• “Directive 94/35” means European Parliament and Council Directive 94/35/EC on sweeteners for use in foodstuffs6;

• “Directive 94/36” means European Parliament and Council Directive 94/36/EC on colours for use in foodstuffs7;

• “Directive 95/2” means European Parliament and Council Directive 95/2/EC on food additives other than colours and sweeteners8;

• “Directive 08/60” means Commission Directive 2008/60/EC laying down specific purity criteria concerning sweeteners for use in foodstuffs9;

• “Directive 08/84” means Commission Directive 2008/84/EC laying down specific purity criteria on food additives other than colours and sweeteners10;

• “Directive 08/128” means Commission Directive 2008/128/EC laying down specific purity criteria concerning colours for use in foodstuffs11;

• “Directive 09/39” means Directive 2009/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on foodstuffs for particular nutritional uses (recast)12;

• “emulsifier” means any substance which makes it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases, such as oil and water, in a food;

• “emulsifying salt” means any substance which converts proteins contained in cheese into a dispersed form, thereby bringing about homogenous distribution of fat and other components;

• “firming agent” means any substance which makes or keeps tissues of fruit or vegetables firm or crisp or which interacts with a gelling agent to produce or strengthen a gel;

• “flavour enhancer” means any substance which enhances the existing taste and/or odour of a food;

• “flavouring” has the meaning that it bears in Article 1.2 of Directive 88/388;

• “flour treatment agent” means a substance added to flour or dough to improve its baking quality, but does not include any emulsifier;

• “foaming agent” means any substance which makes it possible to form a homogenous dispersion of a gaseous phase in a liquid or solid food;

• “food” means food sold, or intended for sale, for human consumption and, for the purposes of regulation 16 and in regulation 17, includes a colour, a sweetener and a food additive;

• “food additive”—

  1. a

     subject to paragraphs (b) and (c), means any substance, whether or not it has nutritive value, that is not normally consumed as a food in itself or used as a characteristic ingredient of food, and which, if added intentionally for a technological purpose to food in its manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packaging, transport or storage, results, or may reasonably be expected to result, in the substance or its by-products becoming directly or indirectly a component of the food concerned;

  2. b

     in the definition of “food” and for the purposes of regulations 8 to 10, 16 and 17, includes a carrier or carrier solvent; and

  3. c

     for the purposes of regulations 8 to 10, does not include—

     1. i

        any substance used for the treatment of drinking water as provided for in Council Directive 98/83/EC on the quality of water intended for human consumption13,

     2. ii

        any product containing pectin and derived from dried apple pomace or peel of citrus fruit, or from a mixture of both, by the action of dilute acid followed by partial neutralisation with sodium or potassium salts (liquid pectin),

     3. iii

        chewing gum bases,

     4. iv

        white or yellow dextrin, roasted or dextrinated starch, starch modified by acid or alkali treatment, bleached starch, physically modified starch and starch treated by amylolitic enzymes,

     5. v

        ammonium chloride,

     6. vi

        blood plasma, edible gelatine, protein hydrolysates and their salts, milk protein and gluten,

     7. vii

        amino acids and their salts (other than glumatic acid, glycine, cysteine and cystine and their salts) having no additive function,

     8. viii

        caseinates and casein, and

     9. ix

        inulin;

• “food for infants or young children” means food covered by Article 1.1, 2 and 3(c) of Directive 09/39, but also includes any food for infants or young children who are not in good health;

• “gelling agent” means any substance which gives a food texture through the formation of a gel;

• “glazing agent” means any substance which, when applied to the external surface of a food, imparts a shiny appearance or provides a protective coating, and includes lubricants;

• “humectant” means any substance which prevents a food from drying out by counteracting the effect of an atmosphere having a low degree of humidity, or which promotes the dissolution of a powder in an aqueous medium;

• “infants” means children under the age of one year;

• “miscellaneous additive” means any food additive which is used or intended to be used primarily as an acid, acidity regulator, anti-caking agent, anti-foaming agent, antioxidant, bulking agent, carrier, carrier solvent, emulsifier, emulsifying salt, firming agent, flavour enhancer, flour treatment agent, foaming agent, gelling agent, glazing agent, humectant, modified starch, packaging gas, preservative, propellant, raising agent, sequestrant, stabiliser or thickener, but does not include any processing aid or any enzyme except invertase or lysozyme;

• “modified starch” means any substance obtained by one or more chemical treatments of edible starch, which may have undergone a physical or enzymatic treatment, and may be acid or alkali thinned or bleached;

• “the Order” means the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991;

• “packaging gas” means any gas, other than air, which is introduced into a container before, during or after the placing of a food in that container;

• F2“permitted colour” means —

  1. a

     before 1st December 2012, any colour listed in Annex I to Directive 94/36 which satisfies the specific purity criteria for that colour set out in the Annex to Directive 08/128;

  2. b

     on or after 1st December 2012, any colour listed in Annex I to Directive 94/36 which satisfies the specific purity criteria for that colour set out in the Annex to Regulation 231/2012

• “permitted miscellaneous additive” means any miscellaneous additive listed in Annex I, III, IV or V of Directive 95/2 which satisfies the purity criteria (if any) for that additive;

• F3“permitted sweetener” means —

  1. a

     before 1st December 2012 —

     1. i

        any sweetener specified in the second column of the Annex to Directive 94/35 which satisfies the specific purity criteria for that sweetener set out in Annex I to Directive 08/60, or

     2. ii

        in the case of E960 steviol glycosides, a sweetener which satisfies the purity criteria for that sweetener set out in the Annex to Regulation 231/2012;

  2. b

     on or after 1st December 2012—

     1. i

        any sweetener specified in the second column of the Annex to Directive 94/35, or

     2. ii

        E960 steviol glycosides

     which satisfies the specific purity criteria for that sweetener set out in the Annex to Regulation 231/2012;

• “placing on the market” has the meaning given to it in Article 3.8 of Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety;

• “preservative” means any substance which prolongs the shelf-life of a food by protecting it against deterioration caused by micro-organisms;

• “processing aid” means any substance not consumed as a food by itself, which is intentionally used in the processing of raw materials, foods or their ingredients to fulfil a certain technological purpose during treatment or processing and which may result in the unintentional but technically unavoidable presence of residues of the substance or its derivatives in the final product, but only if those residues do not present any health risk and do not have any technological effect on the finished product;

• “propellant” means any gas, other than air, which expels a food from a container;

• F4“purity criteria”, in relation to a miscellaneous additive, means —

  1. a

     before 1st December 2012, the purity criteria set out in relation to that additive in Annex I to Directive 08/84 or, in the case of E1205 basic methacrylate copolymer, in the Annex to Regulation 231/2012;

  2. b

     on or after 1st December 2012, the purity criteria set out in relation to that additive in the Annex to Regulation 231/2012;

• “raising agent” means any substance or combination of substances which liberates gas and thereby increases the volume of a dough or a batter;

• “Regulation 1333/2008” means Regulation (EC) No.1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on food additives14F5as read with Regulation 231/2012;

• F6“Regulation 1129/2011” means Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1129/2011 amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No. 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing a Union list of food additives, as read with Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1131/2011 amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No. 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to steviol glycosides;

• “Regulation 1130/2011” means Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1130/2011 amending Annex III to Regulation (EC) No. 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on food additives by establishing a Union list of food additives approved for use in food additives, food enzymes, food flavourings and nutrients;

• “Regulation 231/2012” means Commission Regulation (EU) No. 231/2012 laying down specifications for food additives listed in Annexes II and III to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council;

• “relevant food additive” means any miscellaneous additive, colour or sweetener, or an enzyme which is not acting as a processing aid;

• “sell” includes possess for sale, and offer, expose or advertise for sale;

• “sequestrant” means any substance which forms a chemical complex with metallic ions;

• “specified permitted colour” means any permitted colour other than—

  1. a

     E123 Amaranth;

  2. b

     E127 Erythrosine;

  3. c

     E128 Red 2G;

  4. d

     E154 Brown FK;

  5. e

     E160b Annatto, bixin, norbixin;

  6. f

     E161g Canthaxanthin;

  7. g

     E173 Aluminium; and

  8. h

     E180 Litholrubine BK;

• “specified Regulation 1333/2008 provision” means any provision of Regulation 1333/2008 that is specified in the first column of Schedule 1 and whose subject-matter is described in the second column of Schedule 1;

• “stabiliser” has the meaning given to it in Directive 95/2;

• “sweetener” means any food additive which is used or intended to be used—

  1. a

     to impart a sweet taste to food; or

  2. b

     as a table-top sweetener;

• “thickener” means any substance which increases the viscosity of a food; and

• “young children” means children aged between one and three years.

Other expressions used in these Regulations and in Directive 94/35, 94/36 or 95/2 have, in so far as the context admits, the same meaning as they bear in the Directive concerned.

Any reference to an EU instrument is a reference to it as amended, extended or applied at the date of making of these Regulations but any reference to an Annex to an EU instrument that is specified in paragraph (5) is a reference to that Annex as for the time being amended.

The EU instruments are Directive 94/35, Directive 95/2, Regulation 1333/2008 and Regulation 231/2012.

The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 195415 shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

A person shall not use in or on any food any colour other than a permitted colour.

A person shall not use any permitted colour in or on any food listed in Annex II to Directive 94/36 except in accordance with paragraph (3)(a).

A person shall not use any permitted colour listed in the first column of Annex IV to Directive 94/36 in or on any food other than the food or foods listed in relation to that permitted colour in the second column of that Annex.

A person shall not sell any colour for use in or on food unless such colour is a permitted colour.

A person shall not sell direct to the consumer any colour other than a specified permitted colour.

A person shall not sell any food having in or on it any added colour other than a permitted colour that has been used in or on that food without contravening any of the provisions of regulation 3, 4 or 5.

A person shall not use in or on any food any miscellaneous additive other than a permitted miscellaneous additive.

Subject to the first paragraph of note 3 to Annex I to Directive 95/2, a person shall not use any permitted miscellaneous additive listed in that Annex in or on any food which is listed in Article 2.3(a) of that Directive but not in the first column of Annex II to that Directive.

Subject to the first paragraph of note 3 to Annex I to Directive 95/2, a person shall not use any permitted miscellaneous additive listed in that Annex in or on any food which is listed in the first column of Annex II to that Directive, except a permitted miscellaneous additive which is listed, or referred to, in relation to that food in the second column of that Annex in an amount not exceeding the maximum level (if any) for such additive in or on such food as listed in the third column of that Annex.

A person shall not use any permitted miscellaneous additive listed in Annex I to Directive 95/2 in or on any food which is listed neither in Article 2.3(a) of that Directive nor in the first column of Annex II to that Directive and is not food for infants or young children, in an amount higher than quantum satis or otherwise than in compliance with note 2 to and the second paragraph of note 3 to Annex I to that Directive.

A person shall not use any permitted miscellaneous additive listed in Annex III or IV to Directive 95/2 in or on any food which is not food for infants or young children, other than a food which is listed in either of those Annexes in relation to that additive and in accordance with the provisions contained in those Annexes governing the use of such additive in or on such food.

A person shall not use any miscellaneous additive primarily as a carrier or carrier solvent unless that additive is a permitted miscellaneous additive listed in Annex V to Directive 95/2 and its use complies with the restrictions (if any) mentioned in relation to that additive in the third column of that Annex.

Subject to the first paragraph of note 3 to Annex I to Directive 95/2, a person shall not use any permitted miscellaneous additive in or on any food for infants or young children unless that additive is listed in Annex VI to Directive 95/2, in which case it may be used only in accordance with the conditions contained in that Annex.

A person shall not use in or on any food for infants or young children any relevant food additive in combination with a miscellaneous additive which has been used primarily as a carrier or carrier solvent unless that miscellaneous additive is listed in Annex VI to Directive 95/2 and its presence in or on the food is in accordance with the conditions contained in that Annex.

A person shall not sell any miscellaneous additive for use in or on food unless that additive is a permitted miscellaneous additive.

A person shall not sell any miscellaneous additive for use primarily as a carrier or carrier solvent unless that additive is a permitted miscellaneous additive listed in Annex V to Directive 95/2.

A person shall not sell direct to the consumer any miscellaneous additive other than a permitted miscellaneous additive.

A person shall not sell any food having in it or on it any miscellaneous additive unless it is a permitted miscellaneous additive which has been used, or is present, in or on that food without contravening any of the provisions of regulation 8(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (7) or (8).

A person shall not sell any relevant food additive in combination with a miscellaneous additive which has been used primarily as a carrier or carrier solvent unless that miscellaneous additive has been used in respect of that relevant food additive without contravening the provisions of regulation 8(6).

A person who contravenes any provision of regulation 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 or 12 is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

In the application of Article 33 of the Order (powers of entry) for the purposes of these Regulations, the references in Article 33(1) to the Order are to be construed as including references to Regulation 1333/2008.

Article 35 of the Order (time limit for prosecutions) shall apply to offences under these Regulations as it applies to offences punishable under Article 36(2) of the Order.

In the Mineral Hydrocarbons in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 196628 in regulation 3 (exemptions), for paragraph (1)(d), there is substituted—

In the Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars Regulations (Northern Ireland) 200329, for paragraph 6 of Schedule 3 (additional ingredients permitted in particular designated products) there is substituted—

In the Condensed Milk and Dried Milk Regulations (Northern Ireland) 200330 for paragraph (a) of Note 1 to Schedule 1 (partly or wholly dehydrated preserved milk products and their reserved descriptions) there is substituted—

In the Meat Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 200432, for the Note to Schedule 3 (added ingredients which are not required to be indicated in the name of the food in the case of a meat product to which regulation 5 applies) there is substituted—