Statutory Instruments
FOOD
Made
16th May 1991
Laid before Parliament
6th June 1991
Coming into force
28th June 1991
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Secretary ofState for Health and the Secretary of State for Wales, acting jointly,in relation to England and Wales and the Secretary of State for Scotlandin relation to Scotland, in exercise of the powers conferred on them bysections 4(1), 6(4), 16(1)(a), (c) and (e), 26(1)(a) and (3) and 48(1)of the Food Safety Act 1990(1) and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf,hereby make the following Regulations after consultation in accordancewith section 48 of the said Act with such organisations as appear tothem to be representative of interests substantially affected by theRegulations:—
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars(England, Wales and Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 1991 and shallcome into force on 28th June 1991.
2.—(1) The Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars Regulations 1977(2) (“the English and Welsh Regulations”) and the Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars (Scotland) Regulations1977(3) (“the Scottish Regulations”) shall be further amended in accordance with the followingprovisions of these Regulations.
(2) In these Regulations“the 1977 Regulations” means the English and Welsh Regulations and the ScottishRegulations.
3. Regulation 2(1) (interpretation) of the 1977 Regulations shall beamended as follows—
(a)for the definition of“fruit juice” substitute the following definition—
““fruit juice” means—
the food consisting of fermentable but unfermented juicewhich—
is obtained from fruit by mechanical processes and has thecharacteristic colour, aroma and flavour of juice of the fruit fromwhich it is obtained, or
is obtained from concentrated fruit juice by the addition of waterand has the organoleptic and analytical characteristics of fruit juiceobtained from fruit of the same kind by mechanical processes, or
is obtained from fruit other than apricots, citrus fruits, grapes,peaches, pears or pineapples by diffusion processes and is intended tobe used in the preparation of concentrated fruit juice;
fruit puree where the nature of the fruit from which thejuice is to be obtained is such that it is impossible to extract thejuice without the pulp;”;
(b)in the definition of“fruit nectar”—
(i)insert immediately after the words“quantity of acid” the words“(if any)”;
(ii)in sub-paragraph (b) delete the words“obtained exclusively from fruit puree or concentrated fruitpuree or an admixture thereof”;
(iii)delete sub-paragraph (c);
(c)in the definition of“sell” insert immediately after the word“sell”the words“, save in relation to regulation 7(1A),”;
(d)after the definition of“sugar” insert the following definition—
(i)in the English and Welsh Regulations—
““ultimate consumer” has the meaning assigned to it by the Food Labelling Regulations 1984(4);”
(ii)in the Scottish Regulations—
““ultimate consumer” has the meaning assigned to it by the Food Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 1984(5);”.
4. Regulation 7 (miscellaneous labelling) of the 1977 Regulations shallbe amended—
(a)by substituting for paragraph (1) thereof the followingparagraph—
“(1) No person shall sell—
(a)any fruit juice or dried fruit juice which, in accordance withparagraph (b), (c) or (d) of the proviso to regulation 11(1), containsany added sugar in excess of 15 grammes per litre, or
(b)any concentrated fruit juice which in accordance with paragraph (b),(c) or (d) of the proviso to regulation 11(1) contains any added sugar,
unless the food is marked or labelled with the word“sweetened” followed by a declaration of the maximum added sugar content of thefood in grammes per litre, so, however, that the content declared shallnot exceed the actual content by more than 15 per cent of the actualcontent.”;
(b)by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new paragraph—
“(1A) No person shall sell any concentrated fruit juice which, inaccordance with paragraph (m) of the proviso to regulation 11(1),contains any added sugar unless at the time of that sale the purchaserhas been notified that sugar has been added to the concentrated fruitjuice.”;
(c)by substituting for paragraph (9) thereof the followingparagraph—
(i)in the English and Welsh Regulations—
“(9) In this regulation“catering establishment” has the meaning assigned to it by the Food Labelling Regulations1984.”.
(ii)in the Scottish Regulations—
“(9) In this regulation“catering establishment” has the meaning assigned to it by the Food Labelling (Scotland)Regulations 1984.”.
5. Regulation 8A (degree of concentration of concentrated fruit juice)of the 1977 Regulations shall be amended by deleting paragraph (2).
6. The proviso to regulation 11(1) of the 1977 Regulations (whichpermits additional ingredients) shall be amended as follows—
(a)in sub-paragraph (f)(i) substitute“items 1A, 3, 4 and 5A of column 1” for“items 3 and 4 of column 1”;
(b)insert the following new sub-paragraphs after sub-paragraph(k)—
“(l)for the purposes of sub-paragraph (b), (c) and (d) of thisparagraph“concentrated fruit juice” shall mean concentrated fruit juice which has been prepackaged forsale to the ultimate consumer;
(m)concentrated orange juice which is not prepackaged and not intendedfor sale to the ultimate consumer may contain added sugar in aproportion after dilution to its preconcentrated strength not exceeding15 grammes per litre calculated as dry matter.”.
7. For Schedule 1 to the 1977 Regulations (which specifies minimumquantities) there shall be substituted the new Schedule 1 set out in theSchedule to these Regulations.
8. Schedule 4 to the 1977 Regulations (which permits the addition oftypes of acid) shall be amended as follows—
(a)in item 1 insert after“Apple nectar” the words“other than apple nectar obtained exclusively from apple pureeor concentrated apple puree or an admixture thereof”;
(b)insert the following item immediately after item 1—
| “In column 1 | In column 2 | In column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (fruit juice, concentrated fruit juice or fruit nectar) | (added permitted acid) | (grammes per litre after dilution if appropriate, not exceeding) |
1A. Apple nectar obtained exclusively from apple puree or concentrated apple puree or an admixture thereof | Citric acid | 5”; |
(c)insert the following item between existing items 5 and 6—
| “In column 1 | In column 2 | In column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (fruit juice, concentrated fruit juice or fruit nectar) | (added permitted acid) | (grammes per litre after dilution if appropriate, not exceeding) |
5A. Any admixture of the fruit nectars referred to in items 1A, 3 and 4 of this Schedule | Citric acid | 5”. |
In witness whereof the Official Seal of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is hereunto affixed on 15th May 1991.
L.S.
John Selwyn Gummer
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Stephen Dorrell
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health
15th May 1991
David Hunt
Secretary of State for Wales
16th May 1991
Strathclyde
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Scottish Office
15th May 1991
Regulation 7
Regulation 2(1)
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit from which the product is obtained | Minimum quantity of acid expressed as tartaric acid and in grammes per litre of the finished product | Minimum quantity of juice or puree or of juice and puree expressed as a percentage of the weight of the finished product |
1. Apricots | 3 | 40 |
Bilberries | 4 | 40 |
Blackberries | 6 | 40 |
Blackcurrants | 8 | 25 |
Cherries (other than sour cherries) | 6 | 40 |
Cranberries | 9 | 30 |
Elderberries | 7 | 50 |
Gooseberries | 9 | 30 |
Lemons | — | 25 |
Limes | — | 25 |
Mulberries | 6 | 40 |
Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) | 8 | 25 |
Plums | 6 | 30 |
Quetsches | 6 | 30 |
Quinces | 7 | 50 |
Quito Naranjillos (Solanum quitoense) | 5 | 25 |
Raspberries | 7 | 40 |
Redcurrants | 8 | 25 |
Rose hips (fruits of the species rosa) | 8 | 40 |
Rowanberries | 8 | 30 |
Sallowthorn berries | 9 | 25 |
Sloes | 8 | 30 |
Sour Cherries | 8 | 35 |
Strawberries | 5 | 40 |
Whitecurrants | 8 | 25 |
Any other fruit with acid juice unpalatable in the natural state | — | 25 |
2. Azeroles (Neopolitan Medlars) | — | 25 |
Bananas | — | 25 |
Bullock’s Heart (Custard Apple) (Annona reticulata) | — | 25 |
Cashew fruits | — | 25 |
Guavas | — | 25 |
Lychees | — | 25 |
Mangoes | — | 35 |
Papayas | — | 25 |
Pomegranates | — | 25 |
Soursop (Annona muricata) | — | 25 |
Spanish Plums (Spondia purpurea) | — | 25 |
Sugar Apples | — | 25 |
Umbu (Spondias tuberosa aroda) | — | 30 |
Any other low acid, pulpy or highly flavoured fruit with juice unpalatable in the natural state | — | 25 |
3. Apples | 3 | 50 |
Peaches | 3 | 45 |
Pears | 3 | 50 |
Pineapples | 4 | 50 |
Citrus fruits other than lemons and limes | 5 | 50 |
Any other fruit with juice palatable in the natural state | — | 50” |
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the Fruit Juices and Fruit NectarsRegulations 1977 and the Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars (Scotland)Regulations 1977.
The principal provisions of these Regulations—
(a)extend the definition of fruit juice to include fruit pureein instances of fruits whose juice cannot be separated from pulp(regulation 3);
(b)allow the substitution of honey for sugar in all fruit nectars (alsoregulation 3);
(c)prohibit the use of an admixture of sugar and honey in theproduction of the fruit nectars in which it was previously allowed (alsoregulation 3);
(d)prohibit the addition of sugar to concentrated fruit juice excepteither that which is prepackaged for sale to the ultimate consumer orconcentrated orange juice (regulation 6);
(e)extend the requirement to label concentrated juice for sale to theultimate consumer as“sweetened” whenever any sugar is added (regulation 4);
(f)require in addition that any purchaser of concentrated orange juice,who is not the ultimate consumer, be notified if sugar has been added(also regulation 4);
(g)extend the use of citric acid in fruit nectars to include nectarmade exclusively from fruit puree or concentrated fruitpuree of apples or of an admixture of apples, peaches and pears(regulation 8).
The amendments prescribed are made in implementation of CouncilDirective No. 89/394/EEC (OJ No. L186, 30.6.89, p.14) which amends forthe third time Council Directive No. 75/726/EEC (OJ No. L311, 1.12.75,p.40) on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerningfruit juices and similar products.