2002 No. 379

FOOD, ENGLAND

The Sweeteners in Food (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2002

Made

Laid before Parliament

Coming into force

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 16(1)(a) and (e), 17(1), 26(1) and (3) and 48(1) of, and paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to, the Food Safety Act 19901, and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, having had regard, in accordance with section 48(4A) of that Act, to relevant advice given by the Food Standards Agency, and after consultation in accordance with section 48(4) and (4B) of that Act, makes the following Regulations:

Title, commencement, extent and interpretation1

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Sweeteners in Food (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2002, shall come into force on 15th March 2002 and shall extend to England only.

2

In these Regulations “the principal Regulations” means the Sweeteners in Food Regulations 19952.

Amendment of the Sweeteners in Food Regulations 1995

2

The principal Regulations shall be amended, in so far as they extend to England, in accordance with regulations 3 and 4.

3

In paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (interpretation)—

a

in the definition of “Directive 95/31/EC” there shall be added at the end the expression “and by Directive 2001/52/EC”3; and

b

for the definition of “permitted sweetener” there shall be substituted the following definition—

  • “permitted sweetener” means any sweetener specified in column 2 of Schedule 1 which satisfies the specific purity criteria for that sweetener set out—

    1. a

      in the case of any sweetener other than sucralose, in the Annex to Directive 95/31/EC; and

    2. b

      in the case of sucralose, at pages 119 to 124 of the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Compendium of Food Additives Specifications Addendum 2 (1993) FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 52 Addendum 2;

4

In Schedule 1 (permitted sweeteners and the foods in or on which they may be used) there shall be added at the end, in columns 2 to 4, the provisions specified in the Schedule to these Regulations.

Consequential amendments5

1

Paragraph (2) of regulation 4 (consequential amendments) of the Sweeteners in Food (Amendment) (England) Regulations 20014 shall cease to have effect.

2

In the provisions specified in paragraph (3), insofar as they extend to England, references to the principal Regulations shall be construed as references to those Regulations as amended up to and including the amendments effected by these Regulations:

3

The provisions are—

a

the definition of “permitted sweetener” in paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (interpretation) of the Jam and Similar Products Regulations 19815;

b

the definition of “additive” in paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (interpretation) of the Meat Products and Spreadable Fish Products Regulations 19846;

c

the definition of “sweetener” in Part II of Schedule 1 (categories of food additives) to the Food Additives Labelling Regulations 19927;

d

the definition of “sweetener” in paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (interpretation) of the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations 19958; and

e

in the Food Labelling Regulations 19969—

i

paragraph (1) of regulation 34 (foods containing sweeteners, added sugar and sweeteners, aspartame or polyols); and

ii

in Schedule 8 (misleading descriptions) Part I (general), the condition in column 2 opposite the description “ice cream” in column 1.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Health

Yvette CooperParliamentary Under Secretary of State,Department of Health

SCHEDULEPROVISIONS ADDED TO COLUMNS 2 TO 4 OF SCHEDULE 1 TO THE PRINCIPAL REGULATIONS

Regulation 4

Sucralose10

Non-alcoholic drinks

Water-based flavoured drinks, energy-reduced or with no added sugar

300 mg/l

Milk- and milk-derivative-based or fruit-juice-based drinks, energy-reduced or with no added sugar

300 mg/l

Desserts and similar products

Water-based flavoured desserts, energy-reduced or with no added sugar

400 mg/kg

Milk- and milk-derivative-based preparations, energy-reduced or with no added sugar

400 mg/kg

Fruit- and vegetable-based desserts, energy-reduced or with no added sugar

400 mg/kg

Egg-based desserts, energy-reduced or with no added sugar

400 mg/kg

Cereal-based desserts, energy-reduced or with no added sugar

400 mg/kg

Breakfast cereals with a fibre content of more than 15%, and containing at least 20% bran, energy-reduced or with no added sugar

400 mg/kg

Fat-based desserts, energy-reduced or with no added sugar

400 mg/kg

Confectionery

Confectionery with no added sugar

1000 mg/kg

Breath-freshening micro-sweets, with no added sugar

2400 mg/kg

Tablet-form confectionery, energy-reduced

200 mg/kg

Cocoa- or dried-fruit-based confectionery, energy-reduced or with no added sugar

800 mg/kg

Starch-based confectionery, energy-reduced or with no added sugar

1000 mg/kg

Chewing gum with no added sugar

3000 mg/kg

Strongly flavoured freshening throat pastilles with no added sugar

1000 mg/kg

Miscellaneous

“Snacks”: certain flavours of ready to eat, prepacked, dry, savoury starch products and coated nuts

400 mg/kg

Cornets and wafers, for ice-cream, with no added sugar

800 mg/kg

Essoblaten

800 mg/kg

Cocoa-, milk-, dried-fruit- or fat-based sandwich spreads, energy-reduced or with no added sugar

400 mg/kg

Drinks consisting of a mixture of a non-alcoholic drink and beer, cider, perry, spirits or wine

250 mg/l

Cider and perry

250 mg/l

Alcohol-free beer or with an alcohol content not exceeding 1.2% vol

250 mg/l

“Bière de table/Tafelbier/Table beer” (original wort content less than 6%) except for “Obergäriges Einfachbier”

250 mg/l

Beers with a minimum acidity of 30 milli-equivalents expressed as NaOH

250 mg/l

Brown beers of the “oud bruin” type

250 mg/l

Energy-reduced beer

10 mg/l

Spirit drinks containing less than 15% alcohol by volume

250 mg/l

Edible ices, energy-reduced or with no added sugar

320 mg/kg

Canned or bottled fruit, energy-reduced or with no added sugar

400 mg/kg

Energy-reduced jams, jellies and marmalades

400 mg/kg

Energy-reduced fruit and vegetable preparations

400 mg/kg

Feinkostsalat

140 mg/kg

Sweet-sour preserves of fruit and vegetables

180 mg/kg

Sweet-sour preserves and semi-preserves of fish and marinades of fish, crustaceans and molluscs

120 mg/kg

Sauces

450 mg/kg

Energy-reduced soups

45 mg/l

Mustard

140 mg/kg

Fine bakery products: energy-reduced or with no added sugar

700 mg/kg

Complete formulae for weight control intended to replace total daily food intake or an individual meal

320 mg/kg

Complete formulae and nutritional supplements for use under medical supervision

400 mg/kg

Liquid food supplements/dietary integrators

240 mg/kg

Solid food supplements/dietary integrators

800 mg/kg

Food supplements/diet integrators based on vitamins, and/or mineral elements, syrup-type or chewable

2400 mg/kg

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations, which extend to England only, further amend the Sweeteners in Food Regulations 1995 (S.I.1995/3123 as already amended) which extend to Great Britain, by—

a

bringing up to date the definition of “Directive 95/31/EC” (which relates to specific purity criteria) so as to cover its amendment by Directive 2001/52/EC (OJNo. L190, 12.7.2001, p. 18) to substitute new purity criteria for mannitol and acesulfame K (regulation 3(a));

b

granting provisional authorisation for the marketing and use as a sweetener of sucralose, as permitted by Article 5 of Directive 89/107/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the member States concerning food additives authorised for use in foodstuffs intended for human consumption (OJNo. L40, 11.2.1989, p. 27) (regulations 3(b) and 4); and

c

bringing up to date references to the 1995 Regulations in other Regulations (regulation 5).

No regulatory impact assessment has been prepared in relation to these Regulations.

Copies of the document referred to in regulation 3(b) may be obtained from:

The Stationery Office

PO Box 29

St Crispin’s House

Norwich

NR3 1PD

Alternatively, copies may be obtained online from www.thestationeryoffice.com.