Statutory Rule 1999 No. 143

      Food Labelling (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999


      © Crown Copyright 1999

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STATUTORY RULES OF NORTHERN IRELAND


1999 No. 143

FOOD

Food Labelling (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999

  Made 22nd March 1999 
  Coming into operation 23rd March 1999 

The Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Agriculture being the Departments concerned[1] in exercise of the powers conferred on them by Articles 15(1)(e) and (f), 16, 17, 25(1) and (3), 26(3) and 47(2) of the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991[2] and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf and after consultation in accordance with Article 47(3) of that Order with such organisations as appear to them to be representative of interests likely to be substantially affected by the Regulations, hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement
     1. These Regulations may be cited as the Food Labelling (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 and shall come into operation on 23rd March 1999.

Amendment of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996
    
2. The Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996[3] shall be amended in accordance with regulations 3 to 12.

     3. In regulation 2(1) (interpretation) - 

    (a) after the definition of "food for a particular nutritional use" there shall be inserted - 

      " "the GMO particulars" means the additional specific labelling particulars required by Article 2(3) of Regulation 1139/98;";

    (b) after the definition of "recommended daily allowance" there shall be inserted - 

     4. In regulation 3(1)(iv) (exemptions), for "and Directive 94/54" there shall be substituted ", Directive 94/54 and Regulation 1139/98".

    
5. In regulation 26 (small packages and certain indelibly marked bottles) - 

     6. In regulation 35 (general requirement as to manner of marking or labelling), after "by these Regulations" there shall be inserted "or by Regulation 1139/98".

    
7. In regulation 36 (manner of marking or labelling in the case of food to which regulation 23 or 27 applies) - 

     8. In regulation 38(1) (intelligibility of marking or labelling), after "by these Regulations" there shall be inserted "or by Regulation 1139/98".

    
9. In regulation 44 (offences and penalties), for the words from paragraph (e) to the end there shall be substituted - 

     10. In regulation 47(b) (defence in relation to exports), for "and Directive 94/54" there shall be substituted ", Directive 94/54 and Regulation 1139/98".

    
11. For regulation 48 (application of various provisions of the Order) there shall be substituted - 

     12. In regulation 50 (transitional provision) after paragraph (4) there shall be inserted - 



Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health and Social Services on

L.S.


John O'Neill
Assistant Secretary

22nd March 1999.



Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Agriculture on

L.S.


Liam McKibben
Assistant Secretary

22nd March 1999.



EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)


These Regulations amend the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 ("the principal Regulations"), as amended. They provide for the enforcement of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1139/98 concerning the compulsory indication, on the labelling of certain foodstuffs produced from genetically modified organisms, of particulars other than those provided for in Directive 79/112/EEC (regulations 3 and 9).

The products concerned are those which are to be delivered as such to the final consumer, having been produced in whole or in part from genetically modified soya beans or genetically modified maize (Article 1 of Regulation 1139/98 refers. There are transitional provisions in Article 4 of that Regulation in respect of products which are already on the market or which are labelled in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1813/97 (O.J. No. L257, 20.9.97, p. 7)).

Regulation 1139/98 was made pursuant to Article 4(2) of Council Directive 79/112/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs (O.J. No. L33, 8.2.79, p. 1). Pursuant to Article 11 of that Directive, the Regulations - 

    (a) contain exemptions from the need to be labelled with the particulars required by Regulation 1139/98 in the case of small packages and certain indelibly marked glass bottles, and include a similar exemption in respect of the particulars specified in regulations 33 and 34 of the principal Regulations (relating to foods packaged in certain gases and foods containing sweetners or added sugars) (regulation 5); and

    (b) make provision as to the manner of marking or labelling in the case of the particulars required by Regulation 1139/98 (regulations 6, 7 and 8).

Further to Article 12 of Directive 79/112/EEC, the Regulations - 

    (a) allow alternative labelling arrangements instead of the particulars required by Regulation 1139/98 in the case of sales to the ultimate consumer by appropriate premises of food which is prepacked for direct sale or not prepacked (regulation 7); and

    (b) contain transitional provisions in respect of sales of such food to the ultimate consumer (regulation 12).

These Regulations also make some consequential amendments and some technical amendments in respect of the application of specified provisions of the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 (regulations 4, 10 and 11).


Notes:

[1] See Article 2(2) of S.I. 1991/762 (N.I. 7) as amended by S.I. 1996/1633 (N.I. 12) for the definitions of "the Department concerned" and "regulations"back

[2] S.I. 1991/762 (N.I. 7) as amended by S.I. 1996/1633 (N.I. 12)back

[3] S.R. 1996 No. 383; the relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1998 No. 253back

[4] O.J. No. L159, 3.6.98, p. 4back

[5] O.J. No. L190, 4.7.98, p. 86back



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