The General Food Regulations 2004
2004 No. 3279
FOOD
The General Food Regulations 2004
Made 9th December 2004
Laid before Parliament 10th December 2004
Coming into force 1st January 2005
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 16(1), 17(2), 26(1) and (3) and 48(1) of the Food Safety Act 19901and now vested in him2, having had regard in accordance with section 48(4A) of that Act to relevant advice given by the Food Standards Agency and, being a Minister designated3for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19724in relation to measures relating to food (including drink) including the primary production of food, in exercise (as respects regulations 8 to 16 of the following Regulations) of the powers conferred by the said section 2(2), after consultation as required by Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002of the European Parliament and of the Council5laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety, makes the following Regulations:
Title, extent and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the General Food Regulations 2004; they extend to Great Britain and come into force on 1st January 2005.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations —
“the Act” means the Food Safety Act 1990;
“the Agency” means the Food Standards Agency;
“port health authority” means —
(a) in relation to the London port health district (within the meaning given to that phrase for the purposes of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 19846by section 7(1) of that Act), the Common Council of the City of London; and
(b) in relation to any port health district constituted by order under section 2(3) of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984, a port health authority for that district constituted by order under section 2(4) of that Act;
“Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002” means Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002of 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.
(2) Expressions used both in these Regulations and in Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002have the same meaning in these Regulations as they have in that Regulation.
Competent authorities for the purposes of Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002
3.—(1) The following bodies are designated as the competent authorities for the purposes of the provisions of Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002specified in paragraph (2) —
(a)
(a) the Agency,
(b)
(b) each port health authority in its district, and
(c)
(c) outside such districts, each food authority in its area.
(2) Those provisions of Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002are —
(a)
(a) Article 14(8) (power of competent authorities to take appropriate measures to impose restrictions on the placing of food on the market or to require its withdrawal from the market in certain circumstances);
(b)
(b) Article 18(2) and (3) (competent authorities to whom food business operators must make information available on demand as to the traceability of food);
(c)
(c) Article 19 (food business operators to inform and collaborate with competent authorities to avoid or reduce risks posed by a food).
Requirements under Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 : offences
4. Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any of the following provisions of Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002shall be guilty of an offence —
(a) Article 14(1) (food safety requirements);
(b) Article 16 (presentation) in so far as it relates to food;
(c) Article 18(2) or (3) (traceability) in so far as it relates to food business operators;
(d) Article 19 (responsibilities for food : food business operators).
Punishment of offences
5.—(1) A person guilty of an offence under regulation 4 shall be liable —
(a)
(a) on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both;
(b)
(b) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the relevant amount or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.
(2) In paragraph (1) “the relevant amount” means —
(a)
(a) in the case of an offence under regulation 4(a), £20,000;
(b)
(b) in any other case, the statutory maximum.
Enforcement
6.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), each food authority shall enforce and execute the following provisions of Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002and these Regulations in its area —
(a)
(a) Article 14;
(b)
(b) Article 16 in so far as it relates to food;
(c)
(c) Article 18 in so far as it relates to food business operators; and
(d)
(d) Article 19.
(2) Each port health authority shall enforce and execute those provisions of Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002and these Regulations in its district.
(3) The Agency shall also enforce and execute Articles 14 and 19 of Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002and these Regulations in so far as they relate to those Articles as regards relevant food.
(4) In paragraph (3) “relevant food” means food in respect of which the Agency is specified in regulations made pursuant to section 6(4) of the Act or made under the European Communities Act 1972 as being the enforcement authority.
Application of various provisions of the Act
7.—(1) The following provisions of the Act shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations with the modification that any reference in those provisions to the Act or Part thereof shall be construed as a reference to these Regulations —
(a)
(a) section 20 (offences due to fault of another person);
(b)
(b) section 21 (defence of due diligence) with the modifications that subsections (2) to (4) shall apply in relation to an offence under regulation 4(a) or (b) as they apply in relation to an offence under section 14 or 15, and in subsection (4) the references to “sale” shall be deemed to include references to “placing on the market”;
(c)
(c) section 22 (defence of publication in the course of a business) with the modification that the words “for sale” shall be omitted;
(d)
(d) section 30(8) (which relates to documentary evidence);
(e)
(e) section 35(1) (punishment of offences)7in so far as it relates to offences under section 33(1) as applied by paragraph (3) below;
(f)
(f) section 35(2) and (3) in so far as it relates to offences under section 33(2) as applied by paragraph (3) below;
(g)
(g) section 36 (offences by bodies corporate);
(h)
(h) section 36A (offences by Scottish partnerships)8.
(2) In the application of section 32 of the Act (powers of entry) for the purposes of these Regulations, the references in subsection (1) to the Act shall be construed as including references to Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002.
(3) The following provisions of the Act shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations with the modification that any reference in those provisions to the Act shall be construed as including a reference to Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002and these Regulations —
(a)
(a) section 3 (presumptions that food is intended for human consumption) with the modifications that the references to “sold” and “sale” shall be deemed to include references to “placed on the market” and “placing on the market” respectively;
(b)
(b) section 33(1) (obstruction etc. of officers);
(c)
(c) section 33(2), with the modification that...
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