Antioxidants in Food Regulations 1978
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1978/105 |
| Year | 1978 |
1978 No. 105
FOOD AND DRUGS
COMPOSITION AND LABELLING
The Antioxidants in Food Regulations 197824thJanuary 1978
7thFebruary 1978
28thFebruary 1978
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretary of State for Social Services, acting jointly, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by sections 4, 7 and 123 of the Food and Drugs Act 1955(a) as amended by section 4(1) of, and paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 4 to, the European Communities Act 1972(b) and as read with the Secretary of State for Social Services Order 1968(c), and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following regulations, after consultation with such organisations as appear to them to be representative of interests substantially affected by the regulations and after reference to the Food Hygiene Advisory Council under section 82 of the Food and Drugs Act 1955 (in so far as the regulations are made in exercise of the powers conferred by the said section 7):—
Citation and commencement
1. These regulations may be cited as the Antioxidants in Food Regulations 1978, and shall come into operation on 28th February 1978.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
"the Act" means the Food and Drugs Act 1955;
"anhydrous edible oils and fats" means oils and fats, intended for sale for human consumption, which have been derived from any animal, bird, fish or plant and from which all or almost all the water has been removed, and includes block suet and the fat content of shredded suet but does not include dairy products, essential oils or isolates from the concentrates of essential oils;
(a) 1955 c. 16. 4 & 5 Eliz. 2
(b) 1972 c. 68.
(c) S.I. 1968/1699.
"antioxidant" means any substance which is capable of delaying, retarding or preventing the development in food of rancidity or other flavour deterioration due to oxidation but does not include—
(a) any permitted artificial sweetener,
(b) any permitted bleaching agent,
(c) any permitted colouring matter,
(d) any permitted emulsifier,
(e) any permitted improving agent,
(f) any permitted miscellaneous additive other than a permitted diluent combined with such an antioxidant,
(g) any permitted preservative,
(h) any permitted stabiliser,
(j) any permitted solvent other than a permitted diluent combined with such an antioxidant,
(k) esters of L-ascorbic acid with straight-chain C14 and C18 fatty acids used or for use to dilute or dissolve colouring matter in accordance with the Colouring Matter in Food Regulations 1973(a), as amended(b);
"appropriate designation" means, as respects any permitted antioxidant or permitted diluent, a name or description or a name and description sufficiently specific, in each case, to indicate to an intending purchaser the true nature of the permitted antioxidant or permitted diluent to which it is applied;
"block suet" means rendered beef suet free from fibrous tissue;
"butter fat" means the product obtained by removing all or almost all the water and milk solids other than fat from milk, cream or butter and includes anhydrous butter fat, butter oil, anhydrous butter oil and anhydrous milk fat;
"container" includes any form of packaging of food for sale as a single item, whether by way of wholly or partly enclosing the food or by way of attaching the food to some other article, and in particular includes a wrapper or confining band;
"dairy product" means any butter, butter fat, cream, dried cream, milk, condensed milk, evaporated milk, dried milk, cheese, dried cheese, dried whey or dried whey derivatives;
"diluent" means any substance used to dilute or dissolve antioxidant intended for use in food for human consumption;
"food" means food intended for sale for human consumption and includes drink, chewing gum and other products of a like nature and use, and articles and substances used as ingredients in the preparation of food or drink or of such products, but does not include—
(a) water, live animals or birds,
(b) fodder or feeding stuffs for animals, birds or fish, or
(c) articles or substances used only as drugs;
(a) S.I. 1973/1340.
(b) The relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1975/1488, 1976/2086.
"food and drugs authority" has the meaning assigned to it by section 198 of the Local Government Act 1972(a);
"human consumption" includes use in the preparation of food for human consumption;
"permitted antioxidant" means any antioxidant specified in Part I of Schedule 1 which satisfies the specific purity criteria relating to that antioxidant specified or referred to in Part II of that Schedule and, so far as is not otherwise provided by any such specific purity criteria, satisfies the general purity criteria specified in Part III of that Schedule, or any mixture of two or more such antioxidants and (except in the definition of appropriate designation in this regulation and Schedules 1 and 4) shall be construed as including any permitted diluent combined with such antioxidant or mixture of such antioxidants;
"permitted artificial sweetener" means any artificial sweetener in so far as its use is permitted by the Artificial Sweeteners in Food Regulations 1969(b);
"permitted bleaching agent" means any bleaching agent in so far as its use is permitted by the Bread and Flour Regulations 1963(c), as amended(d);
"permitted colouring matter" means any colouring matter in so far as its use is permitted by the Colouring Matter in Food Regulations 1973, as amended;
"permitted diluent" means any diluent described in Part I of Schedule 2 which satisfies the general purity criteria specified in Part II of that Schedule, or any of the permitted solvents ethyl alcohol (ethanol), propylene glycol and glycerol, or the permitted miscellaneous additive sorbitol and includes any combination of two or more such substances;
"permitted emulsifier" means any emulsifier in so far as its use is permitted by the Emulsifiers and Stabilisers in Food Regulations 1975(e), as amended(f);
"permitted improving agent" means any improving agent in so far as its use is permitted by the Bread and Flour Regulations 1963, as amended;
"permitted miscellaneous additive" means any acid, anti-caking agent, anti-foaming agent, base, buffer, firming agent, glazing agent, humectant, liquid freezant, packaging gas, propellent, release agent or sequestrant in so far as its use is, in each case, permitted by the Miscellaneous Additives in Food Regulations 1974(g), as amended(h);
"permitted preservative" means any preservative in so far as its use is permitted by the Preservatives in Food Regulations 1975(i), as amended(j);
(a) 1972 c. 70.
(b) S.I. 1969/1817.
(c) S.I. 1963/1435.
(d) The relevant amending instrument is S.I. 1972/1391.
(e) S.I. 1975/1486.
(f) The relevant amending instrument is S.I. 1976/1886.
(g) S.I. 1974/1121.
(h) The relevant amending instrument is S.I. 1975/1485.
(i) S.I. 1975/1487.
(j) The relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1976/1887, 1977/645.
"permitted solvent" means any solvent in so far as its use is permitted by the Solvents in Food Regulations 1967(a), as amended(b);
"permitted stabiliser" means any stabiliser in so far as its use is permitted by the Emulsifiers and Stabilisers in Food Regulations 1975, as amended;
"sell" includes offer or expose for sale or have in possession for sale, and "sale" and "sold" shall be construed accordingly;
"shredded suet" means the product consisting of rendered beef suet, free from fibrous tissue, which has been shredded, flaked or otherwise comminuted, with or without farinaceous material;
"specified food" means any food of a description specified in column 1 of Part I, Part II, Part III or Part IV of Schedule 3:
AND other expressions have the same meaning as in the Act.
(2) The Interpretation Act 1889(c) shall apply to the interpretation of these regulations as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of Parliament, and as if these regulations and the regulations hereby revoked were Acts of Parliament.
(3) Unless a contrary intention is expressed, all proportions mentioned in these regulations are proportions calculated by weight of the product as sold.
(4) Any reference in these regulations to a label borne on a container shall be construed as including a reference to any legible marking on the container however effected.
(5) For the purposes of these regulations, the supply of food, otherwise than by sale, at, in or from any place where food is supplied in the course of a business shall be deemed to be a sale of that food.
(6) Any reference in these regulations to any other regulations shall be construed as a reference to such regulations as amended by any subsequent regulations.
(7) Any reference in these regulations to a numbered regulation or schedule shall be construed as a reference to the regulation or schedule bearing that number in these regulations.
Exemptions
3. The provisions of these regulations shall not apply to food having any antioxidant in it or on it, to any antioxidant or to any diluent combined with any antioxidant or antioxidants which, in each case, is intended at the time of sale, consignment, delivery or importation, as the case may be, for exportation to any place outside the United Kingdom.
Sale, etc. of food containing antioxidants
4.—(1) Save as hereinafter provided and subject to paragraph (2) of this regulation, no food sold, consigned...
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