Preservatives in Food Regulations 1974
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1974/1119 |
1974 No. 1119
FOOD AND DRUGS
COMPOSITION AND LABELLING
The Preservatives in Food Regulations 197428thJune 1974
11thJuly 1974
1stAugust 1974
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, 123 and 123 A of the Food and Drugs Act 1955(a) as amended by section 4(1) of, and paragraph 3(1) and (2)(a) 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 Preservatives in Food Regulations 1974, and shall come into operation on 1st August 1974.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
"the Act" means the Food and Drugs Act 1955;
"appropriate designation" means, as respects any permitted preservative or any food, 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 preservative or of the food, as the case may be, to which it is applied;
"bread" includes the following, and any part of any of the following, that is to say, rolls, baps, fancy loaves, milk loaves, malt loaves and fruit loaves;
(a) 4 & 5 Eliz. 2 c. 16.
(b) 1972 c. 68.
(c) S.I. 1968/1699 (1968 III, p. 4585).
"canned food" means food in a hermetically sealed container which has been sufficiently heat processed to destroy any Clostridium botulinum in that food or container or which has a pH of less than 4·5;
"carbohydrate" means any substance containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen only in which the hydrogen and oxygen occur in the same proportion as in water;
"compounded food" means food containing two or more ingredients;
"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;
"dock" includes any harbour, moorings, wharf, pier, jetty or other works in or at which food can be shipped or unshipped and any warehouse, transit shed or other premises used in connection therewith for the temporary storage or loading for despatch of food which is unshipped or to be shipped;
"flavouring emulsion" means an emulsion of the selected flavouring in a suitable liquid;
"flavouring syrup" means a solution of carbohydrate sweetening matter containing sufficient distinctive flavouring to provide, after dilution with milk or water, a drink with that distinctive flavour;
"flour confectionery" includes cake, bun loaves, cholas bread, pastry (cooked or uncooked) and ready-made puddings (other than canned puddings and Christmas puddings) but does not include biscuits or any product containing a filling that has as an ingredient any meat or fish or any animal, vegetable or microbial material processed before or during the preparation of the product to resemble the texture of meat or fish;
"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;
"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;
"jam" includes fruit jelly prepared in the way in which jam is prepared, marmalade and jelly marmalade;
"the Minister" means the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;
"permitted antioxidant" means any antioxidant in so far as its use is permitted by the Antioxidant in Food Regulations 1974(b);
"permitted artificial sweetener" means any artificial sweetener in so far as its use is permitted by the Artificial Sweeteners in Food Regulations 1969(c);
"permitted bleaching agent" means any bleaching agent in so far as its use is permitted by the Bread and Flour Regulations 1963(d), as amended (e);
(a) 1972 c. 70.3
(b) S.I. 1974/1120(1974 II, p. 4210).
(c) S.1.1969/1817 (1969 III, p. 5638).
(d) S.I. 1963/1435 (1963 II, p. 2464).
(e) The relevant amending instrument is S.I. 1972/1391 (1972, III, p. 4246).
"permitted colouring matter" means any colouring matter, in so far as its use is permitted by the Colouring Matter in Food Regulations 1973(a);
"permitted emulsifier" means any emulsifier in so far as its use is permitted by the Emulsifiers and Stabilisers in Food Regulations 1962(b), as amended (c);
"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 of sequestrant in so far as its use is permitted by the Miscellaneous Additives in Food Regulations 1974(d);
"permitted preservative" means any preservative specified in columns 1 and 2 of Part I of Schedule 1 or, subject to the provisions of paragraph (3) of this regulation, specified in columns 3 and 4 of that Part of that Schedule which, in either case, satisfies any specific purity criteria in relation to that preservative 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 preservatives;
"permitted solvent" means any solvent in so far as its use is permitted by the Solvents in Food Regulations 1967(e), as amended(f);
"permitted stabiliser" means any stabiliser in so far as its use is permitted by the Emulsifiers and Stabilisers in Food Regulations 1962, as amended;
"pre-packed" means made up in advance ready for retail sale in or on a container; and on any premises where food of any description is so made up, or is kept or stored for sale after being so made up, any food of that description found made up in or on a container shall be deemed to be pre-packed unless the contrary is proved;
"preparation", in relation to food, includes manufacture and any form of treatment;
"preservative" means any substance which is capable of inhibiting, retarding or arresting the growth of micro-organisms or any deterioration of food due to micro-organisms or of masking the evidence of any such deterioration but does not include—
(a) any permitted antioxidant,
(b) any permitted artificial sweetener,
(c) any permitted bleaching agent,
(d) any permitted colouring matter,
(e) any permitted emulsifier,
(f) any permitted improving agent,
(g) any permitted miscellaneous additive,
(h) any permitted solvent,
(j) any permitted stabiliser,
(k) vinegar,
(a) S.I. 1973/1340 (1973 II, p. 4097).
(b) S.I. 1962/720 (1962 I, p. 729).
(c) The relevant amending instrument is S.I. 1970/1101 (1970 II, p. 3468).
(d) S.I. 1974/1121(1974 II, p. 4227).
(e) S.I. 1967/1582 (1967 III, p. 4385).
(f) S.I. 1967/1939 (1967 III, p. 5389).
(l)any soluble carbohydrate sweetening matter,
(m) potable spirits or wines,
(n) herbs, spices, hop extract or essential oils when used for flavouring purposes,
(o) common salt (sodium chloride),
(p) any substance added to food by the process of curing known as smoking;
"polyhydric alcohol" means an alcohol with three or more free hydroxyl groups;
"processing", in relation to food, includes curing by smoking and any treatment or process resulting in a substantial change in the natural state of the food but does not include boning, paring, grinding, cutting, cleaning or trimming;
"raw peeled potatoes" includes chips, sliced potatoes, diced potatoes and potatoes which have undergone the culinary process known as "blanching";
"retail sale" means any sale to a person buying otherwise than for the purpose of re-sale, but does not include a sale to a caterer for the purposes of his catering business, or a sale to a manufacturer for the purposes of his manufacturing business;
"sausage" and "sausage meat" mean a mixture of raw meat, cereals and condiments and include hamburgers, lamburgers, beefburgers and similar products;
"Schedule 1", "Schedule 2", "Schedule 3", "Schedule 4", "Schedules ", "Schedule 6" and "Schedule 7" mean, respectively, Schedule 1, Schedule 2, Schedule 3, Schedule 4, Schedule 5, Schedule 6 and Schedule 7 to these regulations;
"sell" includes offer or expose for sale or have in possession for sale, and "sale" and "sold" shall be construed accordingly;
"smoking" means treating food with smoke or smoke solutions derived from wood or ligneous vegetable matter in the natural state, and excludes smoke or smoke solutions derived from wood or ligneous vegetable matter which has been impregnated, coloured, gummed, painted or otherwise treated in a similar manner;
"soft drink" has the meaning assigned to it by the Soft Drinks Regulations 1964(a), as amended (b);
"specified food" means any food of a description specified in column 1 of Schedule 2;
"storage", in relation to food, means storage at, in or upon any farm, dock, vehicle, warehouse, fumigation chamber, cold store, or any barge or ship whilst, in either case, in any port or harbour in England and...
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