Cheese and Cream Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations supersede the Cheese Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1970 (S.R. & O. (N.I.) 1970 No. 14) and the Cream Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1970 (S.R. & O. (N.I.) 1970 No. 194) which are revoked by these Regulations.

In certain circumstances cream and cheese brought into Northern Ireland from another European Economic Area State are exempt from the effects of the Regulations if they are suitably labelled to give the nature of the food (Regulation 3).

Controls are retained on the use of enzymes in the manufacture of cheese (Regulation 4). Certain varieties of cheese will continue to be subject to regulation as to description (Regulation 5).

Cream may now be sold without its having to bear a description chosen from a closed list of prescribed descriptions but if offered for sale as clotted cream, double cream, whipping cream, whipped cream, sterilised cream, cream or single cream or half cream it must, in the case of clotted cream, be clotted and, in the case of whipped cream, be whipped and, in all cases, it must contain the minimum percentage of fat prescribed for cream of the description chosen (Regulation 6).

A defence is provided in relation to exports in implementation of Articles 2 and 3 of Council Directive 89/397/EEC (O.J. No. L186, 30.6.89, p. 23) on the official control of foodstuffs, as read with the ninth recital to that Directive (Regulation 7).