Miscellaneous Food Additives (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (“the principal Regulations”).

The Regulations—

(a) implement European Parliament and Council Directive 96/85/EC amending Directive 95/2/EC on food additives other than colours and sweeteners, by adding processed eucheuma seaweed to the list of miscellaneous additives generally permitted for use in foods not referred to in Schedule 6, 7 or 8 to the principal Regulations (regulations 3(a) and 8);

(b) implement Commission Directive 96/77/EC laying down specific purity criteria on food additives other than colours and sweeteners (regulations 3(b) and (c), 7(a) and 10 and the Schedule), and make a consequential amendment (regulation 5);

(c) clarify the provisions in the principal Regulations relating to the use of miscellaneous additives in or on compound foods (regulation 4);

(d) add to the list of permitted uses for propane, butane and iso-butane on a temporary basis in accordance with Article 5 of Directive 89/107/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the member States concerning food additives authorised for use in foodstuffs intended for human consumption (regulation 9);

(e) make a few corrections to the principal Regulations to reflect provisions in Directive 95/2/EC, notably relating to using up old stocks of products from other member States (regulation 7(b) to (d));

(f) apply specified provisions of the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 for the purposes of the principal Regulations (regulation 6);

(g) make a correction to the Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1977, as amended, to reflect Article 4(3) of Council Directive 93/77/EEC relating to fruit juices and certain similar products (O.J. No. L244, 30.9.93, p. 23) (regulation 11).