Plastic Materials and Articles in Contact with Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

• “additive” means a substance, other than one which directly influences the formation of polymers which is—

  (a)

  incorporated into a plastic material or article to achieve a technical effect in the finished product and is intended to be present in the finished product; or

  (b)

  used to provide a suitable medium in which polymerisation occurs;

• “capable” means capable as established under regulation 6;

• “Council Directive 82/711” means Council Directive 82/711/EEC laying down the basic rules necessary for testing migration of the constituents of plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs(1), as amended by Commission Directives 93/8/EEC(2) and 97/48/EC(3);

• “the Directive” means Commission Directive (EEC) No. 90/128 relating to plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs(4) (as corrected) and as amended by Commission Directives 92/39/EEC, 93/9/EEC. 95/3/EC and 96/11/EC(5);

• “EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area(6) signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol(7) signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993;

• “EEA State” means a State (other than the United Kingdom) which is a contracting party to the EEA Agreement;

• “food” has the same meaning as it has in Article 15(5) of the Order;

• “good technical quality” means good technical quality as regards the purity criteria;

• “import” means import in the course of a business;

• “monomer” means anything which is included for the purposes of the Directive among monomers and other starting substances;

• “the Order” means the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991;

• “plastic material or article” means anything which for the purposes of the Directive is included among those plastic materials and articles and parts thereof to which the Directive applies;

• “sell” includes offer or expose for sale or have in possession for sale;

• “the 1987 Regulations” means the Materials and Articles in Contact with Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(8);

• “the 1993 Regulations” means the Plastic Materials and Articles in Contact with Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993(9).

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations the supply of any plastic material or article, otherwise than on sale, in the course of a business shall be deemed to be a sale of the plastic material or article.

(3) Any expression, other than one defined in paragraph (1), used both in these Regulations and in the Directive, Council Directive 82/711, or Council Directive 85/572 EEC laying down the list of simulants to be used for testing migration of constituents of plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs(10) has the same meaning as it bears in the Directive in which it appears.

(4) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(11) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

(1)

O.J. No. L297, 23.10.82, p. 26

(2)

O.J. No. L90, 14.4.93, p. 22

(3)

O.J. No. L222, 12.8.97, p. 10

(4)

O.J. No. L75, 21.3.90, p. 19

(5)

Corrigendum in O.J. No. L349, 13.12.90, p. 26; amending Directives in O.J. No. L168, 23.6.92, p. 21, O.J. No. L90, 14.3.93, p. 26, O.J. No. L41, 23.2.95, p. 44 and O.J. No. L61, 12.3.96, p. 26

(6)

O.J. No. L1, 3.1.94, p. 1

(7)

O.J. No. L1, 3.1.94, p. 571

(8)

S.R. 1987 No. 432; the relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1991 Nos. 203 and 344 and S.R. 1994 No. 174

(9)

S.R. 1993 No. 173; the relevant amending regulations are S.R. 1995 No. 107 and S.R. 1996 Nos 164 and 580

(10)

O.J. No. L372, 30.12.85, p. 14

(11)

1954 c. 33 (N.I.)