Extraction Solvents in Food (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland

1998 No. 345

FOOD

Extraction Solvents in Food (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

Made

30th September 1998

Coming into operation—

Regulations 1 and 2(a), (c)(ii) and (e)(ii)

9th November 1998

Remainder

27th April 1999

The Department of Health and Social Services in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Articles 15(1), 16(1), 25(1)(a) and (3), 26(3) and 47(2) of the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991(1) and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf and after consultation in accordance with Article 47(3) of the said Order with such organisations as appear to it to be representative of interests likely to be substantially affected by the Regulations hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Extraction Solvents in Food (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998.

(2) This regulation and regulation 2(a), (c)(ii) and (e)(ii) shall come into operation on 9th November 1998 and the remainder of these Regulations shall come into operation on 27th April 1999.

(3) In these Regulations “the principal Regulations” means the Extraction Solvents in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993(2).

Amendment of the principal Regulations

2.  The principal Regulations shall be amended as follows—

(a) in regulation 3 (sale of food containing extraction solvents and of extraction solvents) in paragraph (2)(e) for “items 11 to 20” there shall be substituted “items 11 to 21”;

(b) after regulation 7 (transitional provision) there shall be inserted—

“Defence in relation to existing stocks

8.   In any proceedings for an offence under these Regulations it shall be a defence for the person charged to prove that—

(a) the food or, as the case may be, the extraction solvent in respect of which the offence is alleged to have been committed was placed on the market or labelled before 27th April 1999; and

(b) the act or omission alleged to constitute the offence would not, if it had been committed or had occurred, as appropriate, before 27th April 1999, have constituted an offence under these Regulations prior to their amendment by the Extraction Solvents in Food (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998.”;

(c) in Schedule 1, Part I (permitted extraction solvents) in Column 1—

(i) entry number 3 “Butyl acetate” and entry number 18 “Methyl-propan-1-ol” shall be omitted;

(ii) after entry number 20 there shall be inserted—

“21.   1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane”;

(d) for Schedule 2 (foods in which only certain permitted extraction solvents may be used and then only for certain purposes) there shall be substituted the content of the Schedule to these Regulations; and

(e) in Schedule 3 (maximum residues of extraction solvent permitted in foods due to the use in those foods of food consisting of flavourings prepared from natural flavouring materials by using those extraction solvents)—

(i) in Column 1 (extraction solvent) the entry “Methyl-propan-1-ol” shall be omitted together with the corresponding entry in Column 2 (maximum residue); and

(ii) there shall be inserted at the end in Column 1 the entry “1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane” and in Column 2 the entry “0.02 mg/kg”.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health and Social Services on

L.S.

W. B. Smith

Assistant Secretary

30th September 1998.

Regulation 2(d)

SCHEDULE

Regulation 3(2)(d)

“SCHEDULE 2 Foods in which certain permitted extraction solvents may be used only for certain purposes

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4
Specified foods	Permitted extraction solvent	Purpose for which permitted extraction solvent may be added	Maximum permitted residue of permitted extraction solvent in the specified food (or, where indicated, in any food in which the specified food is an ingredient)
1.   Fats	(a) Hexane, or (b) Ethylmethylketone	(a) in respect of hexane, the production or fractionation of the fats (b) in respect of ethylmethylketone, the fractionation of the fats	(a) in respect of hexane, 1 mg/kg (b) in respect of ethylmethylketone, 5 mg/kg
2.   Oils	(a) Hexane, or (b) Ethylmethylketone	(a) in respect of hexane, the production or fractionation of the oils (b) in respect of ethylmethylketone, the fractionation of the oils	(a) in respect of hexane, 1 mg/kg (b) in respect of ethylmethylketone, 5 mg/kg
3.   Cocoa butter	Hexane	production of the cocoa butter	1 mg/kg
4.   Defatted protein products	Hexane	preparation of the defatted protein products	10 mg/kg in any food in which the defatted protein products are an ingredient but 30 mg/kg in any defatted soya product as sold to the final consumer
5.   Defatted flour	Hexane	preparation of the defatted flours	10 mg/kg in any food in which the defatted flours are an ingredient
6.   Defatted cereal germs	Hexane	preparation of the defatted cereal germs	5 mg/kg
7.   Coffee	(a) Methyl acetate, or (b) Ethymethylketone, or (c) Dichloromethane, alone or in combination	(a) decaffeination, (b) removal of irritants and bitterings, or both	(a) in respect of methyl acetate or ethylmethylketone, 20 mg/kg, and if these are used in combination their combined total shall not exceed 20 mg/kg (b) in respect of dichloromethane, 2 mg/kg
8.   Tea	(a) Methyl acetate, or (b) Ethymethylketone, or (c) Dichloromethane, alone or in combination (a) decaffeination, (b) removal of irritants and bitterings, or both	(a) in respect of methyl acetate or ethylmethylketone, 20 mg/kg, and if these are used in combination their combined total shall not exceed 20 mg/kg (b) in respect of dichloromethane, 5 mg/kg
9.   Sugar from molasses	Methyl acetate	production of the sugar from molasses	1 mg/kg”

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend the Extraction Solvents in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993 (“the principal Regulations”) in implementation of European Parliament and Council Directive 97/60/EC amending for the third time Directive 88/344/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the member States on extraction solvents used in the production of foodstuffs and food ingredients (O.J. No. L331, 3.12.97, p. 7).

The Regulations–

(a) from 9th November 1998 add one extraction solvent to the list of permitted extraction solvents and make consequential amendments (regulations 1(2), 2(a), (c)(ii) and (e)(ii)); and

(b) from 27th April 1999—

(i) remove two extraction solvents from the list of permitted extraction solvents and make consequential amendments (regulations 1(2), 2(c)(i) and (e)(i);

(ii) provide a defence in respect of food or an extraction solvent placed on the market or labelled before 27th April 1999 which complies with the principal Regulations prior to their amendment by these Regulations (regulation 2(b)); and

(iii) in relation to the permitted extraction solvent “hexane”—

(aa) reduce the maximum permitted residue in fats, oils and cocoa butter to 1 mg/kg; and

(bb) as regards protein products, specify that only those products which have been defatted are those in the preparation of which such solvent may be added and provide that such products include defatted soya products as sold to the final consumer (regulation 2(d) and the Schedule).

(1)

S.I. 1991/762 (N.I. 7) as amended by S.I. 1996/1633 (N.I. 12). See Article 2(2) for the definitions of “the Department concerned” and “regulations”

(2)

S.R. 1993 No. 330, as amended by S.R. 1995 No. 263