Specified Risk Material (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland

2001 No. 48

FOOD

Specified Risk Material (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Made

7th February 2001

Coming into operation

8th February 2001

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety(1) in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Articles 15(1)(a), (b), (c), (d) and (f), (2)(a) and (3), 16(1), 18(1)(a), 25 and 47(2) of, and paragraphs 2(1), 3(1), 5 and 6(1)(a) of Schedule 1 to, the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991(2) and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf, having had regard in accordance with Article 47(3A) of the said Order to relevant advice given by the Food Standards Agency and after consultation in accordance with Article 47(3) and (3B) 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 and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Specified Risk Material (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 and shall come into operation on 8th February 2001.

Amendments to the Specified Risk Material Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997

2.—(1) The Specified Risk Material Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997(3) are amended in accordance with paragraph (2).

(2) The following paragraph is substituted for paragraph (1) of regulation 4 (specified bovine material)—

“(1) In these Regulations, “specified bovine material” means—

(a) the intestines from the duodenum to the rectum of any bovine animal which was slaughtered or has died elsewhere than in Australia or New Zealand;

(b) the following material derived from a bovine animal which was slaughtered or has died in the United Kingdom or Portugal at an age greater than 6 months—

(i) the head (excluding the tongue but including the brains, eyes, trigeminal ganglia and tonsils),

(ii) the thymus,

(iii) the spleen,

(iv) the spinal cord, and

(v) in the case of such an animal which was slaughtered or has died at an age greater than 30 months (other than one which was accompanied at the time of slaughter by a slaughter certificate issued under the Beef Assurance Scheme as described in Schedule 1 to the Fresh Meat (Beef Controls) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(4)), the vertebral column, including dorsal root ganglia; and

(c) the following material derived from a bovine animal which was slaughtered or has died at an age greater than 12 months elsewhere than in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Australia or New Zealand—

(i) the skull (including the brains and eyes),

(ii) the tonsils, and

(iii) the spinal cord.”.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on 7th February 2001.

L.S.

John McGrath

Senior Officer of the

Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

1.  These Regulations make a further amendment to the Specified Risk Material Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997.

2.  These Regulations give effect to Article 1 of Commission Decision 2001/2/EC adopted on 27th December 2000 (O.J. No. L1, 4.1.2001, p. 21). That Decision amends Commission Decision 2000/418/EC regulating the use of material presenting risks as regards transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (O.J. No. L158, 30.6.2000, p. 76) by inserting a revised definition of specified risk material into its Annex I.

3.  These Regulations amend the Specified Risk Material Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 to bring the definition of “specified bovine material” in regulation 4(1) into line with the revised definition of specified risk material in Annex I to Commission Decision 2000/418/EC.

(1)

Formerly the Department of Health and Social Services; see S.I. 1999/283 (N.I. 1), Article 3

(2)

S.I. 1991/762 (N.I. 7) as amended by S.I. 1996/1633 (N.I. 12) and paragraphs 26 to 42 of Schedule 5 and Schedule 6 to the Food Standards Act 1999 c. 28. Functions formerly exercisable by the Department of Agriculture (now the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; see Article 3 of S.I. 1999/283 (N.I. 1)) are now exercisable by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety pursuant to paragraph 27 of Schedule 5 and Schedule 6 to the Food Standards Act 1999 c. 28

(3)

S.R. 1997 No. 552; the relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 2000 No. 295

(4)

S.R. 1996 No. 404, as amended by S.R. 1996 No. 506