Notification of Marketing of Food for Particular Nutritional Uses Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations implement Article 9 of Council Directive 89/398/EC on the approximation of the laws of the member States relating to foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses, as amended by Directive 1999/41/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.

The Regulations concern foods which, owing to their special composition or manufacturing process, are clearly distinguishable from foods for normal consumption, and which are marketed as suitable for categories of consumers with disturbed digestive processes or metabolism or in a special physiological condition, or for infants or young children in good health, but which are neither covered nor to be covered by other Directives on specific types of foodstuffs for particular nutritional uses (the definition of “PNU food” in regulation 2(1) refers).

Article 9 of the Directive requires notification (followed, where necessary, by provision of supplementary material) to competent authorities of the placing on the market of such products; the requirement applies when the product is manufactured or imported, and regulation 3 prohibits sale of products of that type by manufacturers and importers covered by the requirement unless they have complied with it by notifying the Food Standards Agency as the competent authority. “Sell” is given an extended meaning in the Regulations (regulations 2(1) and 6(a) refer).

Enforcement responsibility, offences and penalties, and application of provisions of the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 are set out in regulations 4, 5 and 6.

Labelling provisions of the Directive are implemented in the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (S.R. 1996 No. 383).