Fish Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Fish Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 and shall come into operation on 28th April 2003.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations –

“the Agency” means the Food Standards Agency;

“Regulation 104/2000” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 104/2000 on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products(1);

“Regulation 2065/2001” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2065/2001 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No. 104/2000 as regards informing consumers about fishery and aquaculture products(2);

and any expressions used in these Regulations and in Regulation 104/2000 or Regulation 2065/2001 have the same meaning in these Regulations as they have in those Regulations.

Offences relating to consumer information

3.—(1) Any person who, in contravention of Article 4.1 of Regulation 104/2000 (consumer information) as read with Regulation 2065/2001, offers for retail sale to the final consumer any of the products to which that Article applies shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(2) A person who fails to comply with Article 8 of Regulation 2065/2001 (traceability and control) shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

Lists of commercial designations

4.—(1) The list of commercial designations which the United Kingdom is required to draw up and publish under Article 4(2) of Regulation 104/2000 is that set out in the Schedule, and accordingly, the commercial designations set out in that Schedule are names prescribed by law for the purposes of regulations 6(1), 7 and 8(a) of the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(3).

(2) In relation to a species included both in the Schedule and in a list published in English under Article 4(2) of Regulation 104/2000 having effect in another member State or in another part of the United Kingdom, the commercial designation for that species in the list having effect in that other member State or part of the United Kingdom shall be an alternative to the commercial designation for that species set out in the Schedule.

Omission of reference to the production method

5.  In the case described in Article 4.2 of Regulation 2065/2001 (situation where it is obvious from commercial designation and catch area that the species is caught at sea) it shall not be a contravention of Article 4.1 of Regulation 104/2000 to offer for retail sale to the final consumer a fisheries product to which that Article applies without the product being marked or labelled with the production method.

Small quantities of products

6.—(1) For the purposes of Article 4(1) of Regulation 104/2000 as read with Article 7 of Regulation 2065/2001, the small quantity of products which may be sold directly to consumers shall be products to a value not exceeding 20 Euro for each purchase.

(2) For the purposes of this Regulation, the reference to 20 Euro shall be taken to be a reference to the sterling equivalent of that number of Euro, converted by reference to the rate of conversion published annually on the first working day of the preceding September in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Communities or, if no rate is published in it on that day, the first rate published in it thereafter.

Additional information relating to the catch area

7.  The indication of catch area required by Article 4(1)(c) of Regulation 104/2000 may, where the circumstances described in Article 5(1)(c) of Regulation 2065/2001 apply, indicate the various member States or third countries in which the product was farmed.

Provisional commercial designations

8.—(1) For the purposes of Article 2 of Regulation 2065/2001 (provisional commercial designations), the Agency shall be the competent authority.

(2) The Agency shall draw up and publish a list of provisional commercial designations laid down pursuant to the said Article 2.

Enforcement

9.  Each district council shall enforce and execute these Regulations within its district.

Application of various provisions of the Order

10.  The following provisions of the Order shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations and any reference in those provisions to the Order shall be construed for the purposes of these Regulations as a reference to these Regulations and to those provisions of Regulation 104/2000 and Regulation 2065/2001 to which these Regulations relate –

(a) Article 4 (presumptions that food intended for human consumption);

(b) Article 19 (offences due to fault of another person);

(c) Article 20 (defence of due diligence) as it applies for the purposes of Article 7, 13 or 14;

(d) Article 30(8) (which relates to documentary evidence);

(e) Article 33 (powers of entry);

(f) Article 34 (obstruction, etc., of officers);

(g) Article 36 (punishment of offences) in so far as it relates to offences under Article 34(1) and (2) as applied by paragraph (f).

Revocations

11.  Paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Food Labelling Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (prescribed names of fish and shellfish) is hereby revoked.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on 11th March 2003.

L.S.

W. B. Smith

A Senior Officer of the

Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety