Sweeteners in Food (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

Amendments to the Sweeteners in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

2.—(1) The Sweeteners in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(1) shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraphs.

(2) In paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (interpretation), for the definition of “permitted sweetener” there shall be substituted the following definition –

““permitted sweetener” means the sweetener salt of aspartame–acesulfame so far as it satisfies the purity criteria for it set out at pages 19 to 21 of the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Compendium of Food Additives Specifications Addendum 8 (2000) FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 52 Addendum 8 and any sweetener specified in Column 2 of Schedule 1 which satisfies the specific purity criteria for that sweetener set out –

(a)

in the case of sucralose, at pages 119 to 124 of the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Compendium of Food Additives Specifications Addendum 2 (1993) FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 52 Addendum 2; and

(b)

in the case of any sweetener other than sucralose or salt of aspartame–acesulfame, in the Annex to Directive 95/31/EC(2);”.

(3) The following sub–paragraph is substituted for sub-paragraph (c) of regulation 2(2) –

“(c) in column 4, the maximum usable dose indicated in relation to a food is –

(i) in the case of all permitted sweeteners except cyclamic acid and its Na and Ca salts, saccharin and its Na, K and Ca salts and salt of aspartame-acesulfame, the maximum amount, in milligrams, of permitted sweeteners per kilogram or, as the case may be, per litre of that food which is ready to eat having been prepared according to any instructions for use, and

(ii) in the case of cyclamic acid and its Na and Ca salts and saccharin and its Na, K and Ca salts, the maximum amount of free acid contained in the cyclamic acid and its Na and Ca salts or, as the case may be, saccharin and its Na, K and Ca salts present in that food which is ready to eat having been prepared according to any instructions for use, measured in milligrams per kilogram or, as the case may be, per litre of the food.”.

(4) In paragraph (3) of regulation 3 (sale and use of sweeteners), for “paragraph (4)” there shall be substituted “paragraphs (4) and (5)”.

(5) The following paragraph is inserted immediately after paragraph (4) of regulation 3 –

“(5) The prohibition on using aspartame and acesulfame K in or on any food which is imposed by virtue of paragraph (3) shall apply equally in relation to the use of salt of aspartame-acesulfame in or on that food.”.

(1)

S.R. 1996 No. 48; the relevant amending Regulations are S.R.1997 No.257 and S.R.1999 No. 216

(2)

O.J. No. L178, 28.7.95, p. 1, as amended by Directive 1998/66/EC (O.J. No. L257, 19.9.98, p. 35), Directive 2000/51/EC (O.J. No. L198, 4.8.2000, p. 41) and Directive 2001/52/EC (O.J. No. L190, 12.7.2001, p. 18)