Feeding Stuffs (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations, which amend the Feeding Stuffs Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (“the 2001 Regulations”), implement –

(a) Directive 2002/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 79/373/EEC on the circulation of compound feeding stuffs and repealing Commission Directive 91/357/EEC (OJ No. L63, 6.3.2002, p.23); and

(b) Directive 2002/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on undesirable substances in animal feed (OJ No. L140, 30.5.2002, p.10).

These Regulations also provide for the enforcement of the following Community Regulations –

(a) Commission Regulation (EC) No. 261/2003 concerning the provisional authorisation of new uses of additives in feeding stuffs (OJ No. L37, 13.2.2003, p.12);

(b) Commission Regulation (EC) No. 316/2003 concerning the permanent authorisation of an additive in feeding stuffs and the provisional authorisation of an additive already authorised in feeding stuffs (OJ No. L46, 20.2.2003, p.15);

(c) Commission Regulation (EC) No. 666/2003 provisionally authorising the use of certain micro - organisms in feedingstuffs (OJ No. L96, 12.4.2003, p.11); and

(d) Commission Regulation (EC) No. 668/2003 concerning the permanent authorisation of an additive in feedingstuffs (OJ No. L96, 12.4.2003, p.14).

These Regulations amend the 2001 Regulations by —

(a) in regulation 2(1) (interpretation), deleting the definitions of “national list” and “third country” and any definitions commencing with specified expressions, modifying the definitions of “complementary feeding stuff”, “complete feeding stuff”, “feeding stuff”, “feed material” and “put into circulation”, substituting a new definition for “compound feeding stuff”, and adding new definitions for “product intended for animal feed” and “undesirable substance” (regulation 3(a)),

(b) substituting a revised version of regulation 2(8) (which prescribes how references in the 2001 Regulations to Community instruments are to be construed) (regulation 3(b)),

(c) making consequential amendments to regulation 23(2) (regulation 6),

(d) substituting for regulation 12 (control of feeding stuffs and feed materials containing undesirable substances), a new and re-titled regulation, which —

(i) omits the provisions contained in the previous regulation which regulated the putting into circulation of feed materials containing undesirable substances above prescribed levels, required those possessing non-compliant products in the course of a business to notify the Food Standards Agency and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of that fact, and defines feed material for the purposes of regulation 12; and

(ii) re-enacts the remaining provisions of the previous regulation 12 with modifications, in particular by replacing the references to “feeding stuff” and “feed material” with references to “product intended for animal feed” (regulation 4);

(e) inserting a new regulation, regulation 17A (provision of information in relation to compound feeding stuffs for animals other than pet animals) which requires suppliers of compound feeding stuffs to provide specified information relating to the feeding stuffs if requested to do so by those to whom they are supplied (regulation 5),

(f) adding four new Commission Regulations to the list of Commission Regulations under which authorisation for the marketing of feed additives has been granted which is contained in Part IX of the Table to Schedule 3 (regulation 7 and the Schedule),

(g) in Schedule 4 (contents of the statutory statement or other declaration (except for additives and premixtures not contained in feeding stuffs)), modifying the matters relating to compound feeding stuffs which are required to be contained in the statutory statement prescribed by regulation 5 or otherwise declared (regulation 8),

(h) in Schedule 7 (prescribed limits for undesirable substances), modifying the headings to columns 1 and 2 of Part I (feeding stuffs) and deleting Part II (feed materials) (regulation 9), and

(i) deleting Part II of Schedule 10 (containing the names of the categories of feed materials for use in relation to compound feeding stuffs for animals other than pets by which, prior to the coming into operation of these Regulations, it was permissible to declare those compound feeding stuffs in the statement prescribed by regulation 5) (regulation 10).