The Food Hygiene Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

PART 1 N.I. PRELIMINARY

Citation and commencement N.I.

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Food Hygiene Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 and shall come into operation on 11th January 2006.

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 1 in operation at 11.1.2006, see reg. 1

Interpretation N.I.

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the Agency” means the Food Standards Agency;

“authorised officer”, in relation to an enforcement authority, means any person (whether or not an officer of the authority) who is authorised by them in writing, either generally or specially, to act in matters arising under the Hygiene Regulations;

[F1 “the Community Regulations” means Regulation 852/2004, Regulation 853/2004, Regulation 2073/2005, Regulation 2015/1375, Regulation 2017/185 and Regulation 2017/625 and the Regulation 2017/625 package insofar as it and they apply to food;]

[F2 “Directive 2004/41”, “Regulation 178/2002”, “Regulation 852/2004”, “Regulation 853/2004”, “Regulation 1688/2005”, “Regulation 2073/2005”, “Regulation 2074/2005”, “Regulation 931/2011”, “Regulation 1169/2011”, “Regulation 28/2012”, “Regulation 208/2013”, “Regulation 210/2013”, “Regulation 579/2014”, “Regulation 2015/1375”, “Regulation 2017/185”, “Regulation 2017/625”, “Regulation 2018/329”, “Regulation 2019/66”, “Regulation 2019/530”, “Regulation 2019/626”, “Regulation 2019/627”, “Regulation 2019/628”, “Regulation 2019/723”, “Regulation 2019/1013”, “Regulation 2019/1014”, “Regulation 2019/1715”, “Regulation 2019/1793”, “Regulation 2019/1873”, “Regulation 2018/631”, “Regulation 2019/478”, “Regulation 2019/624”, “Regulation 2019/625”, “Regulation 2019/1012”, “Regulation 2019/1081”, “Regulation 2019/1602” and “Regulation 2019/1666” have the meanings respectively given to them in Schedule 1;]

“the Department” means the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety;

“enforcement authority” means the authority which, by virtue of regulation 5, is responsible for executing and enforcing the Hygiene Regulations;

“the Hygiene Regulations” means these Regulations and the Community Regulations;

“the Order” means the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991(1);

“premises” includes any establishment, any place, vehicle, stall or moveable structure and any ship or aircraft; and

[F3 “the Regulation 2017/625 package” means “Regulation 2018/329”, “Regulation 2019/66”, “Regulation 2019/530”, “Regulation 2019/626”, “Regulation 2019/627”, “Regulation 2019/628”, “Regulation 2019/723”, “Regulation 2019/1013”, “Regulation 2019/1014”, “Regulation 2019/1715”, “Regulation 2019/1793”, “Regulation 2019/1873”, “Regulation 2018/631”, “Regulation 2019/478”, “Regulation 2019/624”, “Regulation 2019/625”, “Regulation 2019/1012”, “Regulation 2019/1081”, “Regulation 2019/1602” and “Regulation 2019/1666”;]

“specified Community provision” means any provision of the Community Regulations that is specified in Column 1 of Schedule 2 and whose subject-matter is described in Column 2 of that Schedule.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), any expression other than one defined in paragraph (1) that is used both in these Regulations and in the Order has the meaning it bears in the Order.

(3) Unless the context otherwise requires, any expression used both in these Regulations and in Regulation 178/2002 or the Community Regulations has the meaning it bears in Regulation 178/2002 or the Community Regulations, as the case may be.

(4) Where, apart from this paragraph, any period of less than seven days which is specified in these Regulations would include any day which is—

(a) a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day or Good Friday; or

(b) a day which is a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971(2),

that shall be excluded from the period.

(5) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(3) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

[F4 (6) In these Regulations, any reference to an EU instrument defined in Schedule 1 is a reference to that instrument as F5 ... amended from time to time.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in reg. 2(1) substituted (14.12.2019) by The Official Feed and Food Controls (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019 (S.R. 2019/218), regs. 1, 5(a)(i)

F2 Words in reg. 2(1) substituted (14.12.2019) by The Official Feed and Food Controls (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019 (S.R. 2019/218), regs. 1, 5(a)(ii)

F3 Words in reg. 2(1) inserted (14.12.2019) by The Official Feed and Food Controls (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019 (S.R. 2019/218), regs. 1, 5(a)(iii)

F4 Reg. 2(6) inserted (30.7.2012) by The Food Hygiene (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 (S.R. 2012/280), regs. 1(1), 2(3)

F5 Words in reg. 2(6) omitted (14.12.2019) by virtue of The Official Feed and Food Controls (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019 (S.R. 2019/218), regs. 1, 5(b)

Commencement Information

I2 Reg. 2 in operation at 11.1.2006, see reg. 1

Presumptions that food is intended for human consumption N.I.

3.—(1) The following paragraphs shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations.

(2) Any food commonly used for human consumption shall, if placed on the market or offered, exposed or kept for placing on the market, be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have been placed on the market or, as the case may be, to have been or to be intended for placing on the market for human consumption.

(3) The following, namely—

(a) any food commonly used for human consumption which is found on premises used for the preparation, storage, or placing on the market of that food; and

(b) any article or substance commonly used in the manufacture of food for human consumption which is found on premises used for the preparation, storage or placing on the market of that food,

shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to be intended for placing on the market, or for manufacturing food for placing on the market, for human consumption.

(4) Any article or substance capable of being used in the composition or preparation of any food commonly used for human consumption which is found on premises on which that food is prepared shall, until the contrary is proved, be presumed to be intended for such use.

Commencement Information

I3 Reg. 3 in operation at 11.1.2006, see reg. 1

Competent authority N.I.

4.  The competent authority for the purposes of the Community Regulations shall be the Agency except where it has delegated competences as provided for in those Regulations.

Commencement Information

I4 Reg. 4 in operation at 11.1.2006, see reg. 1

Enforcement N.I.

5.—(1) In respect of any food business operator to whose operations Regulation 852/2004 applies but Regulation 853/2004 does not apply—

(a) the Agency or the district council in whose district the food business operator carries out his operation shall execute and enforce the Hygiene Regulations in so far as the operator concerned is carrying out primary production and those associated operations listed in paragraph 1 of Part AI of Annex I to Regulation 852/2004 other than the associated operations described in sub-paragraphs (a) and (c) of that paragraph to the extent that they concern wild game; and

(b) the district council in whose district the food business operator carries out his operations shall execute and enforce the Hygiene Regulations in so far as the operator concerned is carrying out operations which are not executed and enforced by the Agency or the district council as provided for in sub-paragraph (a).

(2) In respect of any food business operator to whose operations both Regulation 852/2004 and Regulation 853/2004 apply—

(a) the Agency shall execute and enforce the Hygiene Regulations in so far as the operator concerned is carrying out operations in relation to—

(i) a slaughterhouse,

(ii) a game-handling establishment,

(iii) a cutting plant, and

(iv) the activities in respect of eggs as set out in Chapter I of Section X of Annex III to Regulation 853/2004;

(b) the Agency or the district council in whose district the food business operator carries out his operations shall execute and enforce the Hygiene Regulations in so far as the operator concerned is carrying out operations in relation to any establishment that is not specified in sub-paragraph (a).

(3) In respect of—

(a) collection centres and tanneries supplying raw material for the production of gelatine intended for human consumption pursuant to paragraph 5 of Chapter I of Section XIV of Annex III to Regulation 853/2004; and

(b) collection centres and tanneries supplying raw material for the production of collagen intended for human consumption pursuant to paragraph 5 of Chapter I of Section XV of Annex III to Regulation 853/2004,

the Agency shall execute and enforce the Hygiene Regulations.

(4) Each district council shall execute and enforce these Regulations in its district in relation to the matters regulated by Schedules 3 to 5.

(5) The Agency shall execute and enforce these Regulations in relation to the matters regulated by Schedule 6.

[F6 (6) In this regulation—

“cutting plant” means an establishment which is used for boning and/or cutting up fresh meat for placing on the market and which is approved or conditionally approved under Article 148 of Regulation 2017/625;

“game-handling establishment” means an establishment in which game and game meat obtained after hunting are prepared for placing on the market and which is approved or conditionally approved under Article 148 of Regulation 2017/625;

“slaughterhouse” means an establishment used for slaughtering and dressing animals, the meat of which is intended for human consumption and which is approved or conditionally approved under Article 148 of Regulation 2017/625.]

Textual Amendments

F6 Reg. 5(6) substituted (14.12.2019) by The Official Feed and Food Controls (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019 (S.R. 2019/218), regs. 1, 6

Commencement Information

I5 Reg. 5 in operation at 11.1.2006, see reg. 1

(1)

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, paragraph 2 of Article 2 (regarding the definition of “food”) was substituted by S.R. 2004 No. 482

(2)

1971 c. 80

(3)

1954 c. 33 (N.I.)