The Animal Feed (Composition, Marketing and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016

PART 1 Introductory and general

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Animal Feed (Composition, Marketing and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 and come into operation on 14th February 2016.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations —

“DARD” means the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development;

“Directive 82/475” means Commission Directive 82/475/EEC laying down the categories of feed materials which may be used for the purposes of labelling compound feeding stuffs for pet animals(1);

“Directive 2002/32” means Directive 2002/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on undesirable substances in animal feed(2);

“Regulation 178/2002” means Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety;

“Regulation 1829/2003” means Regulation (EC) No. 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on genetically modified food and feed(3);

“Regulation 1831/2003” means Regulation (EC) No. 1831/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on additives for use in animal nutrition(4);

“Directive 2008/38” means Commission Directive 2008/38/EC establishing a list of intended uses of animal feedingstuffs for particular nutritional purposes(5);

“Regulation 767/2009” means Regulation (EC) No. 767/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the placing on the market and use of feed, amending European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No. 1831/2003 and repealing Council Directive 79/373/EEC, Commission Directive 80/511/EEC, Council Directives 82/471/EEC, 83/228/EEC, 93/74/EEC, 93/113/EC and 96/25/EC and Commission Decision 2004/217/EC(6);

“the Agency” means the Food Standards Agency.

(2) Any expression used in these Regulations and in Regulation 178/2002, Regulation 1831/2003 or Regulation 767/2009 has the meaning in these Regulations that it bears in the EU Regulation concerned.

(3) Any reference to an Annex to Directive 82/475, Directive 2002/32, Directive 2008/38, Regulation 1831/2003 or Regulation 767/2009 is a reference to that Annex as it may be amended from time to time.

(4) These Regulations do not apply to any feed additive in category (d) or (e) of Article 6(1) of Regulation 1831/2003, with the exception of those in the functional groups listed in paragraph 4(a), (b) and (c) of Annex 1 to that Regulation(7).

(5) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(8) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

PART 2 Enforcement of Regulation 178/2002

Interpretation of this Part

3.  In this Part any reference to a numbered Article is a reference to the Article so numbered in Regulation 178/2002.

Offence of failing to comply with any specified provision of Regulation 178/2002

4.—(1) Any person who fails to comply with any provision specified in paragraph (2) commits an offence.

(2) The specified provisions are —

(a) Article 12, in so far as it relates to feed (conditions on export or re-export to third countries);

(b) Article 15(1) (prohibition on the placing on the market or feeding to any animal of unsafe feed);

(c) Article 16, in so far as it relates to feed (prohibition on misleading labelling, advertising or presentation);

(d) Article 18(2) and (3) (requirements that operators must have traceability information and make such information available to competent authorities) in so far as they relate to feed business operators; and

(e) Article 20 (responsibilities of feed business operators regarding feed that does not satisfy feed safety requirements).

Competent authorities for the purposes of Regulation 178/2002

5.  The competent authority —

(a) for the purposes of Articles 15 and 18 is DARD; and

(b) for the purposes of Article 20 is DARD or the Agency.

PART 3 Enforcement of Regulation 1829/2003

Interpretation of this Part

6.  In this Part any reference to a numbered Article is a reference to the Article so numbered in Regulation 1829/2003.

Offence of failing to comply with any specified provision of Regulation 1829/2003

7.—(1) Any person who fails to comply with any provision specified in paragraph (2) commits an offence.

(2) The specified provisions are —

(a) Article 16(2) (prohibition on placing on the market, using or processing a product referred to in Article 15(1)(9) unless it is covered by an authorisation and satisfies relevant conditions), as read with Article 20(6) (requirement that products in relation to which the Commission has adopted a measure under this Article must be withdrawn from the market);

(b) Article 21(1) (requirement that the authorisation holder and the parties concerned must comply with conditions imposed in an authorisation for that product, and that the authorisation holder must comply with post-market monitoring requirements);

(c) Article 21(3) (requirement that an authorisation holder inform the Commission of any new scientific or technical information about a product which might affect the evaluation of the safety of its use in feed, or of any prohibition or restriction on the feed in a third country); and

(d) Article 25 (requirement for certain labelling indications).

Competent authority for the purposes of Regulation 1829/2003

8.  The national competent authority for the purposes of Chapter III of Regulation 1829/2003 is the Agency.

PART 4 Enforcement of Regulation 1831/2003

Interpretation of this Part

9.  In this Part any reference to a numbered Article is a reference to the Article so numbered in Regulation 1831/2003.

Offence of failing to comply with any specified provision of Regulation 1831/2003

10.—(1) Any person who fails to comply with any provision specified in paragraph (2) commits an offence.

(2) The specified provisions are —

(a) Article 3(1) (prohibition on placing on the market, processing or using a feed additive unless it is covered by an authorisation and satisfies relevant conditions), as read with paragraph (2) (national authorisation for scientific experimental purposes), paragraph (4) (conditions on mixing of additives) and Article 10 (status of existing products);

(b) Article 3(3) (restriction on the persons who may first place on the market certain additives);

(c) Article 12(1) (requirement that any person using or placing on the market an additive, or a feed into which it has been incorporated, or any other interested party, must ensure that any conditions which have been imposed are respected);

(d) Article 12(2) (requirement on the holder of an authorisation to observe monitoring obligations where they have been imposed, to inform the Commission of any new information about a product which might affect the evaluation of the safety of its use in feed, or of any prohibition or restriction on the feed imposed by the competent authority in a third country);

(e) Article 16(1), (3) and (4) (prohibition on the placing on the market of feed additives or premixtures unless labelled in the specified manner and with prescribed information), as read with paragraph (2) (derogation for certain flavouring compounds); and

(f) Article 16(5) (requirement that additives and premixtures must be marketed only in closed packages or containers which must be closed in such a way that the fastener is damaged on opening and cannot be re-used).

PART 5 Enforcement of Regulation 767/2009

Interpretation of this Part and Schedule 1

11.  In this Part and in Schedule 1 any reference to a numbered Article or Annex is a reference to the Article or Annex so numbered in Regulation 767/2009.

Offence of failing to comply with any specified provision of Regulation 767/2009

12.—(1) Subject to the transitional provisions contained in Article 32, any person who —

(a) fails to comply with the provisions of Regulation 767/2009 specified in Schedule 1; or

(b) places on the market or uses any feed that fails to comply with Article 6(1) or 8,

commits an offence.

(2) Where, pursuant to Article 17(2)(c), the name of a specific feed material may be replaced by the name of the category to which the feed material belongs, only the categories listed in the Annex to Directive 82/475 may be indicated.

Competent authorities for the purposes of Regulation 767/2009

13.—(1) DARD is the competent authority for the purposes of —

(a) Article 5(3), 13(1)(a) and 17(3) and Annex VII, Chapter 1, paragraph 8; and

(b) Article 13(1)(b) as the competent authority that may request scientific substantiation of the claim to whose attention purchasers have the right to bring doubts regarding the truthfulness of a claim.

(2) The Agency is the competent authority for the purposes of —

(a) Article 26(1)(b); and

(b) Article 13(1)(b) as the competent authority that may submit to the Commission doubts concerning the scientific substantiation of a claim.

(3) The Agency and DARD is a competent authority for the purposes of Article 5(2).

PART 6 Implementation of Directive 2002/32

Interpretation of this Part

14.  In this Part —

(a) any reference to a numbered Article or Annex is a reference to the Article or Annex so numbered in Directive 2002/32; and

(b) “undesirable substance” means any substance or product, not being a pathogenic agent, which is present in or on a feed and —

(i) constitutes a potential danger to human or animal health or to the environment, or

(ii) could adversely affect livestock production.

Control of animal feeds containing undesirable substances

15.—(1) Any person who —

(a) places on the market any feed that is specified in column 2 of Annex I; or

(b) uses any such feed, commits an offence if it contains any undesirable substance listed in column 1 of that Annex in excess of the relevant maximum content specified in column 3.

(2) Any person who places on the market or uses any complementary feed commits an offence if —

(a) having regard to the quantity of it recommended for use in a daily ration, it contains any undesirable substance listed in column 1 of Annex I in excess of the maximum content specified for it in column 3 in relation to complete feeds; and

(b) there is no provision relating to any complementary feed in the corresponding entry in column 2 of that Annex.

(3) Any person who for the purpose of dilution mixes any feed with a feed that is specified in column 2 of Annex I and which contains any undesirable substance listed in column 1 of that Annex in excess of the maximum content specified for it in column 3 commits an offence.

(4) Any person who places on the market or uses any feed which is not sound and genuine and of merchantable quality commits an offence.

(5) For the purposes of paragraph (4) a feed listed in column 2 of Annex I shall be deemed not to be sound, genuine and of merchantable quality if it contains any undesirable substance specified in column 1 of that Annex in excess of the maximum content specified in relation to it in column 3.

(6) Any person who has, for the purpose of a trade or business, possession or control of any of the feeds specified in paragraph (7) must, if required by an inspector, procure and produce to the inspector an analysis in order to demonstrate that the content of inorganic arsenic in the feed specified in that paragraph is less than 2 parts per million.

(7) The feeds are —

(a) palm kernel expeller;

(b) feeds obtained from the processing of fish and other marine animals;

(c) seaweed meal and feed materials derived from seaweed; and

(d) complete feeds for fish or for fur-producing animals.

(8) Any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a requirement made under paragraph (6) commits an offence.

PART 7 Implementation of Directive 2008/38

Interpretation of this Part

16.  In this Part, “the Annex” means Part B of Annex I to Directive 2008/38, as read with paragraphs 1 and 7 of Part A of that Annex.

Control of feed intended for particular nutritional purposes

17.—(1) Any person who places on the market a feed intended for a particular nutritional purpose commits an offence if the relevant requirements of paragraphs (2) to (9) are not met.

(2) In relation to any particular nutritional purpose specified in column 1 of the Annex —

(a) the feed must be intended for the animals specified opposite that particular nutritional purpose in column 3 of the Annex; and

(b) it must be recommended that the feed be used for a period of time falling within the range specified opposite that particular nutritional purpose in column 5 of the Annex.

(3) Where a group of additives is specified in column 2 or 4 of the Annex, the additives used must be authorised as corresponding to the specified essential characteristic.

(4) Where the source of ingredients or analytical constituents is required in column 4 of the Annex, the manufacturer must make a precise declaration (for example the specific name of the ingredient, the animal species or the part of the animal) allowing the evaluation of conformity of the feed with the corresponding essential nutritional characteristics.

(5) Where the declaration of a substance that is also authorised as an additive is required in column 4 of the Annex and is accompanied by the expression “total”, the declared content must refer to the quantity naturally present where none is added or, as appropriate, the total quantity of the substance naturally present and the amount added as an additive.

(6) The declarations specified in column 4 of the Annex with the reference “if added” must be provided where the ingredient or the additive has been incorporated or increased specifically to enable the achievement of the particular nutritional purpose.

(7) The declarations to be given in accordance with column 4 of the Annex concerning analytical constituents and additives must be quantitative.

(8) Where a feed is intended to meet more than one particular nutritional purpose, it must comply with the corresponding entries in the Annex.

(9) In the case of a complementary feed intended for a particular nutritional purpose, guidance on the balance of the daily ration must be provided in the instructions for use on the label.

PART 8 Administration and enforcement

Penalties for offences under these Regulations

18.—(1) Any person found guilty of an offence under regulation 4(1), 7(1), 10(1), 12(1), 15(1), (2), (3) or (4) or 17(1) is liable on summary conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both.

(2) Any person found guilty of an offence under regulation 15(8) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

Duties to enforce

19.  It is the duty of DARD to execute and enforce Regulation 178/2002, Regulation 1829/2002, Regulation 1831/2003, Regulation 767/2009 and these Regulations.

PART 9 Amendment and revocation

Amendment of the Official Feed and Food Controls Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009

20.—(1) The Official Feed and Food Controls Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009(10) are amended in accordance with paragraph (2).

(2) In Schedule 2 (definition of relevant feed law) —

(a) omit paragraph (c); and

(b) in paragraph (f), for the expression “the Animal Feed Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010” substitute “the Animal Feed (Composition, Marketing and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016”.

Revocations

21.  The Regulations listed in the first column of Schedule 2 are revoked to the extent specified in the second column.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on 11th January 2016.

Deborah McNeilly

A senior officer of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety