Statutory Instrument 1991 No. 6

The Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Radioactivity in Sheep) (England) Order 1991

---

© Crown Copyright 1991

Statutory Instruments printed from this website are printed under the superintendence and authority of the Controller of HMSO being the Queen's Printer of Acts of Parliament.

The legislation contained on this web site is subject to Crown Copyright protection. It may be reproduced free of charge provided that it is reproduced accurately and that the source and copyright status of the material is made evident to users.

It should be noted that the right to reproduce the text of Statutory Instruments does not extend to the Queen's Printer imprints which should be removed from any copies of the Statutory Instrument which are issued or made available to the public. This includes reproduction of the Statutory Instrument on the Internet and on intranet sites. The Royal Arms may be reproduced only where they are an integral part of the original document.

The text of this Internet version of the Statutory Instrument has been prepared to reflect the text as it was Made. A print version is also available and is published by The Stationery Office Limited as the The Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Radioactivity in Sheep) (England) Order 1991, ISBN 0110130065. The print version may be purchased by clicking here. Braille copies of this Statutory Instrument can also be purchased at the same price as the print edition by contacting TSO Customer Services on 0870 600 5522 or e-mail:customer.services@tso.co.uk.

Further information about the publication of legislation on this website can be found by referring to the Frequently Asked Questions.

To ensure fast access over slow connections, large documents have been segmented into "chunks". Where you see a "continue" button at the bottom of the page of text, this indicates that there is another chunk of text available.

1991 No. 6

PUBLIC HEALTH, ENGLAND AND WALES

PUBLIC HEALTH, SCOTLAND

PUBLIC HEALTH, NORTHERN IRELAND
CONTAMINATION OF FOOD

The Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Radioactivity in Sheep) (England) Order 1991

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 1(1) and (2) and 24(1) and (3) of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985^[1], and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, being of the opinion in accordance with section 1(1) of that Act that there exist or may exist circumstances which are likely to create a hazard to human health through human consumption of food and that in consequence food which is or may be in the future derived from sheep in the area described in Schedule 1 to the following Order is, or may be, or may become, unsuitable for human consumption, hereby makes the following Order:

Title, commencement and interpretation
    1.—(1)  This Order may be cited as the Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Radioactivity in Sheep) (England) Order 1991 and shall come into force on 14th January 1991.

    (2)  In this Order—

"the Act" means the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985;


"consent" means a consent given under section 2(1) of the Act;


"designated area" means the area described in Schedule 1;


"sheep" means an animal of the genus Ovis of whatever age or sex.

    (3)  Any reference in this Order to a numbered article or Schedule shall be construed as a reference to the article or Schedule bearing that number in this Order.

Designated circumstances
    2.    In the opinion of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, food which is or may be in the future derived from sheep in the area described in Schedule 1 is, or may be, or may become unsuitable for human consumption in consequence of the elevated levels of radioactivity found in that area following the escape on or after 26th April 1986 of radioactive substances from a nuclear powered reactor situated at Chernobyl in the Ukraine, USSR.

Designated area
    3.    The area described in Schedule 1 is hereby designated for the purposes of Part I of the Act.

Activities prohibited in the designated area
    4.    No person shall in the designated area slaughter any sheep for human consumption or for use in the preparation of feeding stuffs from which food could be derived.

Prohibitions on movement
    5.—(1)  No person shall move any sheep from any farm, holding or agricultural premises situated in the designated area.

    (2)  No person shall move into the designated area any sheep which has previously been removed from that area, or from an area which is at the time of removal designated by an order under section 1 of the Act which refers to the escape of substances described in article 2, in accordance with a consent which was subject to the condition that the sheep to which it applied should be marked with a green, blue or apricot paint mark.

Prohibitions throughout the United Kingdom
    6.—(1)  Subject to paragraph (2) below, no person shall in the United Kingdom—
 (a) slaughter for human consumption or for use in the preparation of feeding stuffs from which food could be derived any sheep that was in the designated area at any time after 11 am on 20th June 1986; or
 (b) supply, or have in possession for supply, any meat derived from a sheep, or any food which contains any such meat, if that sheep was in the designated area at any time after 11 am on 20th June 1986.

    (2)  Paragraph (1) above shall not apply—
 (a) in the case of any sheep which was moved from the designated area in accordance with a consent which did not require that sheep to be marked with a paint mark and did not require it to be returned to that area;
 (b) in the case of any sheep—
 (i) which was moved from the designated area in accordance with a consent which was subject to the condition that the sheep to which it applied should be marked with a paint mark; and
 (ii) which has been examined and marked with an car-tag by a person authorised in that behalf by one of the Ministers;
 (c) in the case of any sheep—
 (i) which was moved from the designated area in accordance with a consent; and
 (ii) which was marked with a blue paint mark in accordance with that consent,
on or after 1st April of the year following the year in which it was so marked;
 (d) in the case of any sheep—
 (i) which was moved from the designated area in accordance with a consent; and
 (ii) which was marked with an apricot paint mark in accordance with that consent,
on or after 1st August of the year in which it was so marked;
 (e) in the case of any sheep—
 (i) which was moved from the designated area in accordance with a consent; and
 (ii) which was marked with a green paint mark in accordance with that consent,
on or after 1st December of the year in which it was so marked.

Revocation
    7.    The Orders specified in Schedule 2 are hereby revoked.

In witness whereof the Official Seal of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is hereunto affixed on
1Oth January 1991.


John Selwyn Gummer

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

[1] 1985 c. 48.; section 1 was amended by section 51 of the Food Safety Act 1990 (c. 16), and section 24(1) was amended by paragraph 29 of Schedule 3 to that Act; section 1(2) defines "designating authority" and sections 24(1) and 25(2) define "the Ministers". back

Explanatory Note