The Condensed Milk and Dried Milk (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 1987

Statutory Instruments

1987 No. 26 (S. 4)

FOOD

COMPOSITION AND LABELLING

The Condensed Milk and Dried Milk (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 1987

Made

12th January 1987

Laid before Parliament

26th January 1987

Coming into force

Regulations 1 and 4

16th February 1987

Regulations 2 and 3

1st January 1988

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 4, 7, 56 and 56A of the Food and Drugs (Scotland) Act 1956(1) and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, and after consultation in accordance with section 56(6) of the said Act with such organisations as appear to him to be representative of interests substantially affected by these Regulations, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Title and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Condensed Milk and Dried Milk (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 1987, and shall come into force–

(a) as respects regulations 1 and 4 on 16th February 1987, and

(b) as respects regulations 2 and 3 on 1st January 1988.

Amendment of the Condensed Milk and Dried Milk (Scotland) Regulations 1977

2.  The Condensed Milk and Dried Milk (Scotland) Regulations 1977(2) are hereby further amended–

(a) by substituting for regulations 5 and 6 thereof the following regulations:–

“Labelling and description of condensed milk and dried milk products for retail sale

5.— (1) Without prejudice to the provisions of the Food Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 1984(3) and subject to paragraph (2) below and regulation 6, no person shall sell by retail, or consign or deliver pursuant to a sale by retail, any condensed milk product or dried milk product in a container unless that container is correctly marked or labelled with the following particulars:–

(a) a reserved description of the product, which shall be the name prescribed by law for that product for the purposes of regulation 7(1) of the Food Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 1984;

(b) in the case of a dried milk product which is an instant preparation containing added lecithins in accordance with paragraph (c) of the proviso to regulation 9, the word “instant” added to the reserved description;

(c) in the case of any condensed milk product containing not less than 1.0 per centum milk fat and any dried milk product containing not less than 1.5 per centum milk fat, the milk fat content or minimum milk fat content expressed as a percentage;

(d) in the case of any condensed milk product, the milk solids not fat content or minimum milk solids not fat content expressed as a percentage;

(e) in the case of any condensed milk product, directions for dilution or reconstitution, or relevant information as to usage where the product is intended for use in its unaltered state;

(f) in the case of any dried milk product containing not less than 1.5 per centum milk fat, directions for dilution or reconstitution and an indication of the fat content of the product after dilution or reconstitution as directed;

(g) in the case of any unsweetened condensed milk product which has been subjected to ultra heat treatment and aseptically packed, the expression “UHT” or “ultra heat treated”;

(h) in the case of any condensed milk product containing not more than 1.0 per centum milk fat and any dried milk product containing not more than 1.5 per centum milk fat, the warning “not to be used for babies except under medical advice”.

(2) Where the condensed milk product or dried milk product is packed in units each weighing less than 20 grammes within an outer packaging, the particulars required by paragraphs (1)(b) to (h) above may appear on the outer packaging only.

Labelling and description of condensed milk and dried milk products for non-retail sale

5A.   Subject to regulation 6A, no person shall sell otherwise than by retail, or consign or deliver pursuant to a sale otherwise than by retail, any condensed milk product or dried milk product in a container unless that container is correctly marked or labelled with the following particulars:—

(a) a reserved description of the product;

(b) the name or business name and the address of the manufacturer or packer or of a seller established within the Community;

(c) in the case of a product imported from a country outside the Community, the name of the country of origin;

(d) the date of manufacture or some marking by which the batch can be identified;

(e) in the case of any dried milk product containing any added permitted anti-caking agent in accordance with paragraph (d) of the proviso to regulation 9, the declaration “for use in vending machines only”.

Manner of marking or labelling for retail sale

6.— (1) Regulations 32(1) and 34(1) and (2) of the Food Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 1984 (which relate to the manner of marking or labelling of food) shall apply to the particulars with which a condensed milk product or dried milk product is required to be marked or labelled by regulation 5 as if they were particulars with which food is required to be marked or labelled by the Food Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 1984.

(2) Any indication of minimum durability required by regulation 21 of the Food Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 1984 shall appear in the labelling of the condensed milk product or dried milk product sold by retail or consigned or delivered pursuant to a sale by retail in the same field of vision as the particulars required by regulation 5(1)(a), (b), (c) and (d).

Manner of marking or labelling for non-retail sale

6A.   The particulars with which any condensed milk product or dried milk product is required to be marked or labelled by–

(a) regulation 5A, shall be clearly visible, easily legible and in indelible characters;

(b) paragraphs (a), (c) and (d) of regulation 5A shall be in English, either exclusively or in addition to any other language, or otherwise in a form easily understood by the purchaser;

(c) paragraph (c) of regulation 5A, may appear in an accompanying document.”;

(b) by substituting for paragraph (c) of the proviso to regulation 9 thereof, the following paragraph:–

“(c) any dried milk product which contains not less than 1.5 per centum milk fat and which is an instant preparation may contain not more than 0.5 per centum of the added permitted emulsifier lecithins E322;”.

Amendment of the Food Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 1984

3.  The Food Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 1984 are hereby further amended by substituting for sub-paragraph (d) of paragraph 2 of regulation 5 thereof the following sub-paragraph:–

“(d) any condensed milk product or dried milk product as defined in the Condensed Milk and Dried Milk (Scotland) Regulations 1977 which is ready for delivery to a catering establishment, other than any such product which is specially prepared for infant feeding and in the labelling of which there appears a clear statement that such food is intended for consumption by infants and no statement to the effect that such food is intended for consumption by any other class of person;”.

Transitional provisions

4.  In any proceedings brought before 1st January 1988 under the Condensed Milk and Dried Milk (Scotland) Regulations 1977, the accused shall not be convicted of an offence–

(a) against regulation 5 unless the prosecution prove that the act alleged to constitute the offence would have constituted an offence against regulation 5 or 5A as substituted for that regulation by regulation 2 of these Regulations if it had been in force when the act was done;

(b) against regulation 6 unless the prosecution prove that the act alleged to have constituted an offence would have constituted an offence against regulation 6 or 6A as substituted for that regulation by regulation 2 of these Regulations if it had been in force when the act was done.

Glenarthur

Minister of State,Scottish Office

New St. Andrew’s HouseEdinburgh

12th January 1987

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations, which apply to Scotland only, implement Council Directive No. 83/635/EEC (O.J. No. L357, 21.12.83, p.37) which amended for the second time Directive 76/118/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to certain partly or wholly dehydrated preserved milk for human consumption. For this purpose, they further amend the Condensed Milk and Dried Milk (Scotland) Regulations 1977 (“the principalRegulations”) by substituting for original regulations 5 and 6, new regulations 5, 5A, 6 and6A to make separate provision for retail and non-retail sales of condensed milk and dried milk products (regulation 2(a)). They also amend the Food Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 1984 so as to apply Part III of those Regulations, not only to products prepared for infant feeding and labelled accordingly, but also to products ready for delivery to the ultimate consumer (regulation 3).

In relation to retail sales, the requirements in new principal regulation 5 for labelling products with specified particulars, make the following changes of substance:–

(a) for dried milk products, the drying process need no longer be declared;

(b) the requirement to give a warning in respect of baby feeding, which expired on 31st December 1980, is reinstated for wholly skimmed products.

In relation to non-retail sales, new principal regulation 5A requires products to be labelled with a specified description and particulars of the Community manufacturer, packer or seller, the country of origin for imports to the Community, the date of manufacture or batch identification and, in the case of dried milk products containing permitted anti-caking agent, a declaration that they are for use in vending machines, where this is the intention.

The manner of marking or labelling is prescribed by new principal regulations 6 and 6A for retail sales and non-retail sales respectively.

These Regulations also amend principal regulation 9 to provide that only specified dried milk products which are instant preparations may contain lecithins E322 to the prescribed maximum percentage (regulation 2(b)).

The substantive changes made by regulations 2 and 3 come into force on 1st January 1988. Until then regulation 4 (which with regulation 1 comes into force on 16th February 1987) provides that an accused shall not be convicted of an offence against regulations 5 or 6 of the principal Regulations unless it is proved that his act would have constituted an offence against the respective substituted provisions had they then been in force.

(1)

1956 c. 30; section 4(1) was amended by the European Communities Act 1972 (c. 68), Schedule 4, paragraph 3(1); section 56 was amended by the Criminal Justice Act 1982 (c. 48), Schedule 15, paragraph 8; section 56A was added by the European Communities Act 1972, Schedule 4, paragraph 3(2).

(2)

S.I. 1977/1027, amended by S.I. 1982/1209, 1983/270 and 1985/1068.

(3)

S.I. 1984/1519, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.