The Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006

PART 1 PRELIMINARY

Title, commencement and application

1.  These Regulations —

(a) may be cited as the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006;

(b) come into force on 11th January 2006; and

(c) apply in relation to England only.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations —

“the Act” means the Food Safety Act 1990(1);

“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;

“the Community Regulations” means Regulation 852/2004, Regulation 853/2004, Regulation 854/2004, Regulation 2073/2005 and Regulation 2075/2005;

“Directive 2004/41”, “Regulation 178/2002”, “Regulation 1642/2003”, “Regulation 852/2004”, “Regulation 853/2004”, “Regulation 854/2004”, “Regulation 882/2004”, “Regulation 1688/2005”, “Regulation 2073/2005”, “Regulation 2074/2005”, “Regulation 2075/2005” and “Regulation 2076/2005” have the meanings respectively given to them in Schedule 1;

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

“food authority” has the meaning that it bears by virtue of section 5(1) of the Act, except that it does not include the appropriate Treasurer referred to in section 5(1)(c) of the Act (which deals with the Inner Temple and Middle Temple);

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

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

“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 Act has the meaning it bears in the Act.

(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 that it bears in Regulation 178/2002 or the Community Regulations, as the case may be.

(4) Where any functions under the Act are assigned—

(a) by an order under section 2 or 7 of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984(2), to a port health authority;

(b) by an order under section 6 of the Public Health Act 1936(3), to a joint board for a united district; or

(c) by an order under paragraph 15(6) of Schedule 8 to the Local Government Act 1985(4), to a single authority for a metropolitan county,

any reference in these Regulations to a food authority shall be construed, so far as relating to those functions, as a reference to the authority to whom they are so assigned.

(5) 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(5),

that day shall be excluded from the period.

Presumptions that food is intended for human consumption

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.

Competent authority

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.

Enforcement

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 food authority in whose area 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 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 food authority in whose area 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 food authority 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, or

(iii) a cutting plant; and

(b) the Agency or the food authority in whose area 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 food authority in whose area the collection centre or tannery concerned is situated shall execute and enforce the Hygiene Regulations.

(4) Each food authority shall execute and enforce these Regulations in its area in relation to the matters regulated by —

(a) Schedules 3 to 5; and

(b) Schedule 6 in so far as it applies in relation to raw milk intended for direct human consumption other than raw cows' milk.

(5) The Agency shall execute and enforce these Regulations in relation to the matters regulated by Schedule 6 in so far as it applies in relation to raw cows' milk intended for direct human consumption.

(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 —

(a)

is approved or conditionally approved under Article 31(2) of Regulation 882/2004; or

(b)

(although lacking the approval or conditional approval that it requires under Article 4(3) of Regulation 853/2004) was, on 31st December 2005, operating as licensed cutting premises under the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995(6) or the Poultry Meat, Farmed Game Bird Meat and Rabbit Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995(7);

“game-handling establishment” means any establishment in which game and game meat obtained after hunting are prepared for placing on the market and which —

(a)

is approved or conditionally approved under Article 31(2) of Regulation 882/2004; or

(b)

(although lacking the approval or conditional approval that it requires under Article 4(3) of Regulation 853/2004) was, on 31st December 2005, operating as a licensed wild game processing facility under the Wild Game Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995(8); and

“slaughterhouse” means an establishment used for slaughtering and dressing animals, the meat of which is intended for human consumption and which —

(a)

is approved or conditionally approved under Article 31(2) of Regulation 882/2004; or

(b)

(although lacking the approval or conditional approval that it requires under Article 4(3) of Regulation 853/2004) was, on 31st December 2005, operating as a licensed slaughterhouse under the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995 or the Poultry Meat, Farmed Game Bird Meat and Rabbit Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995.

(1)

1990 c. 16.

(2)

1984 c. 22; section 7(3)(d) was substituted by paragraph 27 of Schedule 3 to the Food Safety Act 1990 (1990 c. 16).

(3)

1936 c. 49; section 6 is to be read with paragraph 1 of Schedule 3 to the Food Safety Act 1990.

(4)

1985 c. 51; paragraph 15(6) was amended by paragraph 31(b) of Schedule 3 to the Food Safety Act 1990.

(5)

1971 c. 80.

(6)

S.I. 1995/539, revoked by S.I. 2005/2059.

(7)

S.I. 1995/540, revoked by S.I. 2005/2059.

(8)

S.I. 1995/2148, revoked by S.I. 2005/2059.