The Official Controls (Animals, Feed and Food) (Scotland) Regulations 2007

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations apply and enforce Council Regulation (EC) No. 882/2004 (O.J. No. L 191, 28.05.2004, p.1) (“Regulation 882/2004”) in Scotland in relation to animal health and welfare rules, and feed and food law excluded from the Official Feed and Food Controls (Scotland) Regulations 2005 (“the 2005 Regulations”), which also apply and enforce Regulation 882/2004.

These Regulations provide for the designation of the Scottish Ministers and local authorities (including food authorities) as competent authorities for the purposes of Article 4.1 of Regulation 882/2004 (regulations 3 to 5). The designations relate to:

(a) animal health and welfare rules;

(b) feed and food law which concerns controls on animals; and

(c) certain feed and food law concerning controls on food or feed excluded from the designations in the 2005 Regulations, namely:

(i) animal by-products (in relation to feed); and

(ii) the import from third countries of, and intra-Community trade in, products of animal origin; and

(iii) beef labelling.

They also relate to TSEs in relation to testing (including sampling) controls on bovine, ovine and caprine animals slaughtered for human consumption.

The designations do not include medicated feedingstuffs and zootechnical additives, which are a reserved matter covered in paragraph 4 of Schedule 5 to the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2006. Nor do the designations include the following–

(i) protected name food products and specific character food products;

(ii) veterinary medicines residues;

(iii) pesticides residues;

(iv) organic foods, including imported organic food products.

These Regulations provide expressly for the exchange of information between competent authorities in Scotland and elsewhere in the United Kingdom, and in the European Union (regulation 6).

They create independent powers for a competent authority’s auditors to conduct audits required under Article 4.6 of Regulation 882/2004 (regulation 7). Provision is made for the Scottish Ministers to call for information from a local authority about its audits; and for them to require an auditor to carry out an audit of that local authority’s official controls as a competent authority (regulation 8).

Where the Scottish Ministers arrange that the Food Standards Agency is to carry out an audit of relevant legislation under these Regulations, monitoring provisions of the 2005 Regulations apply together with the corresponding enforcement provisions from the 2005 Regulations (regulation 9 of these Regulations).

The Regulations also supplement existing powers of inspectors so that they may bring Commission experts with them for the purposes of the Commission’s own audits (regulation 10). There are provisions to facilitate assistance and co-operation between member States required under Title IV (Articles 34 to 40) of Regulation 882/2004 (regulations 11 and 12), in particular to enable officials of the Commission and other member States to attend with an inspector who investigates suspected breaches under the relevant legislation. Regulation 13 provides for the payment on written demand of expenses charged to a feed or food business operator under Articles 28 and 40.4 of Regulation 882/2004.

Part 5 provides for the enforcement of the Regulations, including powers of enforcement officers for this purpose (regulation 16). It is an offence under regulation 17 to obstruct an auditor, an enforcement officer, or an inspector who is accompanied by representatives from the Commission or other member States, or any persons accompanying an inspector or auditor. It is also an offence under regulation 17 to provide misleading or false information to, or to fail to provide information requested by, an inspector or auditor or an enforcement officer. The penalty on summary conviction for the offences is a fine at level 5 of the standard scale (currently £5,000) or three months' imprisonment, or both (regulation 17(4)). Provision is made for the prosecution of offences committed by corporate bodies (regulation 18).

A regulatory impact assessment has been prepared in respect of these Regulations and has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Copies can be obtained from The Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department, Pentland House, Robb’s Loan, Edinburgh, EH14 1TY.