CHAPTER II

GENERAL FOOD LAW
SECTION 4

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS OF FOOD LAW

Food safety requirements
Article 14
1
Food shall not be placed on the market if it is unsafe.
2
Food shall be deemed to be unsafe if it is considered to be:
a
injurious to health;
b
unfit for human consumption.
3
In determining whether any food is unsafe, regard shall be had:
a
to the normal conditions of use of the food by the consumer and at each stage of production, processing and distribution, and
b
to the information provided to the consumer, including information on the label, or other information generally available to the consumer concerning the avoidance of specific adverse health effects from a particular food or category of foods.
4
In determining whether any food is injurious to health, regard shall be had:
a
not only to the probable immediate and/or short-term and/or long-term effects of that food on the health of a person consuming it, but also on subsequent generations;
b
to the probable cumulative toxic effects;
c
to the particular health sensitivities of a specific category of consumers where the food is intended for that category of consumers.
5
In determining whether any food is unfit for human consumption, regard shall be had to whether the food is unacceptable for human consumption according to its intended use, for reasons of contamination, whether by extraneous matter or otherwise, or through putrefaction, deterioration or decay.
6
Where any food which is unsafe is part of a batch, lot or consignment of food of the same class or description, it shall be presumed that all the food in that batch, lot or consignment is also unsafe, unless following a detailed assessment there is no evidence that the rest of the batch, lot or consignment is unsafe.
7
Food that complies with specific legislation in force in the relevant constituent territory of Great Britain governing food safety shall be deemed to be safe insofar as the aspects covered by the specific ... provisions are concerned.
8
Conformity of a food with specific provisions applicable to that food shall not bar the competent authorities from taking appropriate measures to impose restrictions on it being placed on the market or to require its withdrawal from the market where there are reasons to suspect that, despite such conformity, the food is unsafe.
9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Feed safety requirements
Article 15
1
Feed shall not be placed on the market or fed to any food-producing animal if it is unsafe.
2
Feed shall be deemed to be unsafe for its intended use if it is considered to:
- have an adverse effect on human or animal health;
- make the food derived from food-producing animals unsafe for human consumption.
3
Where a feed which has been identified as not satisfying the feed safety requirement is part of a batch, lot or consignment of feed of the same class or description, it shall be presumed that all of the feed in that batch, lot or consignment is so affected, unless following a detailed assessment there is no evidence that the rest of the batch, lot or consignment fails to satisfy the feed safety requirement.
4
Feed that complies with specific legislation in force in the relevant constituent territory of Great Britain governing feed safety shall be deemed to be safe insofar as the aspects covered by the specific ... provisions are concerned.
5
Conformity of a feed with specific provisions applicable to that feed shall not bar the competent authorities from taking appropriate measures to impose restrictions on it being placed on the market or to require its withdrawal from the market where there are reasons to suspect that, despite such conformity, the feed is unsafe.
6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Presentation
Article 16
Without prejudice to more specific provisions of food law, the labelling, advertising and presentation of food or feed, including their shape, appearance or packaging, the packaging materials used, the manner in which they are arranged and the setting in which they are displayed, and the information which is made available about them through whatever medium, shall not mislead consumers.

Responsibilities
Article 17
1
Food and feed business operators at all stages of production, processing and distribution within the businesses under their control shall ensure that foods or feeds satisfy the requirements of food law which are relevant to their activities and shall verify that such requirements are met.
2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Traceability
Article 18
1
The traceability of food, feed, food-producing animals, and any other substance intended to be, or expected to be, incorporated into a food or feed shall be established at all stages of production, processing and distribution.
2
Food and feed business operators shall be able to identify any person from whom they have been supplied with a food, a feed, a food-producing animal, or any substance intended to be, or expected to be, incorporated into a food or feed.
To this end, such operators shall have in place systems and procedures which allow for this information to be made available to the competent authorities on demand.
3
Food and feed business operators shall have in place systems and procedures to identify the other businesses to which their products have been supplied. This information shall be made available to the competent authorities on demand.
4
Food or feed which is placed on the market or is likely to be placed on the market in Great Britain shall be adequately labelled or identified to facilitate its traceability, through relevant documentation or information in accordance with the relevant requirements of more specific provisions.
5
The appropriate authority may make regulations for the purpose of applying the requirements of this Article in respect of specific sectors.

Responsibilities for food: food business operators
Article 19
1
If a food business operator considers or has reason to believe that a food which it has imported, produced, processed, manufactured or distributed is not in compliance with the food safety requirements, it shall immediately initiate procedures to withdraw the food in question from the market where the food has left the immediate control of that initial food business operator and inform the competent authorities thereof. Where the product may have reached the consumer, the operator shall effectively and accurately inform the consumers of the reason for its withdrawal, and if necessary, recall from consumers products already supplied to them when other measures are not sufficient to achieve a high level of health protection.
2
A food business operator responsible for retail or distribution activities which do not affect the packaging, labelling, safety or integrity of the food shall, within the limits of its respective activities, initiate procedures to withdraw from the market products not in compliance with the food-safety requirements and shall participate in contributing to the safety of the food by passing on relevant information necessary to trace a food, cooperating in the action taken by producers, processors, manufacturers and/or the competent authorities.
3
A food business operator shall immediately inform the competent authorities if it considers or has reason to believe that a food which it has placed on the market may be injurious to human health. Operators shall inform the competent authorities of the action taken to prevent risks to the final consumer and shall not prevent or discourage any person from cooperating, in accordance with national law and legal practice, with the competent authorities, where this may prevent, reduce or eliminate a risk arising from a food.
4
Food business operators shall collaborate with the competent authorities on action taken to avoid or reduce risks posed by a food which they supply or have supplied.

Responsibilities for feed: feed business operators
Article 20
1
If a feed business operator considers or has reason to believe that a feed which it has imported, produced, processed, manufactured or distributed does not satisfy the feed safety requirements, it shall immediately initiate procedures to withdraw the feed in question from the market and inform the competent authorities thereof. In these circumstances or, in the case of Article 15(3), where the batch, lot or consignment does not satisfy the feed safety requirement, that feed shall be destroyed, unless the competent authority is satisfied otherwise. The operator shall effectively and accurately inform users of the feed of the reason for its withdrawal, and if necessary, recall from them products already supplied when other measures are not sufficient to achieve a high level of health protection.
2
A feed business operator responsible for retail or distribution activities which do not affect the packaging, labelling, safety or integrity of the feed shall, within the limits of its respective activities, initiate procedures to withdraw from the market products not in compliance with the feed-safety requirements and shall participate in contributing to the safety of food by passing on relevant information necessary to trace a feed, cooperating in the action taken by producers, processors, manufacturers and/or the competent authorities.
3
A feed business operator shall immediately inform the competent authorities if it considers or has reason to believe that a feed which it placed on the market may not satisfy the feed safety requirements. It shall inform the competent authorities of the action taken to prevent risk arising from the use of that feed and shall not prevent or discourage any person from cooperating, in accordance with national law and legal practice, with the competent authorities, where this may prevent, reduce or eliminate a risk arising from a feed.
4
Feed business operators shall collaborate with the competent authorities on action taken in order to avoid risks posed by a feed which they supply or have supplied.

Liability
Article 21. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Word in Art. 15(4) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The General Food Law (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/641), regs. 1, 17(a)(ii) (as substituted by S.I. 2020/1504, regs. 1(2), 10(10)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Art. 17 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The General Food Law (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/641), regs. 1, 18(b); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Art. 14(9) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The General Food Law (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/641), regs. 1, 16(b); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Art. 21 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The General Food Law (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/641), regs. 1, 20(a); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Art. 18(5) substituted (31.12.2020) by The General Food Law (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/641), regs. 1, 19(b) (as substituted by S.I. 2020/1504, regs. 1(2), 10(11)(b)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Art. 17(2) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The General Food Law (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/641), regs. 1, 18(a); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Art. 14(7) substituted (31.12.2020) by The General Food Law (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/641), regs. 1, 16(a)(i) (as substituted by S.I. 2020/1504, regs. 1(2), 10(9)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Art. 18(4) substituted (31.12.2020) by The General Food Law (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/641), regs. 1, 19(a) (as substituted by S.I. 2020/1504, regs. 1(2), 10(11)(a)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Words in Art. 15(4) substituted (31.12.2020) by The General Food Law (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/641), regs. 1, 17(a)(i) (as substituted by S.I. 2020/1504, regs. 1(2), 10(10)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Art. 15(6) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The General Food Law (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/641), regs. 1, 17(b); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Word in Art. 14(7) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The General Food Law (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/641), regs. 1, 16(a)(ii) (as substituted by S.I. 2020/1504, regs. 1(2), 10(9)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)