The Specified Sugar Products (Scotland) Regulations 2003

Citation, commencement and extent

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Specified Sugar Products (Scotland) Regulations 2003 and shall come into force on 28th November 2003.

(2) These Regulations extend to Scotland only.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations–

“the Act” means the Food Safety Act 1990;

“candy sugar” means crystalline sugar with crystals having any dimension greater than one centimetre;

“catering establishment” means a restaurant, canteen, club, public house, school, hospital or similar establishment (including a vehicle or a fixed or mobile stall) where, in the course of a business, food is prepared for delivery to the ultimate consumer and is ready for consumption without further preparation;

“EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area(1) signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol(2) signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993;

“EEA State” means a State which is a Contracting Party to the EEA Agreement;

“icing sugar” means fine particles of white sugar or extra-white sugar or mixtures thereof;

“preparation” includes manufacture and any form of processing or treatment, and “prepared” shall be construed accordingly;

“the 1996 Regulations” means the Food Labelling Regulations 1996(3);

“reserved description”, as respects any specified sugar product, means any description specified in relation to that product in column 1 of Part I of Schedule 1 (as read with the notes relating to that Part) and the use of any such description in these Regulations shall be construed as meaning the product to which that description relates;

“sell” includes offer or expose for sale or have in possession for sale, and “sale” and “sold” shall be construed accordingly;

“specified sugar product” means any food specified in column 2 of Part I of Schedule 1 (as read with the notes relating to that Part) but does not include any such food in the form of icing sugar, candy sugar or sugar in loaf form;

“sugar in loaf form” means a piece of agglomerated crystalline sugar, usually conically shaped, weighing not less than 250 grammes; and

“ultimate consumer” means any person who buys otherwise than–

(a)

for the purpose of resale;

(b)

for the purposes of a catering establishment; or

(c)

for the purposes of a manufacturing business.

Scope of Regulations

3.  These Regulations apply to specified sugar products, intended for human consumption and ready for delivery to the ultimate consumer or to a catering establishment.

Reserved descriptions

4.  No person shall sell any food with a label, whether or not attached to or printed on the wrapper or container, which bears, comprises or includes any reserved description or any derivative thereof or any word or description substantially similar thereto unless–

(a) such food is the specified sugar product to which the reserved description relates;

(b) such derivative, description or word is used in such a context as to indicate explicitly or by clear implication that the substance to which it relates is only an ingredient of that food;

(c) such derivative, description or word is used in such a context as to indicate explicitly or by clear implication that such food is not and does not contain a specified sugar product; or

(d) such derivative, description or word is used in a customary name for another food and is not liable to mislead the consumer.

Labelling and description of specified sugar products

5.  Without prejudice to the generality of Part II of the 1996 Regulations, no person shall sell any specified sugar product unless it is marked or labelled with the following particulars:–

(a) a reserved description of the product; and

(b) in the case of sugar solution, invert sugar solution and invert sugar syrup, the dry matter and invert sugar content of the product.

Manner of marking or labelling

6.  Regulations 35, 36(1) and (5) and 38 of the 1996 Regulations (which relate to the manner of marking or labelling of food) shall apply to the particulars with which a specified sugar product is required to be marked or labelled by regulation 5 of these Regulations as if they were particulars with which food is required to be marked or labelled by the 1996 Regulations.

Penalties and enforcement

7.—(1) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with regulations 4 or 5 of these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) Any person found guilty of an offence under paragraph (1) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(3) Each food authority shall enforce and execute these Regulations in its area.

Defence in relation to exports

8.  In any proceedings for an offence under these Regulations it shall be a defence for the person charged to prove–

(a) that the food in respect of which the offence is alleged to have been committed was intended for export to a country which has legislation analogous to these Regulations and that the food complies with that legislation; and

(b) in the case of export to an EEA State, that the legislation complies with the provisions of Council Directive 2001/111/EC relating to certain sugars intended for human consumption(4).

Application of various provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990

9.  The following provisions of the Act shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations with the modification that any reference in those provisions to the Act or Part thereof shall be construed for the purposes of these Regulations as a reference to these Regulations:–

(a) section 2 (extended meaning of “sale” etc);

(b) section 3 (presumption that food intended for human consumption);

(c) section 20 (offences due to fault of another person);

(d) section 21 (defence of due diligence) as it applies for the purposes of sections 8, 14 or 15 of the Act;

(e) section 22 (defence of publication in the course of business);

(f) section 30(8) (which relates to documentary evidence);

(g) section 33 (obstruction etc. of officers);

(h) section 35(1) to (3) (punishment of offences) insofar as it relates to offences under section 33(1) or (2) as applied by paragraph (g) above;

(i) section 36 (offences by bodies corporate);

(j) section 36A(5) (offences by Scottish partnerships); and

(k) section 44 (protection of officers acting in good faith).

Transitional provision

10.  In any proceedings for an offence under these Regulations it shall be a defence for the person charged to prove that–

(a) the food concerned was marked or labelled before 12th July 2004; and

(b) the matters constituting the alleged offence would not have constituted an offence under the Specified Sugar Products (Scotland) Regulations 1976(6) if those Regulations had been in force when the food was marked or labelled.

Consequential amendments and revocations

11.—(1) The following entries relating to the Specified Sugar Products (Scotland) Regulations 1976 shall be omitted–

(a) in the Food and Drugs (Scotland) Act 1956 (Transfer of Enforcement Functions) Regulations 1983(7), in Schedule 1;

(b) in the Food (Revision of Penalties and Mode of Trial) (Scotland) Regulations 1985(8), in Schedule 1;

(c) in the Food Safety Act 1990 (Consequential Modifications) (Scotland) Order 1990(9), in Schedule 1, Part I, Schedule 2, Schedule 3, Part II and Schedules 5 and 8;

(d) in the Food Safety (Exports) Regulations 1991(10), in Schedule 2;

(e) in the Food (Forces Exemptions) (Revocations) Regulations 1992(11), in the Schedule, Part II;

(f) in the Colours in Food Regulations 1995(12), in regulation 12(2);

(g) in the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations 1995(13), in regulation 10(4) and in Schedule 9;

(h) in the 1996 Regulations, in regulation 49(3); and

(i) in the Miscellaneous Food Additives (Amendment) Regulations 1999(14), in regulation 14(1).

(2) The Specified Sugar Products (Scotland) Regulations 1976 and the Specified Sugar Products (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 1982(15) are hereby revoked.

(3) In the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations 1995, in Schedule 2, Part B, second table and Schedule 6, for “Directive 73/437/EEC”(16) substitute “Directive 2001/111/EC”(17).

(4) The instruments specified in column 1 of Schedule 2 shall be amended as set out in column 2 of that Schedule.

TOM McCABE

Authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers

St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh

4th November 2003