http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/30/section/5Food Act 1984An Act to consolidate the provisions of the Food and Drugs Acts 1955 to 1982, the Sugar Act 1956, the Food and Drugs (Milk) Act 1970, section 7(3) and (4) of the European Communities Act 1972, section 198 of the Local Government Act 1972 and Part IX of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, and connected provisions.1984-06-26texttext/xmlenStatute Law Database2025-09-11Expert Participation2025-08-18 Part I51To enable the Ministers to exercise their functions under section 4—athey may by order require every person who at the date of the order or at any subsequent time carries on a business which includes the production, importation or use of substances of any class specified in the order to provide the Minister (within such time as may be so specified) with the particulars mentioned in paragraph (b);bthose particulars shall be such as may be so specified of the composition and use of any such substance sold in the course of that business for use in the preparation of food for human consumption, or used for that purpose in the course of that business.2Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), an order made under that subsection may require the following particulars to be provided in respect of any substance—aparticulars of the composition and chemical formula of the substance;bparticulars of the manner in which the substance is used or proposed to be used in the preparation of food;cparticulars of any investigations carried out by or to the knowledge of the person carrying on the business in question, for the purpose of determining whether and to what extent the substance, or any product formed when the substance is used as mentioned above, is injurious to, or in any other way affects, health;dparticulars of any investigations or inquiries carried out by or to the knowledge of the person carrying on the business in question for the purpose of determining the cumulative effect on the health of a person consuming the substance in ordinary quantities.3No particulars provided in accordance with an order under this section, and no information relating to any individual business obtained by means of such particulars, shall, without the previous consent in writing of the person carrying on the business in question, be disclosed except—ain accordance with directions of the Minister, so far as may be necessary for the purposes of section 4 or of any corresponding enactment for the time being in force in Scotland or Northern Ireland,bfor the purposes of any proceedings for an offence against the order or any report of those proceedings,and a person who discloses any such information or particulars in contravention of this subsection is guilty of an offence.4Section 51 of the Patents Act 1949 (which secures inventions against anticipation in certain cases) applies in relation—ato the disclosure of any invention made in pursuance of an order under this section, andbto anything done in consequence of any such disclosure,as it applies in relation to such communications of inventions as are therein mentioned, and to anything done in consequence of such communications.5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .S. 5: Pts. I, II (ss. 1-49) repealed (E.W.) (with savings for ss. 15 and 21) by Food Safety Act 1990 (c. 16, SIF 53:1, 2), ss. 54, 59, Sch. 4 paras. 7, 8, Sch. 5 but (prosp.) as regards ss. 16-20, and not coming into force as regards s. 13 so far as it relates to the Food Hygiene (Amendment) Regulations 1990 until either 1.4.1991 or 1.4.1992 as mentioned in S.I. 1990/2372).1949 c. 87. S. 5(5) repealed (N.I.) ( 4.11.1991) by S.I. 1991/762, art. 51(4), Sch.4; S.R. 1991/175, art. 2(2).Pts. I, II (ss. 1–49) repealed (E.W.) (with savings for ss. 15 and 21) by Food Safety Act 1990 (c. 16, SIF 53:1, 2), ss. 54, 59, Sch. 4 paras. 7, 8, Sch. 5 (but (3.4.1992) as regards ss. 16–20; S.I. 1992/57, art. 2 and not coming into force as regards s.13 so far as it relates to the Food Hygiene (Amendment) Regulations 1990 until either 1.4.1991 or 1.4.1992 as mentioned in S.I. 1990/2372)Act repealed (S.) (16.6.2025) by Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024 (asp 11), s. 38(2), sch. 2 Pt. 1; S.S.I. 2025/167, reg. 2, sch.