1996 No. 961

FOOD

The Beef (Emergency Control) Order 1996

Made

Laid before Parliament

Coming into force

Whereas it appears to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food that the sale of meat derived from older bovine animals may involve imminent risk of injury to health, now therefore the said Minister, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 6(4), 13(1) and 48(1) of the Food Safety Act 19901 and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Order:—

Title, commencement and interpretation1

1

This Order may be cited as the Beef (Emergency Control) Order 1996 and shall come into force on 29th March 1996.

2

In this Order “meat” means any part of an animal that is suitable for human consumption.

Prohibition of sale of meat from older bovine animals2

No person shall sell for human consumption any meat derived from a bovine animal slaughtered after the commencement of this Order which, at the time of slaughter, showed signs of more than one pair of permanent incisors.

Enforcement3

This Order shall be enforced and executed by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in relation to England and by the Secretary of State in relation to Scotland and Wales.

Application of various sections of the Act4

The following provisions of the Act shall apply for the purposes of this Order as they apply for the purposes of the Act, and, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in them to the Act shall be construed as a reference to the Order—

a

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

b

section 3 (presumptions that food is intended for sale for human consumption);

c

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

d

section 21 (defence of due diligence);

e

section 33 (obstruction etc. of officers);

f

section 36 (offences by bodies corporate), subject to the modification that a reference to a body corporate includes a Scottish partnership and a reference to a director includes a partner in a Scottish partnership; and

g

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

Tony BaldryMinister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order, which extends to Great Britain, prohibits the sale for human consumption of meat from any bovine animal slaughtered after 28th March 1996 that has reached that stage of maturity where it shows signs of more than one pair of permanent incisors. Contravention of the Order is an offence against section 13(2) of the Food Safety Act 1990.

A Compliance Cost Assessment in relation to these Regulations has been placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament and copies can be obtained from the Meat Hygiene Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Government Buildings, Hook Rise South, Tolworth, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 7NF.