2003 No. 1182

FOOD, ENGLAND

The Sweeteners in Food (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2003

Made

Laid before Parliament

Coming into force

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 16(1)(a) and (e), 17(1), 26(1) and (3) and 48(1) of, and paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to, the Food Safety Act 19901 and now vested in him2, having had regard in accordance with section 48(4A) of that Act to relevant advice given by the Food Standards Agency, and after consultation as required by Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council, laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety3 and in accordance with section 48(4) and (4B) of that Act, makes the following Regulations:

Title, commencement and extent1

These Regulations may be cited as the Sweeteners in Food (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2003, shall come into force on 27th May 2003 and shall extend to England only.

Amendments to the Sweeteners in Food Regulations 19952

1

The Sweeteners in Food Regulations 19954 shall be amended, in so far as they extend to England, in accordance with the following paragraphs of this regulation.

2

In paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (interpretation) for the definition of “permitted sweetener” there is substituted the following definition—

  • “permitted sweetener” means the sweetener salt of aspartame–acesulfame so far as it satisfies the purity criteria for it set out at pages 19 to 21 of the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Compendium of Food Additives Specifications Addendum 8 (2000) FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 52 Addendum 8 and any sweetener specified in Column 2 of Schedule 1 which satisfies the specific purity criteria for that sweetener set out—

    1. a

      in the case of sucralose, at pages 119 to 124 of the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Compendium of Food Additives Specifications Addendum 2 (1993) FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 52 Addendum 2; and

    2. b

      in the case of any sweetener other than sucralose, in the Annex to Directive 95/31/EC5;

3

The following sub-paragraph is substituted for sub-paragraph (c) of regulation 2(3)—

c

in column 4, the maximum usable dose indicated in relation to a food is—

i

in the case of all permitted sweeteners except cyclamic acid and its Na and Ca salts, saccharin and its Na, K and Ca salts and salt of aspartame–acesulfame, the maximum amount, in milligrams, of permitted sweetener per kilogram or, as the case may be, per litre of that food which is ready to eat having been prepared according to any instructions for use, and

ii

in the case of cyclamic acid and its Na and Ca salts and saccharin and its Na, K and Ca salts, the maximum amount of free acid contained in the cyclamic acid and its Na and Ca salts or, as the case may be, saccharin and its Na, K and Ca salts present in that food which is ready to eat having been prepared according to any instructions for use, measured in milligrams per kilogram or, as the case may be, per litre of the food.

4

In paragraph (3) of regulation 3 (sale and use of sweeteners) the phrase “paragraphs (4) and (5)” is substituted for the phrase “paragraph (4)”.

5

The following paragraph is inserted immediately after paragraph (4) of regulation 3—

5

The prohibition on using aspartame and acesulfame K in or on any food which is imposed by virtue of paragraph (3) above shall apply equally in relation to the use of salt of aspartame–acesulfame in or on that food.

Consequential amendments3

1

Paragraph (2) of regulation 4 (consequential amendments) of the Sweeteners in Food (Amendment) (England) Regulations 20026 shall cease to have effect.

2

In the provisions specified in paragraph (3), insofar as they extend to England, references to the Sweeteners in Food Regulations 1995 shall be construed as references to those Regulations as amended up to and including the amendments effected by these Regulations.

3

The provisions are—

a

the definition of “permitted sweetener” in paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (interpretation) of the Jam and Similar Products Regulations 19817;

b

the definition of “additive” in paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (interpretation) of the Meat Products and Spreadable Fish Products Regulations 19848;

c

the definition of “sweetener” in Part II of Schedule 1 (categories of food additives) to the Food Additives Labelling Regulations 19929;

d

the definition of “sweetener” in paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (interpretation) of the Miscellaneous Food Additives Regulations 199510; and

e

in the Food Labelling Regulations 199611—

i

paragraph (1) of regulation 34 (foods containing sweeteners, added sugar and sweeteners, aspartame or polyols), and

ii

in Schedule 8 (misleading descriptions) Part I (general), the condition in column 2 opposite the description “ice cream” in column 1.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Health

Hazel BlearsParliamentary Under Secretary of State,Department of Health

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

1

These Regulations, which extend to England only, further amend the Sweeteners in Food Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/3123, as already amended) (“the 1995 Regulations”), which extend to the whole of Great Britain, by—

a

granting authorisation for the marketing and use as a sweetener of salt of aspartame–acesulfame, as permitted by Article 5 of Directive 89/107/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the member States concerning food additives authorised for use in foodstuffs intended for human consumption (OJNo. L40, 11.2.89, p.27). Article 5 permits member States to authorise sweeteners for the marketing and use within their own territories, pending consideration for inclusion in Directive 94/35/EC on sweeteners for use in foodstuffs (OJNo. L237, 10.9.94, p.3, as amended) (regulation 2(2) and (5));

b

clarifying the meaning of “maximum usable dose” as used in relation to cyclamic acid and its Na and Ca salts and saccharin and its Na, K and Ca salts (regulation 2(3));

c

making a consequential change to regulation 3(3) of the 1995 Regulations. (regulation 2(4)); and

d

updating references to the 1995 Regulations in other Regulations to take account of the amendments made to the 1995 Regulations by these Regulations (regulation 3).

2

Copies of the Food and Agriculture Organisation documents referred to in the new definition of “permitted sweetener” which is substituted by regulation 2(2) may be obtained from the Stationery Office (TSO), PO Box 29, St Crispins House, Norwich NR3 1GN. Alternatively copies may be obtained online from www.tso.co.uk.

3

No regulatory impact assessment has been prepared in relation to these Regulations.