The Secretary of State makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 66(1), 67(5), 74A(4), 79(9) and 84 of the Agriculture Act 19701, as read with regulation 14 of the Food Standards Act 1999 (Transitional and Consequential Provisions and Savings) (England and Wales) Regulations 20002.

In so far as these Regulations cannot be made under the 1970 Act, the Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of his powers as a Minister designated for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19723 in relation to the common agricultural policy of the European Union4, the control and regulation of genetically modified organisms5, measures in the veterinary and phytosanitary fields for the protection of public health6 and measures relating to feed produced for or fed to food-producing animals7, as read with paragraph 1A of Schedule 2 to that Act.

These Regulations make provision for a purpose mentioned in section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 and it appears to the Secretary of State that it is expedient for a reference to EU instrument mentioned in regulation 2(5) to be construed as references to that instrument as any Annex to it may be amended from time to time.

There has been open and transparent public consultation during the preparation of these Regulations in accordance with the requirements of 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 safety8 or, in the case of provisions relating to feed for non food-producing animals, of section 84(1) of the Agriculture Act 1970.