The Plastic Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2005

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

1.  These Regulations, which apply in relation to Wales only, further amend the Plastic Materials and Articles in Contact with Food Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1998/1376, “the 1998 Regulations”), which extend to the whole of Great Britain. These Regulations implement Commission Directive 2004/13/EC amending Commission Directive 2002/16/EC relating to the use of certain epoxy derivatives in materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs (OJ No. L51, 22.2.2002, p.27) and also implement Commission Directive 2004/1/EC amending Commission Directive 2002/72/EC in relation to the use of azodicarbonamide as a blowing agent (OJ No. L220, 15.8.2002, p.18).

2.  The Regulations amend the 1998 Regulations by —

(a) extending by a year the provisional authorisation of 2,2-bis(hydroxyphenyl)propane bis(2,3-epoxypropyl)ether (“BADGE”) (regulation 4);

(b) prohibiting the use of the blowing agent azodicarbonamide as from 2 August 2005 (regulation 5);

(c) amending the defence available under regulation 10 paragraph (19) of the 1998 Regulations to allow for a date code as an alternative to the date of filling itself appearing on materials and articles covered by a surface coating, the defence being conditional on the meaning of the code having been disclosed on request to the Food Standards Agency and the enforcement authority (regulation 6(a));

(d) creating a defence relating to azodicarbonamide similar to that which applies to materials and articles covered by a surface coating (regulation 6(c)).

3.  A regulatory appraisal has been prepared for these Regulations and has been placed in the Library of the National Assembly for Wales, together with a transposition note setting out how the main elements of Commission Directive 2004/13/EC are transposed into domestic law by these Regulations. Copies may be obtained from the Food Standards Agency, 11th Floor, Southgate House, Cardiff CF10 1EW.