(1)    These Regulations may be cited as the Spreadable Fats (Marketing Standards) (England) Regulations 1999 and shall come into force on 1st October 1999.

(2)    These Regulations shall apply to England.

(1)    In these Regulations—

“the Act” means the Food Safety Act 1990;

“the Commission Regulation” means Commission Regulation (EC) No 577/97 laying down certain detailed rules for the application of the Council Regulation and of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87 on the protection of designations used in the marketing of milk and milk products, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1278/97, Commission Regulation (EC) No 2181/97, Commission Regulation (EC) No 623/98, Commission Regulation (EC) No 1298/98 Commission Regulation (EC) No 2521/98 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 568/1999;

“Community provision” means a provision of the Council Regulation or the Commission Regulation which is referred to in column 1 of Schedule 1 to these Regulations, as read with any supplementary provision referred to in column 2 thereof opposite the reference in column 1;

“the Council Regulation” means Council Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 laying down standards for spreadable fats;

“EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993;

“EEA State” means a State which is a Contracting Party to the EEA Agreement;

“food authority” does not include—

(a)    the council of a district in a non-metropolitan county except where the county functions have been transferred to that council pursuant to a structural change; or

(b)    the appropriate Treasurer referred to in section 5(1)(c) of the Act (which deals with the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple);

“sell” includes possess for sale, and offer, expose or advertise for sale;

“sell by retail” means sell to a person buying otherwise than for the purpose of re-sale;

“vitamin A” means vitamin A present as such or as its esters and includes beta-carotene on the basis that 6 micrograms of beta-carotene or 12 micrograms of other biologically active carotenoids equal 1 microgram of retinol equivalent;

“vitamin D” means the anti-rachitic vitamins.

(2)    Other expressions used both in these Regulations and in the Council Regulation or the Commission Regulation have the same meaning in these Regulations as they have in the Council Regulation or the Commission Regulation.

(1)    Except where paragraph (2) below applies, unless and until there is a decision by the EEA Joint Committee under Article 98 of the EEA Agreement to amend it to refer to the Council Regulation and the Commission Regulation, these Regulations shall not apply in respect of any spreadable fat to which the EEA Agreement applies and which—

(a)    is brought into England—

(i)    from an EEA State (other than a member State) in which it was lawfully produced and sold, or

(ii)    from another part of the United Kingdom if that spreadable fat was brought there from such an EEA State; and

(b)    is suitably labelled to indicate the nature of the spreadable fat.

(2)    Regulation 4 of these Regulations shall not apply in respect of any margarine which—

(a)    is brought into England—

(i)    from an EEA State (other than the United Kingdom) in which it was lawfully produced and sold,

(ii)    from a member State (other than the United Kingdom) in which it was in free circulation and lawfully sold, or

(iii)    from another part of the United Kingdom in which it was lawfully produced and sold or in which it was in free circulation and lawfully sold; and

(b)    is suitably labelled to indicate the nature of the margarine.

(3)    For the purposes of paragraph (2) above, “free circulation” has the same meaning as in Article 23(2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community.

(1)    Any margarine sold by retail shall contain in every 100 grams of such margarine—

(a)    not less than 800 micrograms and not more than 1000 micrograms of vitamin A, and

(b)    not less than 7.05 micrograms and not more than 8.82 micrograms of vitamin D,

and a proportionate amount in any part of 100 grams.

(2)    No person shall sell by retail any margarine in contravention of this regulation.

Each food authority shall enforce and execute within its area the Community provisions and these Regulations.

If any person contravenes or fails to comply with—

(a)    regulation 4 of these Regulations, or

(b)    any Community provision,

he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

In any proceedings under regulation 6(b) of these Regulations it shall be a defence for the person charged to prove—

(a)    that the food in respect of which the offence is alleged to have been committed was intended for export to a country which has legislation analogous to these Regulations and that it complies with that legislation; and

(b)    that the legislation complies with the Council Regulation and the Commission Regulation in the case of—

(i)    export to a member State; or

(ii)    where there is a decision of the EEA Joint Committee under Article 98 of the EEA Agreement to amend it to refer to the Council Regulation and the Commission Regulation, export to an EEA State which is not a member State.

(1)    The following provisions of the Act shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations and, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in those provisions to the Act or Part thereof shall be construed for the purposes of these Regulations as a reference to these Regulations—

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

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

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

section 21 (defence of due diligence) as it applies for the purposes of section 8, 14 or 15;

section 22 (defence of publication in the course of a business);

section 30(8) (which relates to documentary evidence);

section 35(1) to (3) (punishment of offences) in so far as it relates to offences under section 33(1) and (2);

section 36 (offences by bodies corporate).

(2)    The following provisions of the Act shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations and, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in those provisions to the Act shall be construed for the purposes of these Regulations as including a reference to the Community provisions—

section 32 (powers of entry);

section 33 (obstruction etc of officers);

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

The Regulations specified in Schedule 2 to these Regulations are hereby revoked in so far as they apply to England.

Joyce Quin

Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

25th August 1999

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Health:

John Hutton

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,

Department of Health

23rd August 1999

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Wales:

David Hanson

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Welsh Office

2nd September 1999

These Regulations consolidate and replace the Spreadable Fats (Marketing Standards) Regulations 1995, as amended, as regards England.

These Regulations continue to make provision for the enforcement and execution of Council Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 laying down standards for spreadable fats and Commission Regulation (EC) No 577/97 laying down certain detailed rules for the application of the Council Regulation and of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87 on the protection of designations used in the marketing of milk and milk products, as amended. The subject matter of the Community provisions is briefly indicated in column 3 of Schedule 1. The Commission Regulation was last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 568/1999 which allows use of the designation “brandy butter”, “sherry butter” or “rum butter” for a sweetened, alcoholic product with a minimum milk-fat content of 20%.

In pursuance of Article 6 of Regulation 2991/94, these Regulations re-enact requirements as to the vitamin content of margarine (regulation 4), subject to an exemption (regulation 3(2)).

These Regulations—

(a)    specify the authorities which are to enforce and execute these Regulations and the Community provisions referred to in Schedule 1 (regulation 5);

(b)    create offences and prescribe a penalty (regulation 6) and contain a limited exemption in respect of any spreadable fat to which the EEA Agreement applies and which is brought into England from an EEA State other than a member State either directly or via another part of the United Kingdom (regulation 3(1));

(c)    provide a defence in relation to exports, in accordance with Articles 2 and 3 of Council Directive 89/397/EEC (OJ No L 186, 30.6.89, p 23) on the official control of foodstuffs, as read with the ninth recital to that Directive (regulation 7);

(d)    incorporate specified provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990 (regulation 8); and

(e)    revoke the Regulations specified in Schedule 2 as regards England (regulation 9).

Use of the designation “butter” is also restricted by Article 3 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87 (OJ No L182, 3.7.87, p 36), which is enforced in England by virtue of the Milk and Milk Products (Protection of Designations) Regulations 1990 (SI 1990/607, as amended by SI 1990/2486).

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