S.I. No. 34/1994 - European Communities (Feedingstuffs) (Tolerances of Undesirable Substances and Products) (Amendment) Regulations, 1994.

S.I. No. 34 of 1994.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (FEEDINGSTUFFS) (TOLERANCES OF UNDESIRABLE SUBSTANCES AND PRODUCTS) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1994.

I, JOE WALSH, Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No. 92/88/EEC of 26 October, 1992¹, hereby make the following Regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Feedingstuffs) Tolerances of Undesirable Substances and Products) (Amendment) Regulations, 1994.

(2) The European Communities (Feedingstuffs) (Tolerances of Undesirable Substances and Products) Regulations, 1989 to 1993, and these Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Feedingstuffs) (Tolerances of Undesirable Substance and Products) Regulations, 1989 to 1994.

(3) The European Communities (Feedingstuffs) (Tolerances of Undesirable Substances and Products) Regulations, 1989 to 1993, and these Regulations shall be construed together as one.

2. (1) In these Regulations—

"The Council Directive" means Council Directive No. 92/88/EEC of 26 October, 1992;

"the Minister" means the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry;

"the Principal Regulations" means the European Communities (Feedingstuffs) (Tolerances of Undesirable Substances and Products) Regulations, 1989 ( S.I. No. 216 of 1989 );

¹O.J. No. L321, 6.11.1992, p. 24

(2) A word or expression which is used both in these Regulations and in the Council Directive shall, unless the contrary intention appears, have the meaning given to it by the Council Directive.

3. Regulation 2 (1) of the Regulations of 1989 is hereby amended by the substitution for the definition of "the Directive" (inserted by the First Schedule to the European Communities (Feedingstuffs) (Tolerances of Undesirable Substances and Products) (Amendment) Regulations, 1993 ( S.I. No. 86 of 1993 )), of the definition set out in the Schedule to these Regulations.

4. Paragraph (1) of Regulation 2 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the insertion between "In these Regulations—" and "authorised officer", of the following definition—

"animals" means animals belonging to species normally nourished and kept or consumed by man as well as animals living freely in the wild where they are nourished with feedingstuffs;".

5. (1) Raw materials may only be put into circulation if they are sound, genuine and of merchantable quality.

(2) In particular, and subject to Part I of the Second Schedule to the Principal Regulations, raw materials cannot be considered as sound, genuine and of merchantable quality if the level of undesirable substances or products is so high as to make it impossible to respect the maximum levels fixed for compound feedingstuffs in the First Schedule to the Principal Regulations.

6. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by—

( a ) the substitution of the following new paragraph for paragraph (a) of Regulation 4:

"(a) put into circulation,";

( b ) the substitution of "put into circulation" for "marketed" in paragraph (1) of Regulation 7;

( c ) the substitution of "putting into circulation" for "placing on the market" in subparagraph (b) of paragraph (2) of Regulation 11;

( d ) the substitution of "put into circulation" for "placed on the market" in each place that it occurs in Regulation 12;

( e ) the substitution of "putting into circulation" for "marketing" in paragraph (3) of Regulation 11.

7. A consignment of a raw material, referred to in Part I of the Second Schedule to the Principal Regulations, which has a content of an undesirable substance or product higher than the maximum level fixed in column (3) of the said Schedule shall not be mixed with other consignments of raw materials or with consignments of feedingstuffs.

8 (1) Where an operator or a person who, by virtue of his professional activities possesses or has possessed, or has had direct contact with a consignment of raw materials or of feedingstuffs and has knowledge to the effect that—

( a ) the consignment of raw materials is unsuitable for any use in animal feedingstuffs because of contamination by an undesirable substance or product covered by the Council Directive and therefore does not comply with Regulation 5 (1) of these Regulations and consequently constitutes a serious risk for animal and public health, or

( b ) the consignment of feedingstuffs does not meet the provisions of the First Schedule to the Principal Regulations and therefore constitutes a serious risk for animal and public health,

such a person or operator shall immediately inform the Minister even if it is intended that the consignment be destroyed.

(2) Having verified the information received under paragraph (1) of this Regulation the Minister shall, in the case of a contaminated consignment, ensure that all the necessary measures are taken to prevent the consignment from being used in animal nutrition.

(3) Where a contaminated consignment of raw materials or feedingstuffs is to be destroyed the Minister shall require that it is destroyed in a manner which cannot have harmful effects on public or animal health, or on the environment.

9. Regulation 3 of the Principal Regulations is hereby revoked.

10. (1) Any person who—

( a ) contravenes Regulations 5, 7 or 8 (1) of these Regulations, or

( b ) fails to comply with a requirement of the Minister pursuant to Regulation 8 (3) of these Regulations,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) Any person found guilty of an offence under these Regulations shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

(3) Where an offence under these Regulations is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of a director, manager, secretary or other officer of that body corporate or any person purporting to act in such capacity, that person shall, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he had been guilty of the offence.

11. An Offence under these Regulations may be prosecured by the Minister.

12. Regulation 15 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the addition of the following new paragraph:

"(3) Where an offence under these Regulations is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, a director, manager, secretary or other officer of that body corporate or any person purporting to act in such capacity, that person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against as if he had been guilty of the offence.".

SCHEDULE

" "the Directive" means Council Directive No. 74/63/EEC of 17 December, 1973,¹, as amended by—

Commission Directive No. 76/14/EEC of 15 December, 1975²

Commission Directive No. 76/934/EEC of 1 December, 1976³

Council Directive No. 80/502/EEC of 6 May, 1980⁴

Commission Directive No. 83/381/EEC of 28 July, 1983⁵

Commission Directive No. 86/299/EEC of 3 June, 1986⁶

Council Directive No. 86/354/EEC of 21 July, 1986⁷

Commission Directive No. 87/238/EEC of 1 April, 1987⁸

Commission Directive No. 91/126/EEC of 13 February, 1991⁹

Commission Directive No. 92/63/EEC of 10 July, 1992¹⁰, and

Council Directive No. 92/88/EEC of 26 October, 1992¹¹

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 23rd day of February, 1994.

JOE WALSH,

Minister for Agriculture, Food and

Forestry.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations amend existing legislation so as to give effect to Council Directive 92/88/EEC which amends Council Directive 74/63/EEC on undesirable substances and products in animal nutrition.

¹O.J. No. L38, 11.2.1974, p.31.

²O.J. No. L4, 9.1.1976, p.24.

³O.J. No. L364, 31.12.1976, p. 20.

⁴O.J. No. L124, 20.5.1980, p.l7.

⁵O.J. No. L222, 13.8.1983, P.31.

⁶O.J. No. L189, 11.7.1986, p.40.

⁷O.J. No. L212, 2.8.1986, p.27.

⁸O.J. No. L110, 25.4.1987, p.25.

⁹O.J. No. L60, 7.3.1991, p.16.

¹⁰O.J. No. L221, 6.8.1992, p.49.

¹¹O.J. No. L321, 6.11.1992, P.24.".