S.I. No. 302/1972 - Health (Preservatives in Food) (Amendment) Regulations, 1972.

S.I. No. 302 of 1972.

HEALTH (PRESERVATIVES IN FOOD) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1972.

The Minister for Health in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 5 , 54 and 59 of the Health Act, 1947 (No. 28 of 1947), sub-section (3) of section 38 of the Health Act, 1953 (No. 26 of 1953) and section 6 of the Health Act, 1970 (No. 1 of 1970) after consultation with the Minister for Industry and Commerce and the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries hereby makes the following regulations : —

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Health (Preservatives in Food) (Amendment) Regulations, 1972.

(2) These Regulations and the Health (Preservatives in Food) Regulations, 1972 ( S.I. No. 43 of 1972 ), hereinafter referred to as the Principal Regulations, shall be construed as one.

2. (1) Article 12 of the Principal Regulations is hereby revoked

(2) The reference to Article 12 in paragraph 1 of the Third Schedule to the Principal Regulations shall be construed as a reference to Article 5 of these Regulations.

3. The First Schedule to the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by

(a) the insertion (in respect of item (ii) of the entry in the said Schedule relating to soft drink) of "any glucose drink in which the content of the glucose syrup is not less than 23.5 lb. per 10 gallons;" after "2 lb. per 10 gallons";

(b) the insertion (in respect of the entry in the said Schedule relating to wine (including alcoholic cordials)) of "or sorbic acid" under "Sulphur dioxide" in column 2 where the latter words last occur and of "600" under "450" in column 3 where the latter figures last occur.

4. The following paragraph shall be substituted for paragraph 4 of the Third Schedule to the Principal Regulations : —

"Each label and statement prescribed in this Schedule shall be printed distinctly and legibly in dark type upon a light-coloured ground or in light type upon a dark-coloured ground. Every letter of every word shall be of uniform size and colour provided that the initial letter in any word may be larger than the other letters in that word. In the case of a label to which sub-article (1) of article 12 relates and which is on a container of a quantity of not less than 4 ounces or 4 fluid ounces, as the case may be, the type used shall be not less than one-eighth of an inch in height. The type used for labels on containers, in the case of all other labels prescribed in this Schedule, shall be not less than one-sixteenth of an inch in height".

5. (1) A person shall not import, distribute, sell or expose for sale, any food, other than beer (including stout and porter), cider and wine (including alcoholic cordials) which contains any permitted preservative in respect of such food, unless it is packed in a container bearing a label in one of the forms specified in paragraph 1 of the Third Schedule to the Principal Regulations or in the case of a retail sale of food which is not pre-packed a notice to the effect that the food contains preservative is exhibited in a conspicuous place so as to be easily readable by a purchaser of such food.

(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-article (3) of this article, each label to which sub-article (1) of this article relates shall be securely affixed to or be part of the container and shall be so placed as to be clearly vislble and if the container bears a main label shall be placed in close proximity thereto or be part thereof.

(3) Where food is contained in a bottle the label referred to in subarticle (1) of this article may appear on the exposed surface of the cork, stopper or cap closing the bottle.

(4) Where in accordance with sub-article (1) of this article, a container is required to bear a label and such container is wrapped in paper or any other wrapper through which the label on the container is not clearly readable, the outermost wrapper shall on any exposure or offer for sale by retail bear a label as if it were the container to which the sub-article applies.

(5) The provisions of this article shall not apply to—

(a) a sale in the course of a catering business of any specified food for immediate consumption, or

(b) a specified food which contains sulphur dioxide in a proportion not exceeding fifty parts per million and no other preservative.

(6) This article shall come into operation—

(a) forthwith in respect of sausage, sausage meat, coffee extract, pickles, sauce and grape juice products (unfermented, intended for sacramental use), and

(b) on 1st March, 1974, in respect of all other food.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Health this 8th

day of December, 1972.

ERSKINE H. CHILDERS,

Minister for Health.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations amend in certain respects the provisions of the Health (Preservatives in Food) Regulations, 1972. These amendments mainly provide—

(i) that beer, cider and wine are excluded from the labelling requirements of the principal regulations (quoted above);

(ii) that, for food contained in a bottle, the declaration of preservative will be allowed to appear on the exposed surface of the cork, stopper or cap closing the bottle;

(iii) for the reduction in the minimum type size which was required under the principal regulations in respect of the declaration of preservatives which must appear on the labels of containers of food in which there are permitted preservatives.

The Regulations also provide that wine may contain sorbic acid or an admixture of sulphur dioxide and sorbic acid instead of sulphur dioxide alone as provided for in the principal regulations.

There is also a provision whereby specified glucose drinks will be allowed to contain 350 parts per million sulphur dioxide or 800 parts per million benzole acid (or an admixture of these) instead of 70 parts per million sulphur dioxide or 160 parts per million benzoic acid (or an admixture of these) as is provided for under the principal regulations.