S.I. No. 353/1986 - European Communities (Feeding Stuffs) (Tolerances of Undesirable Substances and Products) (Amendment) Regulations, 1986.

S.I. No. 353 of 1986.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (FEEDING STUFFS) (TOLERANCES OF UNDESIRABLE SUBSTANCES AND PRODUCTS) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1986.

I, AUSTIN DEASY, Minister for Agriculture, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No. 80/502/EEC of 6th May, 1980,¹ and Third Commission Directive No. 83/381/EEC of 28th July, 1983,² hereby make the following regulations:

¹O.J. No. L124/17 of 20.5.1980.

²O.J. No. L222/31 of 13.8.1983.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Feeding Stuffs) (Tolerances of Undesirable Substances and Products) (Amendment) Regulations, 1986.

(2) The Principal Regulations and these Regulations may be cited together as the European Communities (Feeding Stuffs) (Tolerances of Undesirable Substances and Products) Regulations, 1977 and 1986, and shall be construed together as one.

(3) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1 day of December, 1986.

2. In these Regulations "the Principal Regulations" means the European Communities (Feeding Stuffs) (Tolerances of Undesirable Substances and Products) Regulations, 1977 ( S.I. No. 246 of 1977 ).

3. (1) Where a person has on his premises any feeding stuff which he has purchased and which he proposes to use in the course of his farming operations, he may apply to the Minister to have a sample thereof taken for analysis.

(2) An application under this Regulation shall be—

( a ) made within the period of thirty days beginning on the date on which the feeding stuff to which the application relates was delivered to the applicant, and

( b ) accompanied by a fee which shall be calculated by reference to the rates specified in Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

(3) Where an application is made under this Regulation, an authorised person shall, subject to paragraph (4) of this Regulation—

( a ) take and deal with a sample of the relevant feeding stuff according to the methods described in the Annex to Commission Directive No. 76/371/EEC of 1st March, 1976,³ and

³O.J. No. L102/1 of 15.4.1976.

( b ) give or cause to be given, or sent by registered post or by such other method as for the time being stands approved of for the purposes of this paragraph by the Minister, to the persons specified in Regulation 11 (3) (b) of the European Communities (Marketing of Feedingstuffs) Regulations, 1984 ( S.I. No. 200 of 1984 ), one of the final samples prepared pursuant to the requirements of subparagraph (a) of this paragraph.

(4) Where an application is made under this Regulation, an authorised person may, if he thinks fit, decline to take a sample if—

( a ) he is not satisfied that the applicant has purchased the feeding stuff to which the application relates, or

( b ) he is not satisfied that the applicant proposes to use such feeding stuff in the course of his farming operations, or

( c ) he is not satisfied that such feeding stuff as presented for sampling is fairly representative of the feeding stuff as delivered to the applicant, or

( d ) the applicant does not furnish such information relating to such feeding stuff as the authorised person may reasonably require.

(5) Where the State Chemist receives a sample taken in pursuance of an application under this Regulation, he shall in making an analysis thereof comply with any of the requirements set out in Part II of the Regulations of 1978 as apply in the particular case and send to the applicant and to the person (other than the State Chemist) referred to in paragraph 3 (b) of this Regulation a certificate in the form set out in the Schedule to the Regulations of 1978.

(6) Subject to paragraph (7) of this Regulation, all fees under this Regulation shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of the Minister for Finance and, accordingly, the Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect thereof.

(7) Nothing in this Regulation shall be construed as requiring the State Chemist to make a test, examination or analysis regarding the presence in or absence from a sample given or sent to him pursuant to these Regulations of any particular substance, product or other thing, if in his opinion there is not in relation to such presence or absence a method of testing, examination or analysis which is sufficiently reliable or if there is not available to the State Chemist the apparatus or other means by which such a test, examination or analysis could be made.

(8) In any case in which he considers it proper so to do (not being a case in which the applicant has received a certificate under this Regulation), the Minister may refund a fee paid in relation to an application under this Regulation.

(9) For the purpose of this Regulation a feeding stuff shall not be regarded as having been delivered to a purchaser until it arrives at the destination to which it is consigned whether the consignment is by direction of the supplier or the purchaser.

(10) ( a ) In these Regulations—

"the Regulations of 1978" means the European Communities (Feeding Stuffs) (Methods of Analysis) Regulations, 1978 ( S.I. No. 250 of 1978 );

"the State Chemist" means the head of the State Laboratory or a person authorised by him in writing to perform the functions assigned to the State Chemist by these Regulations.

( b ) References in this Regulation to the Regulations of 1978 are references to those Regulations as amended by any other Regulations whether made before or after the making of these Regulations.

4. (1) Where a sample of a raw material or a feeding stuff is taken pursuant to these Regulations by an authorised person, a person shall not move the raw material or feeding stuff, as the case may be, during the period of seven working days immediately following the day on which the sample is taken, without the consent of an authorised person and, where a consent under this Regulation is given, a person shall not move the raw material or feeding stuff concerned other than in accordance with the terms and conditions of the consent.

(2) A person who contravenes paragraph (1) of this Regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £200 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both the fine and the imprisonment.

5. The maximum permitted level for lead in green fodder provided for in Schedule 2 to these Regulations may be exceeded in the case of fodder which is produced and used in the same state on the same agricultural holding, where in the opinion of the Minister this is necessary because of the proximity of the holding to a mining site; provided that the Minister is satisfied that neither animal nor human health can suffer harm because of such excess level.

6. Regulation 2 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of "the Directive":

"'the Directive' means Council Directive No. 74/63/EEC of 17th December, 1973,⁴ as amended by Commission Directive No. 76/14/EEC of 15th December, 1975,⁵ Commission Directive No. 76/934/EEC of 1st December, 1976,⁶ Council Directive No. 80/502/EEC of 6th May, 1980,⁷ and Third Commission Directive No. 83/381/EEC of 28th July, 1983."⁸

⁴O.J. No. L38/31 of 11.2.1974.

⁵O.J. No. L4/24 of 9.1.1976.

⁶O.J. No. L364/20 of 31.12.1976.

⁷O.J No. L124/17 of 20.5.1980.

⁸O.J. No. L222/31 of 13.8.1983.

7. Schedule 2 to these Regulations is hereby substituted for the Schedule to the Principal Regulations.

SCHEDULE 1

Fees referred to in Regulation 3 (2) (b)

SCHEDULE 2

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 3rd day of November, 1986.

AUSTIN DEASY,

Minister for Agriculture.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations amend the European Communities (Feeding Stuffs) (Tolerance of Undesirable Substances and Products) Regulations, 1977 so as to bring into force amendments made to Council Directive 74/63/EEC through Council Directive 80/502/EEC and Commission Directive 83/381/EEC.