S.I. No. 129/1973 - European Communities (Fresh Poultry Meat) Regulations, 1973.

S.I. No. 129 of 1973.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (FRESH POULTRY MEAT) REGULATIONS, 1973.

I, MARK CLINTON, Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), hereby make the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Fresh Poultry Meat) Regulations, 1973.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of July, 1973.

3. In these Regulations—

"the Council Directive" means Council Directive No. 71/118/ EEC of 15 February, 1971 (1);

⁽¹⁾ OJ No. L55/23, 8. 3. 1971, p. 106.

"fresh poultry meat" means all parts—

(a) which are fit for human consumption, and

(b) which have not undergone any preserving process (other than chilling or freezing),

of domestic animals of the following species: hens, turkeys, guinea-fowls, ducks and geese:

"the Minister" means the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries;

any reference to sale includes a reference to barter, offer or expose for sale and invitation to buy.

4. (1) Fresh poultry meat which is intended to be exported to a Member State or has been imported shall not be sold unless it complies with the provisions of the Council Directive.

(2) Fresh poultry meat shall not be exported to a Member State or imported unless it complies with the provisions of the Council Directive.

(3) Fresh poultry meat which has been imported shall not be sold if it is found, on examination by an authorised officer in the State, to be unfit for human consumption or not to comply with Articles 3 and 8 of the Council Directive.

5. A person who contravenes Regulation 4 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.

6. (1) The Minister may appoint such and so many of his officers as he thinks fit to be authorised officers for the purposes of these Regulations.

(2) An authorised officer shall be furnished with a warrant of his appointment as an authorised officer and when exercising any power conferred on an authorised officer by these Regulations shall, if requested by any person affected, produce the warrant to that person.

7. An authorised officer may at all reasonable times enter—

(a) any premises in which he has reasonable grounds for believing that poultry from which fresh poultry meat is derived are slaughtered or prepared for sale or export or kept for sale or export, or

(b) any railway wagon, vehicle, ship, vessel or aircraft in which he has reasonable grounds for believing that fresh poultry meat is being transported for sale or export or kept for the purposes of such transport,

and there or at any other place—

(i) make such examinations, tests and inspections, and

(ii) take such reasonable samples of any fresh poultry meat which he finds in the course of his inspection,

as he may consider appropriate for the purposes of these Regulations and the Council Directive.

8. If any person fraudulently—

(a) tampers with any fresh poultry meat so as to procure that any sample of it taken under these Regulations does not correctly represent the meat, or

(b) tampers or interferes with any sample taken under these Regulations,

he shall be guilty of an offense 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.

9. An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Minister.

10 (1) There shall be charged such fees in respect of services performed by the Minister or an officer of the Minister in connection with matters to which these Regulations relate as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may determine.

(2) Fees under these Regulations shall be collected and taken in such manner as the Minister for Finance directs and shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of the Minister.

(3) The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879 (1879, c. 58), shall not apply in respect of fees under these Regulations.

11. The Agricultural and Fishery Products (Regulation of Export) Act, 1947 (Export of Poultry and Rabbits) Order, 1950 ( S.I. No. 302 of 1950 ), and the Agricultural and Fishery Products (Regulation of Export) Act, 1947 (Export of Poultry and Rabbits) Order, 1950 (Amendment) Order, 1955 ( S.I. No. 200 of 1955 ), shall not apply in relation to fresh poultry meat.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 21st day of May, 1973.

MARK CLINTON,

Minister for Agriculture and

Fisheries.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The regulations implement those provisions of EEC Directive 71/118/EEC (health problems affecting trade in fresh poultry meat) which relate to intra-Community trade and which come into effect on 1 July 1973. They provide that the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries is responsible for administering the Directive which:

(a) provides for the authorisation of plants engaging in intra-Community trade in fresh poultry meat;

(b) lays down detailed rules to be observed at such plants regarding processing procedures, standards of hygiene and staffing;

(c) provides for ante- and post-mortem veterinary inspection of poultry, and

(d) provides for veterinary certification of fresh poultry meat produced at the plants.