The Organic Products Regulations 2009
| Year | 2009 |
2009 No. 842
Agriculture
The Organic Products Regulations 2009
Made 31th March 2009
Laid before Parliament 3rd April 2009
Coming into force 27th April 2009
The Secretary of State is a Minister designated1for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722in relation to the common agricultural policy of the European Community.
These Regulations make provision for a purpose mentioned in section 2(2) of that Act, and it appears to the Secretary of State that it is expedient for references in these Regulations to a Community instrument or to any provision of a Community instrument to be construed as a reference to that instrument or that provision as amended from time to time.
The Secretary of State makes these Regulations—
(a) in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, other than in relation to fees charged by the Secretary of State,
(b) in exercise of the powers conferred by section 56(1) and (2) of the Finance Act 19733in relation to fees charged by the Secretary of State,
and in exercise of the powers conferred by paragraph 1A of Schedule 2 to the European Communities Act 19724.
In accordance with section 56(1) of the Finance Act 1973, the Treasury consent to the making of these Regulations.
PART 1
Introductory provisions
Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Organic Products Regulations 2009; they come into force on 27th April 2009.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“authorised officer” means a person authorised in writing by a local authority, a port health authority or the Secretary of State for the purposes of these Regulations;
“Commission Regulation 889/2008” means Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007on organic production and labelling of organic products with regard to organic production, labelling and control5;
“Commission Regulation 1235/2008” means Commission Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008laying down detailed rules for implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007as regards the arrangements for imports of organic products from third countries6;
“control body” means a control body, within the meaning of Article 2(p) of the Council Regulation, to whom the Secretary of State has from time to time delegated control tasks7in accordance with Article 27(4)(b) of the Council Regulation;
“controlled consignment” means any consignment the movement of which is, for the time being, prohibited under regulation 7;
“the Council Regulation” means Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007on organic production and labelling of organic products8;
“the database” means the computerised database, established under Article 48(1) of Commission Regulation 889/2008, listing varieties of seed and seed potatoes obtained by the organic production method (which term has the same meaning as in the Council Regulation) which are available in the United Kingdom;
“holding” has the meaning given in Article 2(e) of Commission Regulation 889/2008;
“importer” means any person who imports from a third country any products referred to in Article 1 of the Council Regulation with a view to the subsequent placing on the market of such products, and cognate expressions are construed accordingly;
“local authority” means—
(a) in relation to England, a county council, a district council, a London borough council, the Common Council of the City of London or the Council of the Isles of Scilly;
(b) in relation to Wales, a county council or a county borough council;
(c) in relation to Scotland, a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 19949; and
(d) in relation to Northern Ireland, a district council (within the meaning of section 44 of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 195410);
“organic product” means a product referred to in Article 1(2) of the Council Regulation, as read with Article 1(2) of Commission Regulation 889/2008;
“organic production” has the same meaning as in Article 2(a) of the Council Regulation;
“place of import”, in relation to a consignment imported into the United Kingdom from a third country, means the place at which the consignment first arrives in the United Kingdom;
“port health authority” means—
(a) in relation to the London port health district (within the meaning given by section 7(1) of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 198411), the Common Council of the City of London; and
(b) in relation to any port health district constituted by order under section 2(3) of that Act, the port health authority for that district constituted by order under section 2(4) of that Act;
“specified Community provision” means those provisions specified in column 1 of the table in the Schedule, as read with any supplementary provisions specified in column 2 of that Schedule;
“the Soil Association” means the Soil Association Limited, a company limited by guarantee and registered charity No 206862 of South Plaza, Marlborough Street, Bristol BS1 3NX.
(2) Other expressions used in these Regulations have the same meaning as in Commission Regulation 889/2008, Commission Regulation 1235/2008 or the Council Regulation.
(3) A reference in these Regulations to any Community instrument, or any provision of a Community instrument, is a reference to that instrument or that provision as amended from time to time.
PART 2
Designations and exemptions
Designation of competent authority etc.
3.—(1) The Secretary of State is the competent authority for the purposes of the Council Regulation, Commission Regulation 889/2008 and Commission Regulation 1235/2008.
(2) Each control body is an authority responsible for the purposes of Article 28(3) of the Council Regulation for the receipt of notification of the information specified in Article 63(3) of Commission Regulation 889/2008 made by an operator under Article 28(1)(a) of the Council Regulation.
(3) The Soil Association is the manager of the database for the purposes of Article 48(2) of Commission Regulation 889/2008.
Exemption from requirement to adhere to control system
4. Article 28 of the Council Regulation (requirements to notify activities and submit undertakings to the control system) does not apply to an operator who sells an organic product directly to the final consumer or user, provided that the operator does not produce, prepare, store other than in connection with the point of sale, or import such a product from a third country, or has not contracted out such activities to a third party.
Permitted exceptions to the organic production rules
5.—(1) References in paragraph (2) to a numbered Article or Annex are references to that Article of, or Annex to, Commission Regulation 889/2008.
(2) A control body may—
(a)
(a) permit an increase in the percentages referred to in Article 9(3) (which restricts the number of non-organic female mammals for the renewal of a herd or flock) up to 40%, in accordance with Article 9(4);
(b)
(b) permit operations to be carried out for reasons of safety or to improve health, welfare or hygiene, in accordance with Article 18(1) (management of animals);
(c)
(c) permit cattle in small holdings to be tethered, in accordance with Article 39;
(d)
(d) authorise the bringing-in of non-organically reared poultry or non-organically reared pullets for egg production, in accordance with Article 42;
(e)
(e) permit the use of non-organic seed or vegetative propagating material for the purposes of Article 45(1)(a) and in accordance with Article 45;
(f)
(f) authorise the renewal or reconstitution of a herd or flock with non-organic animals or the reconstitution of an apiary with non-organic bees following high mortality caused by health or catastrophic circumstances, in accordance with Article 47(a) or (b);
(g)
(g) authorise the use of synthetic vitamins A, D or E as feed additives, in accordance with the third indent of point 1.1(a) of Annex VI; and
(h)
(h) permit the use of sodium nitrite or potassium nitrite as a food additive for meat products if there is no technological alternative, for the purposes of Article 27(1)(a) and the table in section A of Annex VIII, as read with footnote (1) to that table.
PART 3
Control of third country imports
Advance notification
6.—(1) A person seeking the release for free circulation in the Community of a consignment must, during the normal office hours of the relevant authority at the place of import, give to an authorised officer advance notice in writing of the intended arrival of the consignment at that place of import.
(2) Any such notice must be given at least six hours in advance in relation to a consignment arriving by air and at least twenty four hours in advance in relation to a consignment arriving by any other means.
(3) In paragraph (1), “relevant authority” means—
(a)
(a) in relation to Scotland, the local authority for the place of import; and
(b)
(b) in any other case, the port health authority (or, if there is no such authority, the local authority) for that place.
Control on movement
7.—(1) An authorised officer may prohibit the movement of a consignment from the place of import if the officer has reason to believe that there has been a failure to comply with any relevant provision of the Council Regulation or Commission Regulation 1235/2008.
(2) An officer who has prohibited such movement must, as soon as possible, give written notice to the importer or person who appears to the officer to be in charge of the consignment.
(3) The notice must—
(a)
(a) specify the controlled consignment;
(b)
(b) state that it may not be moved...
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