Imported Food Regulations 1968
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1968/97 |
1968 No. 97
FOOD AND DRUGS
FOOD HYGIENE
The Imported Food Regulations 196824thJanuary 1968
1stFebruary 1968
1stAugust 1968
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Minister of Health, acting jointly, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by sections 13 and 123 of the Food and Drugs Act 1955(a) and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, after consultation with such organisations as appear to them to be representative of interests substantially affected by the regulations and after reference to the Food Hygiene Advisory Council under section 82 of that Act, hereby make the following regulations:—
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Citation and commencement
1. These regulations may be cited as the Imported Food Regulations 1968 and shall come into operation on 1st August 1968.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
"the Act" means the Food and Drugs Act 1955 ;
"authorised officer" means an authorised officer of a council and for the purposes of these regulations has the meaning assigned to it by section 86 of the Act;
"competent authority" means an authority having power under the laws in force in any country to examine food and to certify as to its fitness for human consumption ;
"country of origin" means -
(a) in relation to meat other than whale meat, the country where the mammal from which the meat is taken was slaughtered;
(b) in relation to any meat product other than a whale meat product, the country where the meat product was prepared ;
(a) 4 & 5 Eliz. 2. c. 16.
(c) in relation to any whale meat or whale meat product, the country whose competent authority has, in respect of the whale meat or product, responsibility for the matters for which an official certificate is recognised, and for this purpose the country shall be deemed to include a ship on which the whale meat or whale meat product was dressed, packed or otherwise prepared;
"district" means the district of a local authority, and includes the waters of any customs port abutting on any part of the district so far as such waters are not within a port health district;
"enforcing authority" means the authority responsible for the enforcement and execution of these regulations under regulation 5;
"export" means remove to a place not in the United Kingdom;
"food" includes drink, chewing gum and other products of a like nature and use, and articles and substances used as ingredients in the preparation of food or drink or of such products, but does not include—
(a) water, live animals or birds;
(b) articles and substances used only as drugs;
(c) liquid cow's milk or any such milk which is separated or skimmed;
"fully cooked", in relation to any food, means so cooked as to render it unnecessary for the food to be subjected to any further processing or heat treatment before being used for human consumption;
"hover vehicle" means a vehicle designed to be supported on a cushion of air;
"importer", in relation to imported food, includes any person who, whether as owner, consignor, consignee, agent or broker, is in possession of the food or in any way entitled to the custody or control of it;
"local authority" means—
(a) as respects the City of London, the Common Council;
(b) as respects any borough and any urban district or rural district, the council of the borough or district;
"master", in relation to a ship, aircraft or hover vehicle, includes the officer or any other person for the time being in charge or command of the ship, aircraft or hover vehicle;
"meat" means the flesh or other edible part of a mammal other than a rabbit or hare, and includes meat which has been cured or smoked;
"meat product" means any of the articles specified in schedule 1 and "whale meat product" means any such article which consists of, or contains, whalemeat;
"Minister" means the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;
"officer of Customs and Excise" includes any person acting under the authority of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise;
"official certificate" means a certificate; label, mark, stamp or other voucher which—
(a) the competent authority has affixed, or caused to be affixed, in the country of origin to any meat or meat product or to a package containing or intended to contain any meat or meat product, or which, in the case of lard or any rendered animal fat transported unpackaged in the tank of a ship, aircraft or hover vehicle, the competent authority at the place of shipment has caused to be sent in that ship, aircraft or hover vehicle; and
(b) is for the time being recognised by the Minister in accordance with regulation 3 or 12(1)(c) as showing—
(i) that the meat to which it relates, or the meat from which the meat product to which it relates was prepared, was derived from mammals inspected before and after death, or in the case of mammals killed when wild, was derived from mammals inspected after death only, in the country of origin of the meat and passed in accordance with criteria satisfactory to the Minister; and
(ii) that the dressing, packing and other preparation of the meat, or meat product, was carried out with all necessary precautions for the prevention of danger to health;
"pig" includes a boar, sow and hog;
and other expressions have the same meaning as in the Act.
(2) The Interpretation Act 1889(a) shall apply to the interpretation of these regulations as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of Parliament and as if these regulations and the regulations hereby revoked were Acts of Parliament.
(3) Unless the context otherwise requires, references in these regulations to the provisions of any enactment or regulations shall be construed as references to those provisions as amended by any subsequent enactment or regulations.
(4) Any reference in these regulations to a numbered regulation or schedule shall, unless the reference is to a regulation or schedule of a specified Act or regulations, be construed as a reference to the regulation or schedule bearing that number in these regulations.
Recognition of an official certificate
3.—(1) Recognition of an official certificate shall be effected by means of a notice published in the London Gazette, and the recognition may be made subject to conditions which shall be specified in the notice; and any such recognition or condition may be varied or revoked by a subsequent notice so published.
(2) Any recognition of an official certificate which was in force for the purposes of the Public Health (Imported Food) Regulations 1937 and 1948(b) immediately before the commencement of these regulations shall continue in force and have effect as if it had been effected under these regulations and may be varied or revoked accordingly.
Presumption as to food commonly used for human consumption
4. For the purposes of these regulations, any food commonly used for human consumption shall, if imported for sale or for use in the preparation of food for sale, be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have been imported for sale or, as the case may be, for use in the preparation of food for sale, for human consumption.
Enforcement
5.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this regulation and to such provisions of these regulations as prescribe functions to be exercised by officers of Customs
(a) 1889 c. 63.
(b) S.R. & O. 1937/329; S.I. 1948/886, 1948/1121 (Rev. VIII, p. 118; 1937, p. 1939; 1948 1, p. 1219; 1948 1, p. 1220).
and Excise, the authority responsible for the enforcement of these regulations shall be—
(a) in relation to imported food which is in or unloaded in a port health district and—
(i) which is liable to immediate customs examination, the port health authority; or
(ii) where the customs examination is deferred until the food reaches a place of destination in England and Wales, the local authority in whose district the place of destination lies;
(b) in relation to imported food which is unloaded—
(i) elsewhere than in a port health district, or
(ii) in Scotland or Northern Ireland,
the local authority in whose district the food is deposited for customs examination.
(2) Where immediately prior to the commencement of these regulations the Public Health (Imported Food) Regulations 1937 and 1948 were enforced and executed by a local authority in any part of a port health district, these regulations shall to the same extent be enforced and executed by that authority or by any other authority to whom the functions of the first named authority have been transferred.
(3) Where imported food is unloaded in the district of a port health authority or of a local authority and—
(a) customs examination of the food has been completed; and
(b) an authorised officer of such authority nevertheless considers it expedient...
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