S.I. No. 401/2001 - European Communities (Sampling Methods and The Methods of Analysis For The Official Control of the Levels of Certain Contaminants in Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2001

I, Micheál Martin, Minister for Health and Children, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No 27 of 1972), having regard to Council Directive 85/591/EEC¹ of 20 December, 1985, and Council Directive 93/99/EEC² of 29 October 1993 and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 194/97³ (and Corrigenda⁴ ) setting maximum levels of certain contaminants in foodstuffs, and Commission Regulation (EC) 1525/98⁵ , and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 864/1999 of 26 April 1999⁶ , and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1566/1999 of 16 July 1999⁷ , and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 466/2001 of 8 March 2001⁸ , and for the purposes of giving effect to Commission Directive 98/53/EC⁹ of 16 July 1998 laying down the sampling methods and the methods of analysis for the official control of the levels of certain contaminants in foodstuffs and Commission Directive 2001/22/EC¹⁰ of 8 March 2001 laying down the sampling methods and the methods of analysis for the official control of the levels of lead, cadmium, mercury and 3-MCPD in foodstuffs, hereby make the following Regulations :-

1.

2.

“Act of 1998” means the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act, 1998 (No. 29 of 1998);

“the Annexes” means the Annex to Commission Directive 98/53/EC of 16 July 1998 together with the Annex to Commission Directive 2001/22/EC of 8 March 2001;

“approved examiner” has the meaning assigned to it by the European Communities (Official Control of Foodstuffs) Regulations 1998 ( S.I. No. 85 of 1998 ) and, for the purposes of these Regulations, includes the State Chemist in the State Laboratory;

“authorised officer” means -

• (a) an authorised officer appointed under Section 49 of the Act of 1998;

• (b) in relation to the functional area of a health board, a person or a person belonging to a class of persons, authorised by the chief executive officer of the health board concerned to perform the functions of an authorised officer under these Regulations, or

• (c) in relation to the functional area of the Eastern Regional Health Authority, a person or a person belonging to a class of persons, authorised by the Regional Chief Executive of the Eastern Regional Health Authority to perform the functions of an authorised officer under these Regulations, or

• (d) a person designated by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development who is authorised in writing by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development to be an authorised officer for the purposes of these Regulations, or

• (e) a member of the Garda Síochána;

“Certificate of an approved examiner” means a certificate given by an approved examiner of any test, examination or analysis made under these Regulations;

“contaminant” means any substance not intentionally added to food which is present in such food as a result of the production (including operations carried out in crop husbandry, animal husbandry and veterinary medicine), manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packing, packaging, transport, holding and/or storage of such food, or as a result of environmental contamination. (This definition does not cover extraneous matter such as insect fragments, animal hair, etc.);

“the Council and Commission Directives and Regulations” means Council Directive 85/591/EEC of 20 December, 1985, and Council Directive 93/99/EEC of 29 October 1993 on the subject of additional measures concerning the official control of foodstuffs, and Commission Regulation (EC) 194/97 (and Corrigenda) setting maximum levels of certain contaminants in foodstuffs, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) 1525/98 and Commission Regulation (EC) 1566/1999 of 16 July 1999, and Commission Directive 98/53/EC of 16 July 1998 laying down the sampling methods and the methods of analysis for the official control of the levels of certain contaminants in foodstuffs, and Commission Directive 2001/22/EC of 8 March 2001 laying down the sampling methods and the methods of analysis for the official control of the levels of lead, cadmium, mercury and 3-MCPD in foodstuffs and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 466/2001 of 8 March 2001 setting maximum levels of certain contaminants in foodstuffs;

“Food Safety Authority” means the Food Safety Authority of Ireland established under section 9 of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act, 1998 (No. 29 of 1998);

“Foodstuff” means any substance used for food or drink by man, and

• (a) any substance which enters into or is used in the composition or preparation of human food,

• (b) any substance which enters into or is used in the composition or preparation of any such substance aforesaid, and

• (c) chewing gum and products of a similar composition and use

and references to foodstuff include, as the context may require, references to a particular food, particular foods or a class or classes of food;

“functional area” means :-

• (a) in relation to a health board the functional area of the health board as specified in the Health Board Regulations, 1970 ( S.I. No. 170 of 1970 );

• (b) in relation to the Eastern Regional Health Authority, means its functional area as specified in section 7 (4) of the Health (Eastern Regional Health Authority) Act, 1999 (No. 13 of 1999);

• (c) in relation to the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, means its functional area in all of the territory of the State;

“Minister” means the Minister for Health and Children;

“Official Control of Foodstuffs” hereinafter called “control of foodstuffs” means an inspection by authorised officers of the compliance of

• foodstuffs,

• food additives, vitamins, mineral salts, trace elements and other additives intended to be sold as such,

• materials and articles intended to come into contact with food,

with provisions aimed at preventing risks to public health, guaranteeing fair commercial transactions or protecting consumer interests, including provisions on consumer information;

“Official laboratory” means

• (a) a laboratory approved in writing by the Minister to analyse any samples of a controlled item taken by an authorised officer for the purposes of these Regulations, or

• (b) a laboratory approved in writing by the Chief Executive Officer of a health board with the consent of the Minister to analyse any samples of a controlled item taken by an authorised officer for the purposes of these Regulations;

• (c) a laboratory approved in writing by the Regional Chief Executive of the Eastern Regional Health Authority with the consent of the Minister to analyse any samples of a controlled item taken by an authorised officer for the purposes of these Regulations;

• (d) the State Laboratory;

“State Chemist” means the head of the State Laboratory or a person authorised by him or her in writing to perform the functions performed by the State Chemist in these Regulations;

• (2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and which is also used in the Council and Commission Directives and Regulations has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Council and Commission Directives and Regulations;

• (3)
• (a) A reference in these Regulations to a Regulation is to a Regulation of these Regulations, unless it is indicated that reference to some other Regulation is intended;

• (b) A reference in these Regulations to a paragraph or subparagraph is to the paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

3.

4.

5.

• (2) For the purposes of these Regulations the sampling method applied shall be in accordance with the methods described in the Annexes.

6.

7.

8.

9.

• (2) An official certificate given in accordance with sub-article (1) of Article 14 of the said Regulations of 1998, as amended, may be adduced in evidence in a prosecution under these Regulations and shall be prima facie evidence of the matters contained therein, until the contrary is proved;

• (3) An official certificate given by the State Laboratory may be adduced in evidence in a prosecution under these Regulations and shall be prima facie evidence of the matters contained therein, until the contrary is proved.

10.

• (2) Without prejudice to Regulations 8 and 9, before the European Communities (Sampling Methods and the Methods of Analysis for the Official Control of the Levels of Certain Contaminants in Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2001 are added to Schedule 1 of the service contract entered into by the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the Food Safety Authority under the Act of 1998, the powers contained in Regulations 16 to 20 may be exercised by an authorised officer of a health board for the purpose of ensuring compliance with these Regulations.

• (3) Without prejudice to Regulations 8 and 9, before the European Communities (Sampling Methods and the Methods of Analysis for the Official Control of the Levels of Certain Contaminants in Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2001 are added to Schedule 1 of the service contract entered into by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, and the Food Safety Authority under the Act of 1998, the powers contained in Regulations 16 to 20 may be exercised by an authorised officer designated by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development for the purpose of ensuring compliance with these Regulations.

11.

• (2) The Regional Chief Executive of the Eastern Regional Health Authority may appoint in writing such and so many officers of the health board as he or she thinks fit to be authorised officers for the purposes of ensuring compliance with these Regulations in the functional area of the health board;

• (3) The Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, may appoint in writing such and so many persons as he or she thinks fit to be authorised officers for the purposes of ensuring compliance with these Regulations in the functional area of the Department;

• (4) An authorised officer shall be furnished with a certificate of his or her appointment as an authorised officer and, when exercising any power conferred on an authorised officer under these Regulations, shall, if requested by any person affected, produce the certificate to that person;

• (5) For the purposes of ensuring compliance with these Regulations, after entering into a service contract between the Food Safety Authority and the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, or a health board, or the Eastern Regional Health Authority, the appointments referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall continue in force.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation).

These Regulations give effect to Commission Directive 98/53/EC of 16 July 1998 laying down the sampling methods and the methods of analysis for the official control of the levels of certain contaminants in foodstuffs and Commission Directive 2001/22/EC laying down the sampling methods and the methods of analysis for the official control of the levels of lead, cadmium, mercury and 3-MCPD in foodstuffs.

The principal effect of these Regulations is to provide for the methods of sampling for the official control of the levels of certain contaminants in foodstuffs in accordance with the methods described in the Annexes of the Council and Commission Directives and Regulations, and the sample preparation and criteria for methods of analysis used for the official control of the levels of certain contaminants in foodstuffs in accordance with the criteria described in the Annexes of the Council and Commission Directives and Regulations.

Footnotes