The Bread and Flour (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024

Made: 20th November 2024

Coming into operation in accordance with regulation 2

There has been consultation, as required by Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety[^f00003], during the preparation and evaluation of these Regulations.

Citation and Interpretation

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Bread and Flour (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024.

• (2) In these Regulations, “the Bread and Flour Regulations” means the Bread and Flour Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998.[^f00004]

Commencement

2

• (1) The following provisions of these Regulations come into operation on 13th December 2024—

• (a) regulation 1 and this regulation;

• (b) regulation 3(1) for the purpose of commencing the provisions of paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) and (9) of that regulation.

• (2) The following provisions of these Regulations come into operation on 13th December 2026—

• (a) regulation 3(1) for the purpose of commencing the provisions of paragraphs (7) and (8) of that regulation.

Amendment of the Bread and Flour Regulations

3

• (1) The Bread and Flour Regulations are amended as follows.

• (2) In regulation 2 (Interpretation)—

• (a) after the definition of “bread”, insert—

• “common wheat” means Triticum aestivum L;

• (b) after the definition of “Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011” omit “and”;

• (c) after the definition of “sell”, replace the “.” with “; and”, and then insert—

• “wholemeal flour” means the flour consisting of the whole of the product obtained from the milling or grinding of cleaned cereals.

• (3) In regulation 3 (Exemptions)—

• (a) for paragraph (2) substitute—

(2) These Regulations shall not apply in respect of— (a) any bread or flour brought into Northern Ireland from an EEA State in which it was lawfully produced and sold; (b) any bread or flour lawfully produced in another member State and brought into Northern Ireland from a member State in which it was lawfully sold; (c) any bread or flour lawfully produced outside the European Union and brought into Northern Ireland from a member State in which it was in free circulation and lawfully sold; (d) any bread produced in Northern Ireland which is to be exported to any country outside the United Kingdom; (e) any flour produced in Northern Ireland which is— (i) to be exported to any country outside the United Kingdom; or (ii) for use in the production of food that is to be exported to any country outside the United Kingdom, which is suitably labelled to give the nature of the bread or flour.

• (4) In regulation 4 (Composition of flour)—

• (a) in paragraph (1)—

• (i) for the words “paragraph (2)” substitute “paragraphs (1A) and (2)”;

• (ii) before the word “wheat” insert “common”;

• (b) after paragraph (1), insert—

(1A) The requirements specified in paragraph (1) shall not apply to— (a) wholemeal flour; or (b) flour produced by a small mill which is a production site which has— (i) a maximum annual production capacity of 500 metric tonnes of flour, and (ii) produced less than 500 metric tonnes of flour for each of the last three calendar years.

• (c) in paragraph (2) omit sub-paragraph (a); and

• (d) for paragraph 3 substitute—

(3) The substances specified in items 2 to 4 of Schedule 1 shall be added where such addition is necessary in accordance with the conditions prescribed in column 2 of that Schedule.

• (5) Omit regulation 7 (Offences and penalties).

• (6) For regulation 10 (Application of various provisions of the Order), substitute—

(10) The provisions of the Order specified in column 1 of the table in Schedule 5 apply, with the modifications specified in column 2 of that table, for the purposes of these Regulations.

• (7) After regulation 10 insert—

(10A) An authorised officer of a district council must not serve an improvement notice under Article 9(1) of the Order, as applied and modified by regulation 10, as read with Schedule 5, if— (a) the improvement notice would relate to a product that was placed on the market or labelled before 13thDecember 2026; and (b) the matters constituting the alleged contravention would not have constituted an offence under the Bread and Flour Regulations as they applied immediately before 13th December 2026.

• (8) For Schedule 1 substitute Schedule 1 as set out in Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

• (9) After Schedule 4 insert Schedule 5 as set out in Schedule 2 to these Regulations.

SCHEDULE 1

SCHEDULE 2

Signed

Sealed with the official seal of the Department of Health on 20th November 2024.

Chris Matthews — A senior officer of the Department of Health

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations amend the Bread and Flour Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 (“the 1998 Regulations”).

Regulation 3(2) introduces definitions of “common wheat” and “wholemeal flour” to the 1998 Regulations.

Regulation 3(4) and (8) and Schedule 1 make changes to the essential ingredients of flour in Schedule 1 of the 1998 Regulations to provide for the mandatory addition of folic acid and changes to the required quantities of calcium carbonate, iron and niacin. There are exemptions provided for wholemeal flour and flour produced by a small mill.

Regulation 3(5), (6), (7) and (9) and Schedule 2 revoke regulation 7 and substitute regulation 10 of the 1998 Regulations in relation to offences and penalties and the application and modification of certain Articles of the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991. It is replaced by the application and modification of certain Articles of the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 as set out in a new Schedule 5 to the 1998 Regulations to provide for enforcement by way of improvement notices and the offence of failing to comply with an improvement notice.

Regulation 3(7) makes transitional provision.

A full impact assessment of the effect that these Regulations will have on the costs to business and food authorities is available with these Regulations at www.legislation.gov.uk.

The British Pharmacopeia 1973 and 2023, referred to in Schedule 1, may be inspected at the Biomedical Library, Medical Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7BL Tel 028 9097 2710.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: Formerly the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety; see 2016 c.5 (N.I.), section 1

[^f00002]: S.I. 1991/762 (N.I. 7) as amended by S.I. 1996/1633 (N.I. 12)

[^f00003]: OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1–24, as last amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/908 (OJL, 2024/908, 20.3.2024)

[^f00004]: S.R. 1998 No.24 as amended by S.R. 1999 No.244, S.R. 2005 No.574, S.R. 2014 No.223 and S.R. 2019 No.5

Editorial notes

[^key-77d10eb33ef7776ade7e935f366c9729]: Reg. 1 in operation at 13.12.2024, see reg. 2(1)(a)

[^key-96e1e5c8af54373de66fb8fcc3896961]: Reg. 2 in operation at 13.12.2024, see reg. 2(1)(a)

[^key-ffd829a408c5d62b2f0182e8eef733c1]: Reg. 3(1)(2)-(6)(9) in operation at 13.12.2024, see reg. 2(1)(b)

[^key-589f6a16775aa9d4f7e07c6f3b36b0ec]: Sch. 2 in operation at 13.12.2024, see reg. 2(1)(b)

[^key-f1b6a16562170c8e11cf6465b1043071]: Reg. 3(7)(8) in operation at 13.12.2026, see reg. 2(2)(a)

[^key-673268ad375850e9c27fc7b13797fc03]: Sch. 1 in operation at 13.12.2026, see reg. 2(2)(a)