The Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2007

Made: 29th October 2007

Laid before the Scottish Parliament: 29th October 2007

Coming into force: 30th October 2007

There has been a 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].

PART 1 — Introductory

Citation, commencement and extent

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2007 and shall come into force on 30th October 2007.

• (2) These Regulations extend to Scotland only.

Interpretation

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• (1) In these Regulations–

• “the Act” means the Food Safety Act 1990;

• “advertisement” means a representation in any form in connection with a trader or business in order to promote the supply of goods and “advertise” is to be construed accordingly;

• “the Agency” means the Food Standards Scotland;

• “authorised activated alumina treatment” means—a treatment of natural mineral water and spring water with activated alumina in order to remove fluoride, that has been authorised in accordance with Schedule 1A; ... in the case of natural mineral water or spring water brought into Scotland from England or Wales, a treatment which complies with Articles 1 to 3 of Regulation 115/2010;in the case of natural mineral water or spring water brought into Scotland from Northern Ireland or from an EEA State, a treatment which complies with Articles 1 and 2 of Regulation 115/2010 as it has effect in EU law;in the case of natural mineral water or spring water brought into Scotland from a country outside the United Kingdom and the EEA, a treatment which complies with Articles 1 and 2 of Regulation 115/2010;

• “authorised ozone-enriched air oxidation technique” means–a treatment with ozone-enriched air authorised and carried out in accordance with Schedule 1; or in the case of water brought into Scotland from other parts of the United Kingdom, a treatment that complies with the relevant bottled water legislation in force in that part of the United Kingdom;

• “bottle”, the noun, means a closed container of any kind in which water is sold for drinking by humans or from which water sold for drinking by humans is derived and “bottle”, the verb, and “bottled” shall be construed accordingly;

• ...

• “Directive 96/29” means Council Directive 96/29/Euratom laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiation;

• “Directive 98/83” means Council Directive 98/83/EC relating to the quality of water intended for human consumption[^f00007] as corrected by a Corrigendum dated 20th April 2001[^f00008];

• ...

• “Directive2009/54” means Directive 2009/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the exploitation and marketing of natural mineral waters (Recast);

• “Directive 2013/51” means Council Directive 2013/51/Euratom laying down requirements for the protection of the health of the general public with regard to radioactive substances in water intended for human consumption;

• “drinking water” means water intended for sale for drinking by humans other than–natural mineral water; orwater bottled in a bottle marked or labelled “spring water” in accordance with regulation 11;

• “effervescent natural mineral water” means natural mineral water which at source or after bottling, gives off carbon dioxide spontaneously and in a clearly visible manner under normal conditions of temperature and pressure;

• “natural mineral water” means water which–is microbiologically wholesome;originates in an underground water table or deposit and emerges from a spring tapped at one or more natural or bore exits;can be clearly distinguished from ordinary drinking water on account of the following characteristics having been preserved intact because of the underground origin of the water, which origin shall have been protected from all risk of pollution–its nature, which is characterised by its mineral content, trace elements or other constituents and, where appropriate, by certain effects;its original purity; andis for the time being recognised in accordance with regulation 4;

• “parameter” means a property, element, organism or substance listed in the second column of the Tables in Part 2 of Schedule 2;

• “prescribed concentration or value” in relation to any parameter, means the concentration or value specified in relation to that parameter in the Tables in Part 2 of Schedule 2 as measured by reference to the unit of measurement so specified;

• “Regulation 115/2010” means Commission Regulation (EU) No. 115/2010 laying down the conditions for use of activated alumina for the removal of fluoride from natural mineral waters and spring waters;

• “Regulation 1169/2011” means Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food information to consumers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1924/2006 and (EC) No 1925/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Commission Directive 87/250/EEC, Council Directive 90/496/EEC, Commission Directive 1999/10/EC, Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Commission Directives 2002/67/EC and 2008/5/EC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004(b);

• “relevant bottled water legislation” means—in relation to England, the Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water (England) Regulations 2007;in relation to Northern Ireland, the Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015;in relation to Wales, the Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water (Wales) Regulations 2015;

• “sell” includes possess for sale and offer, expose or advertise for sale, and “sale” shall be construed accordingly.

• “third country” means any country, other than the United Kingdom, and includes—the Bailiwick of Guernsey;the Bailiwick of Jersey;the Isle of Man.

• (2) Other expressions used both in these Regulations and in Council Directives 96/29, 98/83, ... 2009/54 and 2013/51 have the same meaning in these Regulations as they have in the Directive concerned.

• (3) Any reference in these Regulations to a numbered Article or Annex is a reference to the Article or Annex so numbered in Directive 2009/54.

• (4) Any reference in these Regulations to the marking or labelling of a bottle includes both marking or labelling done before any water is bottled, and after bottling.

Exemptions

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• (1) These Regulations do not apply to any water which–

• (a) has a product licence issued under the Medicines Act 1968[^f00010] or a marketing authorisation within the meaning of the Medicines for Human Use (Marketing Authorisations etc.) Regulations 1994[^f00011] or a marketing authorisation to which the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2009 apply;

• (b) is a natural mineral water which is used at source for curative purposes in thermal or hydromineral establishments;

• (c) is not intended for sale for drinking by humans; or

• (d) is a natural mineral water intended for—

• (i) movement into Northern Ireland;

• (ii) export to a third country.

• (2) These Regulations do not apply to packaged ice portions intended for use in cooling food.

PART 2 — Natural mineral water

Recognition as natural mineral water

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• (1) Water is recognised as a natural mineral water where recognition is granted–

• (a) in the case of water extracted from the ground in Scotland, by the food authority, in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 3;

• (b) in the case of water extracted from the ground in another part of the United Kingdom by a responsible authority of that part of the United Kingdom pursuant to relevant bottled water legislation; and

• (c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (d) in the case of water extracted from the ground in a third country—

• (i) by the Agency, in accordance with Part 2 of schedule 3;

• (ii) in accordance with equivalent recognition in Northern Ireland granted by the relevant Agency in accordance with regulation 4(2)(d)(i) of, and Part 2 of schedule 1 of the Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015;

• (iii) in accordance with equivalent recognition in England granted by the Secretary of State in accordance with regulation 4(1)(d)(i) of, and Part 2 of schedule 3 of the Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water (England) Regulations 2007; or

• (iv) in accordance with equivalent recognition in Wales granted by the relevant Agency in accordance with regulation 4(2)(d)(i) of, and Part 2 of schedule 1 of the Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water (Wales) Regulations 2015.

• (2) Where, in relation to any water that has been recognised under paragraph (1)(a) or (d)(i), it is found–

• (a) that, by analysis in accordance with Part 3 of Schedule 3, the requirements of that Part are not met;

• (b) that the requirements of Schedule 4 are not met; or

• (c) that the content of the water is not in accordance with paragraph 2(c) in Part 1 or, as the case may be paragraph 2(c) in Part 2 of Schedule 3,

the food authority or, as the case may be, the Agency, may withdraw that recognition until those requirements are met.

• (3) Where–

• (a) the food authority declines to grant or withdraws recognition of a water; or

• (b) the Agency declines to grant or withdraws recognition of a water,

the person who exploits or wishes to exploit the spring from which that water emerges, or, if different, the person who owns land on which that spring is situated, may apply to the Agency for a review of that decision.

• (4) Where an application for review of a decision has been made under paragraph (3), the Agency shall make such inquiry into the matter as it considers appropriate, and, having considered the results of that inquiry and any relevant facts elicited by it, shall either–

• (a) confirm the decision; or

• (b) direct the food authority to grant or restore or itself restore, as appropriate, recognition of the water in question.

• (5) A person who exploits a spring from which there is extracted water which is recognised as a natural mineral water in accordance with paragraph 1(a) or (d)(i) may apply to the Agency or food authority, as appropriate, to have that recognition withdrawn.

• (6) Where a food authority–

• (a) grants, restores or withdraws recognition, it shall immediately inform the Agency of that fact;

• (b) is notified of any change to the trade description of a natural mineral water or to the name of a spring from which natural mineral water has been extracted, it shall immediately inform the Agency of that change;

• (c) is directed by the Agency under paragraph (4)(b) to grant or restore recognition, it shall immediately comply with that direction.

• (7) Any recognition of water as a natural water granted under the Natural Mineral Waters Regulations 1985[^f00013] or the Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water Regulations 1999[^f00014] and subsisting on the date that these Regulations come into force shall–

• (a) in the case of water extracted from the ground in Scotland, be treated as if it were recognition granted by the food authority under paragraph (1)(a); and

• (b) in the case of water extracted from the ground in a third country, be treated as if it were recognition granted by the Agency under paragraph (1)(d)(i); and

• (8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (9) Schedule 5 shall have effect for the purposes specified for it in Schedule 3.

Exploitation of natural mineral water springs

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• (1) No person shall exploit any spring for the purpose of marketing the water from it as natural mineral water unless–

• (a) the water extracted from that spring is natural mineral water;

• (b) the food authority has given permission for that spring to be exploited; and

• (c) the requirements of Schedule 4 are met.

• (2) Where it is found during exploitation that natural mineral water is polluted and that bottling of the water would contravene paragraph 6, 7 or 8 of Schedule 4, no person shall exploit the spring from which the water is extracted until the cause of the pollution is eradicated and the bottling of the water would comply with these paragraphs.

Treatments and additions for natural mineral water

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• (1) No person shall subject natural mineral water in its state at source to—

• (a) any treatment other than—

• (i) an authorised ozone-enriched air oxidation technique;

• (ii) the separation of its unstable elements, such as iron and sulphur compounds, by filtration or decanting, whether or not preceded by oxygenation, in so far as the treatment does not alter the composition of the water as regards the essential constituents which give it its properties;

• (iii) the total or partial elimination of free carbon dioxide by exclusively physical methods; or

• (iv) an authorised activated alumina treatment; or

• (b) any addition other than the introduction or the re-introduction of carbon dioxide to produce effervescent natural mineral water.

• (2) Paragraph (1) shall not prevent the utilisation of natural mineral water in the manufacture of soft drinks.

Bottling of natural mineral water

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• (1) No person shall bottle any natural mineral water which, at the time of bottling, contains any substance listed in Schedule 6 at a level which exceeds the maximum limit specified in relation to that substance in that Schedule.

• (2) The methods used for detection of the substances listed in Schedule 6 shall conform to the performance characteristics for analysis specified in Schedule 7.

• (3) No person shall bottle any natural mineral water which does not meet the requirements of Schedule 4.

• (4) No person shall bottle any natural mineral water in any container other than a container which is fitted with closures designed to avoid any possibility of adulteration or contamination.

Marking, labelling and advertisement of natural mineral waters

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• (1) No person shall cause a natural mineral water to be bottled in a bottle marked or labelled with any of the following–

• (a) a trade description which includes the name of a locality, hamlet or place, unless that trade description refers to a natural mineral water the spring of which is exploited at the place indicated by that description and is not misleading as regards the place of exploitation of the spring;

• (b) a trade description which is different from the name of the spring or the place of its exploitation, unless the place of exploitation or the name of the spring is also marked or labelled on the bottle, using letters at least one and a half times the height and width of the largest of the letters used for that trade description;

• (c) any indication, designation, trade mark, brand name, picture or other sign, whether figurative or not, the use of which suggests a characteristic, which the water does not possess, in particular as regards its origin, the date of authorisation to exploit it, the results of analyses or any similar references to guarantees of authenticity;

• (d) any indication, other than those specified in sub-paragraphs (f) and (g), attributing to the natural mineral water properties relating to the prevention, treatment or cure of a human illness;

• (e) any indication listed in column 1 of the table in Schedule 8, except where the natural mineral water meets the criterion, if any, corresponding to that indication;

• (f) the indication “may be diuretic” or “may be laxative” unless the natural mineral water has been assessed as possessing the property attributed by the indication in accordance with physico-chemical analysis and pharmacological, physiological or clinical examination, as appropriate;

• (g) the indication “stimulates digestion” or “may facilitate the hepato-biliary functions” unless the natural mineral water has been assessed as possessing the property attributed by the indication in accordance with physico-chemical analysis and pharmacological, physiological and clinical examination; or

• (h) a sales description other than–

• (i) in the case of an effervescent natural mineral water, one of the following–

• (aa) “naturally carbonated natural mineral water” to describe water whose content of carbon dioxide from the spring after decanting, if any, and bottling is the same as at source, taking into account where appropriate the reintroduction of a quantity of carbon dioxide from the same water table or deposit equivalent to that released in the course of those operations and subject to the usual technical tolerances;