The Weights and Measures (Miscellaneous Foods) Order 1988

Made: 16th November 1988

Coming into force: 1st January 1989

Now, therefore, the Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 22(1) and (2), 24(1) and 86(1) of that Act and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Order:—

Citation, commencement and revocation

1

• (1) This Order may be cited as the Weights and Measures (Miscellaneous Foods) Order 1988 and shall come into force on 1st January 1989.

• (2) The Orders specified in Schedule 3 hereto are revoked to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

Interpretation

2

In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires—

• (1)

• “the Act” means the Weights and Measures Act 1985;

• “biscuits” includes wafers, rusks, crispbreads, extruded flatbread, oatcakes and matzos;

• “bread” means bread in any form other than breadcrumbs and includes the following, and any part of the following that is to say, fancy loaves and milk loaves, and “loaf” in relation to bread includes a roll and a bap; and for the purposes of this Order any pre-packed sliced bread shall be deemed to be a whole loaf of bread and the pre-packing of sliced bread in any quantity by net weight shall be deemed to be the making for sale of a whole loaf of bread of that net weight;

• “casein” and “caseinate” have the same meanings as they have in the Caseins and Caseinates Regulations 1985[^f00002];

• “chicory”, “chicory extract paste”, “coffee extract paste”, “instant chicory”, “instant coffee”, “liquid chicory extract” and “liquid coffee extract”, have the same meanings—in relation to the application of this Order to England, as in the Coffee Extracts and Chicory Extracts (England) Regulations 2000;in relation to the application of this Order to Scotland, as in the Coffee Extracts and Chicory Extracts (Scotland) Regulations 2001, andin relation to the application of this Order to Wales, as in the Coffee Extracts and Chicory Extracts (Wales) Regulations 2001;

• “chocolate confectionery” means any food which is ready for consumption without further preparation, of which a characterising ingredient is chocolate, cocoa or non-fat cocoa solids, and includes food of which a characterising ingredient is carbohydrate sweetening matter and which has a chocolate or chocolate-flavoured coating, but does not include any biscuits, chocolate products, flour confectionery or edible ice;

• “chocolate product” means—in relation to the application of this Order to England, any chocolate product to which the Cocoa and Chocolate Products (England) Regulations 2003 apply;in relation to the application of this Order to Scotland, any chocolate product to which the Cocoa and Chocolate Products (Scotland) Regulations 2003 apply; andin relation to the application of this Order to Wales, any chocolate product to which the Cocoa and Chocolate Products (Wales) Regulations 2003 apply;

• “cocoa product” means—in relation to the application of this Order to England, any cocoa product to which the Cocoa and Chocolate Products (England) Regulations 2003 apply;in relation to the application of this Order to Scotland, any cocoa product to which the Cocoa and Chocolate Products (Scotland) Regulations 2003 apply; andin relation to the application of this Order to Wales, any cocoa product to which the Cocoa and Chocolate Products (Wales) Regulations 2003 apply;

• “cocoa product” and “chocolate product” shall include a product specially prepared for diabetics or to which a slimming claim (as defined in the said Regulations) is lawfully applied and which has been specially prepared in connection with that claim by the addition of any ingredient other than an edible substance as so defined;

• “coffee” means the dried seed of the coffee plant whether such seed has been roasted or ground or both roasted and ground;

• “coffee bag” means a permeable sealed bag, which is intended to be immersed in water or to have water percolated through it, containing coffee, or a coffee mixture, or a combination of either coffee or a coffee mixture (or both) with a lesser quantity of instant coffee

• “condensed milk” means milk, partly skimmed milk or skimmed milk or any combination thereof, whether with or without the addition of cream, dried milk or sucrose, which has been concentrated by the partial removal of water, but does not include dried milk;

• “container”, in relation to cocoa products, chocolate products and fancy chocolate products, includes any form of packaging of goods for sale as a single item, whether by way of wholly or partly enclosing the food or by way of attaching the food to some other article, and in particular includes a wrapper or confining band, but does not include any crimp case used to support the base or the base and sides of any chocolate product;

• “dried milk” means milk, partly skimmed milk or skimmed milk or any combination thereof, whether with or without the addition of cream, which has been concentrated to the form of powder, granule or solid by the removal of water;

• “fancy chocolate product” includes any chocolate product in the form of figurines, cigarettes or eggs or enclosed in a seasonal selection pack;

• “flour confectionery” means any cooked food which is ready for consumption without further preparation (other than reheating), of which a characterising ingredient is ground cereal, including shortbread, sponges, crumpets, muffins, macaroons, ratafias, pastry and pastry cases, and also includes meringues, petits fours and uncooked pastry and pastry cases, but does not include bread, pizzas, biscuits, crispbread, extruded flat bread or any food containing a filling which has as an ingredient any cheese, meat, offal, fish or shellfish;

• “liquid coffee and chicory products” means liquid coffee extract and liquid chicory extract, and blends thereof;

• “mass caterer” means any establishment (including a vehicle or a fixed or mobile stall), such as restaurants, canteens, schools, hospitals and catering enterprises in which, in the course of a business, food is prepared to be ready for consumption by the final consumer;

• “Member State” means a member State as defined in Part II of Schedule 1 to the European Communities Act 1972, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein;

• “milk” means cows' milk in any liquid form other than that of condensed milk (including evaporated milk) or of cream;

• “potatoes” means potatoes in the state in which they were harvested or in that state apart from cleaning;

• “pre-packed”, in relation to food to which this Order applies, means either or both of—made up for direct sale (within the meaning of Article 2(2)(e) of the FIC Regulation) by way of retail;made up in advance ready for retail sale in an open container;

• “preserved milk” means condensed milk (including evaporated milk) or dried milk;

• “relevant wholesale”, in relation to food to which this Order applies, means a sale by way of wholesale, but does not include any of the following—a sale to a mass caterer;a supply of food that is prepacked food within the meaning of the FIC Regulation intended for sale to the final consumer or to a mass caterer, or any other supply of food that is made up in advance ready for retail sale in an open container; ora supply to which Article 8(8) of the FIC Regulation applies;

• “solid and paste coffee and chicory products” means instant coffee, coffee extract paste, instant chicory, chicory extract paste, and blends thereof, and extracts of blends of roasted coffee and roasted chicory.

• “sugar confectionery” means any food which is ready for consumption without further preparation, of which a characterising ingredient is carbohydrate sweetening matter, and includes sweetened liquorice and chewing gum, but does not include any chocolate confectionery, chocolate products, cocoa products, flour confectionery, edible ice, table jellies, slab marzipan or sugar.

• (2) References in this Order to items being “loose” include items packed at the request of the customer.

General requirements for certain foods to be pre-packed in prescribed quantities and their containers to be quantity marked or, when not pre-packed, to be sold by retail by quantity

3

• (1) Subject to the following provisions of this Order, the following must be made up in a container marked with an indication of quantity by net weight—

• (a) the foods specified in column 1 of Schedule 1, when pre-packed; and

• (b) cocoa products and chocolate products, solid and paste coffee and chicory products and sugar, when made up in a container for relevant wholesale,

subject to the exemptions specified in column 2 of Schedule 1.

• (2) Unless sold loose or packaged in a quantity of less than 5 g, honey must be made up in a container marked with an indication of quantity by net weight.

• (3) Subject to the following provisions of this Order, the foods specified in column 1 of Schedule 1 must, when sold loose, if sold by retail be sold only by net weight.

• (4) Paragraph (3) above shall not apply in relation to any of the following—

• (a) biscuits (except to wafer biscuits which are not cream filled) when sold in a quantity of eight or less;

• (b) bread;

• (c) chunk honey; or

• (d) comb honey.

Provision for the containers of certain foods not sold by retail to be accompanied by a document indicating quantity

4

• (1) In the case of solid and paste coffee and chicory products, cocoa products and chocolate products, honey, caseins and caseinates or preserved milk for human consumption pre-packed or ... made up in a container for relevant wholesale, the information required by article 3(2) above or, as the case may be, 7, 9(2) or 12 below to be marked on the container may, if:—

• (a) the foods are not sold by retail; and

• (b) the net weight of the foods is not less than the particular quantities specified in paragraph (2) below in relation to the foods,

be given at the time when they are sold in a document accompanying the container and containing an indication of quantity by net weight ... .

• (2) The quantities referred to in paragraph (1) above are:

solid and paste coffee and chicory products	5 kg
cocoa products and chocolate products	10 kg
honey	10 kg
caseins and caseinates	10 kg
preserved milk for human consumption	10 kg

Special provisions in respect of particular foodsBiscuits and shortbread

5

• (1) Article 3(1) ... above shall not apply in relation to biscuits which have been pre-packed on the same premises as those on which they were produced, where either:—

• (a) the biscuits are in the possession of the producer for sale by him by retail on those premises; or

• (b) if the producer has agreed to sell or has sold the biscuits, he agreed to sell or sold them by retail on those premises.

• (2) Biscuits to which paragraph (1) above applies (other than wafer biscuits which are not cream-filled) shall be pre-packed only if the container is marked with an indication of quantity by net weight:

Provided that there shall be exempted from the requirements of this paragraph biscuits pre-packed in a quantity not exceeding 100g.

• (3) Shortbread shall be pre-packed only if the container is marked with an indication of quantity by net weight:

• Provided that there shall be exempted from the requirements of this paragraph shortbread—where made up in a quantity not exceeding 50g; orconsisting of a piece or pieces each weighing 200g or more if the number of pieces in the container, if more than one, is marked on the container or is clearly visible and capable of being easily counted through the container.

• (4) Wafer biscuits which are not cream-filled shall be pre-packed only if the container is marked with an indication of quantity by number or, in the case of a container marked with the EEC mark within the meaning of section 54 of the Act, only if it is marked with an indication of quantity by net weight.

• (5) Wafer biscuits which are not cream-filled and which are sold loose must if sold by retail be sold only by number.

• (6) Shortbread, when sold loose must, if sold by retail, be sold only by net weight, unless sold in a quantity of eight pieces or fewer.

Bread

6

• (1) For the purposes of this article “unwrapped loaf of bread” means a loaf of bread which is not made up in advance ready for retail sale or wholesale in a securely closed container and includes bread offered for sale in a confining band.

• (2) Subject to paragraph (3), an unwrapped loaf of bread may be made for sale only if—

• (a) an indication of the quantity of the bread is given on a ticket displayed in immediate proximity to that loaf; or

• (b) there is displayed, in such a position and manner as to be readily available without special request for inspection by a buyer before any sale is made, a notice—

• (i) listing the forms in which unwrapped loaves of bread are made for sale; and

• (ii) indicating the quantity or quantities in which each such form is made for sale.

• (3) The following are exempt from the requirements of paragraph (2)—

• (a) any unwrapped loaf of bread in a quantity of 400 g or a multiple of 400 g;

• (b) any unwrapped loaf of bread weighing 300 g or less; and

• (c) any sale under a contract for the supply of bread for consumption on the premises of the buyer if the contract provides for each delivery of bread to be of a specified aggregate quantity of not less than 25 kg and for the weighing of the bread on delivery.

Caseins and caseinates

7

In the case of caseins and caseinates for human consumption, when pre-packed or made up in a container for relevant wholesale, the container must be marked with an indication of quantity by net weight.

Cocoa and chocolate products

8

• (1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, in the case of cocoa products and chocolate products, when pre-packed or made up in a container for relevant wholesale, the container must be marked with an indication of quantity by net weight, unless sold in a quantity by net weight of less than 50g.

• (2) Nothing in paragraph (1) above shall require a container to be marked with an indication of quantity by net weight if it is a container in which fancy chocolate products are pre-packed, except that when the products are on sale by retail the exemption provided by this paragraph shall apply only if an indication of quantity by net weight is given on a ticket or notice displayed on or in immediate proximity to the products.

• (3) Except in the case of an article the net weight of which is less than 50g, cocoa products and chocolate products which are sold loose must, when sold by retail, be sold only by net weight.

Coffee and chicory products

9

• (1) In the case of liquid coffee and chicory products, when pre-packed or made up in a container for relevant wholesale, the container must be marked with an indication of quantity by capacity measurement, unless sold in a quantity of less than 5 ml.

• (2) Where the contents of a container in which solid and paste coffee and chicory products or liquid coffee and chicory products are pre-packed or ... made up for relevant wholesale consists of packs of such products not intended for individual sale, the container shall, in addition to any marking required by article 3(2) and paragraph (1) above, be marked with the total number of such packs.

Liquid edible oil

10

Liquid edible oil shall be pre-packed only if the container is marked with an indication of quantity by volume:

Milk

11

• (1) Milk which is sold loose or made up in a container for relevant wholesale shall be sold only by capacity measurement or by net weight.

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3) Milk shall be sold by means of, or offered or exposed for sale in, a vending machine only if there is displayed on or in the machine—

• (a) an indication of the quantity by capacity measurement of the milk comprised in each item for sale by means of that machine; and

• (b) except where the machine is on premises at which the seller carries on business, a statement of the name and address of the seller.

Preserved milk

12

In the case of preserved milk for human consumption, when pre-packed or made up in a container for relevant wholesale, the container must be marked with an indication of quantity by net weight, unless sold in a quantity of less than 5 g.

Potatoes

13

• (1) Where at any premises other than a vehicle or ship any potatoes have been sold by weight when made up in a container, and the sale is otherwise than by retail, the buyer may require all or any of the following weighings to be carried out at those premises, that is to say—

• (a) a weighing of that container while the potatoes are therein;

• (b) a weighing of that container after the removal of the potatoes therefrom;

• (c) a weighing of a similar container which is empty,

and thereupon the seller shall either carry out or permit the buyer to carry out the weighing or weighings so required; and if the seller without reasonable cause contravenes this requirement he shall be guilty of an offence.

• (2) The occupier of any premises at which any potatoes are made up in a container for sale by weight otherwise than by retail, or of any premises (other than a vehicle or ship) at which such potatoes so made up are so sold, shall provide suitable weighing equipment and make that equipment available for any weighing or weighings required under the foregoing paragraph to be carried out at those premises; and if he without reasonable cause contravenes any of the requirements of this paragraph he shall be guilty of an offence.

• (3) Any person guilty of an offence under this article shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £2,000.

14

Potatoes which are sold loose must, if sold by retail, be sold only—

• (a) by net weight; or

• (b) if the food is sold in a container which does not exceed the appropriate permitted weight specified in the Table in Schedule 2 to this Order, either by net weight or gross weight.

Miscellaneous foods to be marked when pre-packed with quantity by number

15

• (1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, foods of any of the following descriptions, that is to say—