The Quick-frozen Foodstuffs Regulations 1990

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Secretary of State for Health and the Secretary of State for Wales, acting jointly, in relation to England and Wales, and the Secretary of State for Scotland in relation to Scotland, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 4(1), 6(4), 16(1), 17(1), 26(1)(a) and (3) and 48(1) of the Food Safety Act 1990[^f00001], and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Regulations, after consultation in accordance with section 48 of the said Act with such organisations as appear to them to be representative of interests substantially affected by the Regulations:—

Title and commencement

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These Regulations may be cited as the Quick-frozen Foodstuffs Regulations 1990 and shall come into force on 10th January 1991.

Interpretation and scope

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• (1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

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

• “authorised officer” means an authorised officer of a food authority;

• ...

• “mass caterer” has the meaning given by Article 2(2)(d) of 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;

• “monitoring”, in the context of the monitoring of air temperatures, is the action performed by an instrument for the measurement of air temperatures which instrument then records (either continuously or at frequent and regular intervals) the measurements it has made;

• “placing on the market” has the meaning that it bears in Regulation 178/2002 and “placed on the market” and “place on the market” shall be construed accordingly;

• “prepackaging” shall be construed in accordance with the definition of “prepacked” in 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;

• “quick-frozen foodstuff” means a product—comprising food which has undergone a freezing process known as “quick-freezing” whereby the zone of maximum crystallisation is crossed as rapidly as possible, depending on the type of product, andwhich is labelled for the purpose of sale to indicate that it has undergone that process,but shall not include ice-cream or any other edible ice; ...

• “Regulation 178/2002” means 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 as amended by Regulation (EC) No. 1642/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 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 and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 575/2006 amending Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the number and names of the permanent Scientific Panels of the European Food Safety Authority;

• “Regulation 37/2005” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 37/2005 on the monitoring of temperatures in the means of transport, warehousing and storage of quick-frozen foodstuffs intended for human consumption;

• “retail display cabinet” means any cabinet from which a quick-frozen foodstuff is offered either for retail sale or for sale in the course of a Cash-and-Carry business;

• “specified Community provision” means any provision of Regulation 37/2005 that is specified in column 1 of Schedule 2 and whose subject matter is described in column 2 of that Schedule;

• “storage” includes keeping in a warehouse, and “storer” shall be construed accordingly; and

• “ultimate consumer” has the same meaning as “final consumer” in point 18 of Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002.

• (2) These Regulations do not apply to any food—

• (a) which is not intended for sale for human consumption;

• (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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

• (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sale of quick-frozen foodstuffs

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No person shall place on the market for human consumption a quick-frozen foodstuff unless it fulfils the conditions set out in Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

Packaging of quick-frozen foodstuffs intended for supply to the ultimate consumer

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No person shall place on the market any quick-frozen foodstuff intended for the ultimate consumer unless—

• (a) it has been packed by its manufacturer or packer in such prepackaging as is suitable to protect it from microbial and other forms of external contamination and against dehydration, and

• (b) the quick-frozen foodstuff has remained in such prepackaging up to the time of placing on the market.

Labelling of quick-frozen foodstuffs

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• (1) The description “quick-frozen” or any other description listed in Article 8.1(a) of Council Directive 89/108/EEC[^f00005] shall not be used in the labelling for the purpose of placing on the market of any food other than—

• (a) a quick-frozen foodstuff,

• (b) a food which by virtue of that labelling becomes a quick-frozen foodstuff.

• (2) A quick-frozen foodstuff intended for supply, without further processing, to the ultimate consumer or to a mass caterer shall, in addition to the description “quick-frozen” (and, as the intending supplier may see fit, any other description listed in Article 8.1(a) of Council Directive 89/108/EEC) added to its sales name, be marked or labelled on its packaging, container or wrapping, or on a label attached thereto with—

• (a) an indication of the date of minimum durability;

• (b) an indication of the maximum period during which it is advisable to store it;

• (c) an indication of one or other, or both, of—

• (i) the temperature at which, and

• (ii) the equipment in which,

it is advisable to store it;

• (d) a reference allowing identification of the batch to which it belongs;

• (e) a clear message of the type “do not refreeze after defrosting”.

• (3) Any other quick-frozen foodstuff shall, in addition to the description “quick-frozen” (and, as the supplier may see fit, any other description listed in Article 8.1(a) of Council Directive 89/108/EEC) added to its sales name, be marked or labelled on its packaging, container or wrapping, or on a label attached thereto with—

• (a) a reference allowing identification of the batch to which it belongs;

• (b) the name or business name and address of the manufacturer or packer, or of a seller established within the United Kingdom.

• (4) No person shall place on the market any food intended for the ultimate consumer or any mass caterer where its labelling or marking contravenes paragraph (1) or (2) of this regulation, and no person shall place on the market any food intended for any other person where its labelling or marking contravenes paragraph (1) or (3) of this regulation.

• (5) In this regulation “Council Directive 89/108/EEC” means Council Directive 89/108/EEC on the approximation of the laws of Member States relating to quick frozen foodstuffs for human consumption as amended by Regulation 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 September 2003, the Act of accession of Norway, Austria, Sweden and Finland, the Act of accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic, Regulation 1882/2003 adapting to Council Decision 1999/468/EC the provisions relating to committees which assist the Commission in the exercise of its implementing powers laid down in instruments subject to the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the EC Treaty, Council Directive 2006/107/EC adapting Directive 89/108/EEC relating to quick-frozen foodstuffs for human consumption and Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs, by reason of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania.

• (5) In this regulation “Council Directive 89/108/EEC” means Council Directive 89/108/EEC on the approximation of the laws of Member States relating to quick-frozen foodstuffs for human consumption as amended by amendments up to and including those effected by the Act of the European Community concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded.

Equipment

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Each manufacturer, storer, transporter, local distributor and retailer of any quick-frozen foodstuff intended by him for placing on the market for human consumption shall ensure during each stage during which such foodstuff is within his care and control that the equipment used in respect of that foodstuff is such as to ensure that no act or omission on his part would cause to be placed on the market the foodstuff for human consumption to contravene these Regulations.

Penalties and enforcement

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• (1) If any person contravenes or fails to comply with any of the foregoing provisions of these Regulations he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

• (1A) Subject to paragraphs (1B) and (1C), if any person contravenes or fails to comply with a specified Community provision, that person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

• (1B) A person shall not be considered to have contravened or failed to comply with the first sentence of the first paragraph of Article 2.2 of Regulation 37/2005 if the requirements of Schedule 3 are complied with.

• (1C) A person shall not be considered to have contravened or failed to comply with Article 2 of Regulation 37/2005 if–

• (a) the offence which would otherwise have been committed was in respect of a cold store facility with a capacity of less than 10m3 used for storing stock in retail outlets; and

• (b) the air temperature in the cold store is measured by an easily visible thermometer.

• (1D) A person is to be considered not to have contravened or failed to comply with regulation 5(3)(b) in the following circumstances—

• (a) a quick-frozen foodstuff subject to regulation 5(3)(b) is marked or labelled on its packaging, container or wrapping, or on a label attached to it, with the name or business name and address of the manufacturer or packer, or of a seller established within the European Union,

• (b) this would not have constituted a contravention of regulation 5(3)(b) immediately before IP completion day, and

• (c) the quick-frozen foodstuff is placed on the market no later than 31 December 2023.

• (2) Each food authority shall enforce and execute these Regulations within its area.

• (3) In this regulation “food authority” does not include the appropriate treasurer referred to in section 5(1)(c) of the Act (which deals with the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple).

Application of various provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990

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The following provisions of the Act shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations as they apply for the purposes of section 8, 14 or 15 of the Act and, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in them to the Act shall be construed for the purposes of these Regulations as a reference to these Regulations—

• (a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (b) section 3 (presumption that food is intended for human consumption);

• (c) section 20 (offences due to fault of another person);

• (d) section 21 (defence of due diligence);

• (e) section 30(8) (which relates to documentary evidence);

• (f) ection 33 (obstruction etc. of officers);

• (g) section 36 (offences by bodies corporate);

• (h) section 44 (protection of officers acting in good faith);

• (i) ection 58(1) (which relates to territorial waters).

SCHEDULE 1 — CONDITIONS WHICH MUST BE FULFILLED BY A QUICK-FROZEN FOODSTUFF WHICH IS SOLD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION

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A quick-frozen foodstuff fulfils the conditions set out in this Schedule where—

• (a) it has been manufactured from raw materials of sound, genuine and merchantable quality and no other materials,

• (b) no raw material has been used in its manufacture unless, at the time of its use, it would have been lawful for it to be sold for human consumption,

• (c) its preparation and quick-freezing have been carried out with sufficient promptness, and by use of technical equipment appropriate, to minimise any chemical, biochemical and microbiological changes to the food comprised in it,

• (d) no cryogenic medium other than an authorised cryogenic medium has been used in direct contact with any food comprised in it,

• (e) the quick-freezing of each food comprised in it has resulted in the temperature of that food after thermal stabilisation being —18°C or colder, and

• (f) ollowing the quick-freezing and thermal stabilisation of any food to which sub-paragraph (e) above applies the temperature of that food has been maintained or has, save during the application of any one or more of the permitted exceptions, been maintained at a level or levels no warmer than —18°C.

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For the purposes of this Schedule—

• (a) the authorised cryogenic media are—

• (i) air,

• (ii) nitrogen,

• (iii) carbon dioxide, and

• (iv) in the appropriate circumstances, the substance dichlorodifluoromethane (R12),

• (b) the appropriate circumstances apply to the substance dichlorodifluoromethane (R12) where—

• (i) that substance has been used in direct contact with a food comprised in a product which has become a quick-frozen foodstuff no later than 31st December 1992, and

• (ii) its use in such contact is permitted in England and Wales by the Miscellaneous Additives in Food Regulations[^f00006], and in Scotland by the Miscellaneous Additives in Food (Scotland) Regulations[^f00007],