The Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water Regulations (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008

The final consolidated Directive is expected to be published in October. There will not be time to consult on a new Statutory Rule before the new Directive comes into operation. The Agency is therefore consulting on a draft Statutory Rule, based on the current draft consolidated Directive. It is not expected that this Directive will change significantly before its publication.

The draft Statutory Rule, The Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water Regulations (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008:

• Changes any references to Directive 80/777/EEC to references to the new Directive;
• Changes the derogation date for tankering spring water in Schedule 4, paragraph 5(3) from 23 November 1996 to 13 December 1996. The current European Directives do not give a specific date for this derogation but say it applies at or before the 'time of notification' of the Directives. The UK had interpreted this for spring water as the 23 November 1996. The consolidated Directive has had to introduce specific dates for the 'time of notification', and for spring water the European Commission interpreted this to be 13 December 1996. Note that this change was made after the enclosed draft Directive was written, but will appear in the published Directive; and
• Clarifies the text in Schedule 4, paragraph 8 that natural mineral water and spring water must be free of parasites, pathogenic micro-organisms, E. coli, coliforms and faecal streptococci, sporulated sulphite-reducing anaerobes and P. aeruginosa at source and throughout marketing (as in the European Directive).

Similar legislation will apply in England, Scotland and Wales. The amending legislation will not result in any substantive changes; therefore the Agency does not intend to produce an Impact Assessment.

If, however, you believe that this new SR will result in a significant change, requiring an Impact Assessment, we would welcome your comments and supporting evidence by 26 September 2008.

This consultation has been prepared in accordance with the HM Government Code of Practice on Consultation, which states that a consultation must follow better regulation best practice, including carrying out an Impact Assessment (Regulatory Impact Assessment in Scotland). The assessment is included in the consultation documents.

We are interested in what you thought of this consultation and would therefore welcome your general feedback on both the consultation package and overall consultation process. If you would like to assist us to improve the quality of future consultations, please feel free to share your thoughts with us by using the consultation feedback questionnaire.

Consultation feedback questionnaire (Word)

Consultation feedback questionnaire (pdf)

In accordance with the FSA principle of openness our Information Centre at Aviation House will hold a copy of the completed consultation. Responses will be open to public access upon request. The FSA will also publish a summary of responses, which may include personal data, such as your full name and contact address details. If you do not want this information to be released, please complete and return the Publication of Personal Data Form. Return of this form does not mean that we will treat your response to the consultation as confidential, just your personal data.

Data protection form (Word)

Data protection form (pdf)

Within three months of a consultation ending we aim to publish a summary of responses received and provide a link to it from this page.

If, after three months, the summary is still not showing, please contact the person who was responsible for the original consultation. Alternatively, you can contact Judith Taylor, the FSA Consultation Co-ordinator, on 020 7276 8633.
Email: judith.taylor@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk