The Materials and Articles in Contact With Food (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2012

The Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland welcomes your comments on:

• The Materials and Articles in Contact with Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 ('the proposed consolidated Regulations') at Annexe B. These Regulations would provide for the execution and enforcement, in Northern Ireland, of Commission Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011¹ ('the new EU Regulation') at Annexe C relating to plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food.
• With the exception of The Plastic Kitchenware (Conditions on Imports from China) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011²), the proposed consolidated Regulations will also revoke and re-enact all existing national legislation within the Food Standards Agency's remit on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food, with necessary amendments; thus implementing and/or enforcing all EU food contact materials legislation in one consolidated rule. This is part of the FSA's intention to introduce a simplified system of food safety legislation in response to the Government's Red Tape Challenge initiative. We would welcome comments on this proposed consolidation.
• Details of changes to the national legislation.
• The draft impact assessment (IA) at Annexe D. We would particularly welcome comments and supporting evidence in respect of any cost implications that may arise from these proposals. This IA was prepared by colleagues in England but is believed to be equally representative of the situation in Northern Ireland. Should you believe there to be any regional differences, please outline these in your response to the consultation so that we may take them into account. In the latter case, we would particularly welcome comments on any cost implications that may arise from this proposal.

The Food Standards Agency in England, Scotland and Wales will be carrying out consultations on parallel but separate regulations relating to those parts of the UK and associated draft impact assessments.

Endnotes
¹ OJ Ref: L12m 15.1.2011, pg 1-89
² Statutory Rule 2011 No. 236

The FSA is conducting this consultation to seek comments from interested parties and obtain their views on the proposal to make national regulations to provide for the execution and enforcement of the new EU regulation by enforcement authorities in Northern Ireland. We are also seeking comments on the FSA's proposal to revoke and re-enact the majority of national legislation on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food in a single consolidated rule, under the Government's Red Tape Challenge exercise. The aim of this will be to reduce the number of national regulations (from the current four to a single consolidate Statutory Rule) on food contact materials that businesses and enforcement authorities have to refer to.

The key proposals on which this consultation seeks comments are as follows:

Key proposal:

• to make national Regulations to provide for the execution and enforcement of the new EU regulation
• designation of competent authorities for the purpose of the regulation
• providing for offences of contravening certain provisions of the new EU regulation and for defences against prosecution for committing an offence in particular circumstances
• specifying the penalties that the courts may impose upon conviction for an offence
• to revoke and re-enact the majority of the national legislation on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food in a single consolidated rule, in response to the Government's Red Tape Challenge initiative, which will reduce the number of national regulations on food
  contact materials to which businesses and enforcement authorities have to refer to from four to a single rule.

Responses are required by close 13 April 2012. Please state, in your response, whether you are responding as a private individual or on behalf of an organisation/company (including details of any stakeholders your organisation represents).

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. The FSA will publish a summary of responses, which may include personal data, such as your full name. Disclosure of any other personal data would be made only upon request for the full consultation responses. 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 the FSA Consultation Co-ordinator by email: consultationcoordinator@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk