Citation, commencement and extent

1.–(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Fish Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 2010 and come into force on 6th April 2010.

(2) These Regulations extend to Scotland only.

Interpretation

2. In these Regulations–

"Regulation 104/2000" means Council Regulation (EC) No. 104/2000 on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products(4);

"Regulation 2065/2001" means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2065/2001 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No. 104/2000 as regards informing consumers about fishery and aquaculture products(5);

and any expressions used in these Regulations and in Regulation 104/2000 or Regulation 2065/2001 have the same meaning as in those Regulations.

Offences relating to consumer information

3.–(1) Any person who, in contravention of Article 4(1) of Regulation 104/2000 (consumer information) as read with Regulation 2065/2001, offers for retail sale to the final consumer any product to which that Article applies shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(2) Any person who at any stage of marketing fails to comply with Article 8 of Regulation 2065/2001 (traceability and control) shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

List of commercial designations

4.–(1) As regards Scotland, the list of commercial designations which the United Kingdom is required to draw up and publish under Article 4(2) of Regulation 104/2000 is set out in the table in the Schedule to these Regulations as read with the notes to it, and accordingly, the commercial designations set out in the Schedule are names prescribed by law for the purposes of regulations 6(1), 7 and 8(a) of the Food Labelling Regulations 1996(6).

(2) In relation to species included both in the Schedule to these Regulations and in a list published in English under Article 4(2) of Regulation 104/2000 having effect in another Member State or another part of the United Kingdom, the commercial designation for that species in the list having effect in that other Member State or part of the United Kingdom shall be an alternative to the commercial designation for that species set out in the Schedule to these Regulations and shall be names prescribed by law for the purposes set out in paragraph (1).

Omission of reference to the production method

5. In the case described in Article 4(2) of Regulation 2065/2001 (situation where it is obvious from commercial designation and catch area that the species is caught at sea) it shall not be a contravention of Article 4(1) of Regulation 104/2000 to offer for retail sale to the final consumer any product to which that Article applies without the product being marked or labelled with the production method.

Small quantities of products

6.–(1) For the purposes of Article 4(1) of Regulation 104/2000 as read with Article 7 of Regulation 2065/2001, the small quantity of products which may be sold directly to consumers shall be products to a value not exceeding 20 Euros for each purchase.

(2) For the purposes of this regulation, the reference to 20 Euros shall be taken to be a reference to the sterling equivalent of that number of Euros, converted by reference to the rate of conversion published annually on the first working day of the preceding September in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Communities or, if no rate is published in it on that day, the first rate published in it thereafter.

Additional information relating to the catch area

7. The indication of catch area required by Article 4(1)(c) of Regulation 104/2000 may, where the circumstances described in Article 5(1)(c) of Regulation 2065/2001 apply, indicate the various Member States or third countries in which the product was farmed.

Provisional commercial designations

8.–(1) For the purposes of Article 2 of Regulation 2065/2001 (provisional commercial designations), the Food Standards Agency ("the Agency") shall be the competent authority.

(2) The Agency shall draw up and publish a list of provisional commercial designations laid down pursuant to the said Article 2.

Enforcement

9. Each food authority shall enforce and execute these Regulations in its area.

Application of various provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990

10. The following provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990 ("the Act") shall apply for the purposes of these Regulations with the modification that any reference in those provisions to the Act or Part of the Act shall be construed as a reference to these Regulations and to those provisions of Regulation 104/2000 and Regulation 2065/2001 to which these Regulations relate–

(a) section 3 (presumptions that food intended for human consumption);

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

(c) section 21 (defence of due diligence)(7) with the modification that subsections (2) to (4) apply in relation to an offence under regulation 3(1) as they apply in relation to an offence under section 14 or 15;

(d) section 30(8) (analysis etc. of samples);

(e) section 33 (obstruction etc. of officers);

(f) section 35(1) to (3)(8) (punishment of offences) in so far as it relates to offences under section 33(1) and (2) as applied by paragraph (e) above;

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

(h) section 36A (offences by Scottish partnerships)(9); and

(i) section 44 (protection of officers acting in good faith).

Revocations

11. The following Regulations are revoked–

(a) the Fish Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 2003(10); and

(b) the Fish Labelling (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2006(11).

Regulation 4

SCHEDULE Commercial Designations

1. Subject to paragraphs 2 and 3, the commercial designation for any species of fish specified in column 2 of the following Table shall be a name specified for that species in the corresponding entry in column 1.

2. A customary name may be used for any species of fish which has been subjected to smoking or any similar process, unless the name of the species in column 2 of the Table is followed by an asterisk. In such cases the name used for the food when the fish is smoked shall be a name specified for that species in column 1 of the said Table preceded by the word "smoked".

3. Paragraph 1, as read with the Table, shall not apply to fish regulated by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2136/89 laying down common marketing standards for preserved sardines and trade descriptions for preserved sardines and sardine-type products(12) (as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1181/2003(13) and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1345/2008(14)) or Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1536/92 laying down common marketing standards for preserved tuna and bonito(15).

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations, which extend to Scotland only, provide for the execution and enforcement of Title 1, Chapter 2 of Council Regulation (EC) 104/2000 as applied by Commission Regulation (EC) 2065/2001 laying down detailed rules on the application of Council Regulation (EC) 104/2000 as regards informing consumers about fishery and aquaculture products.

Title 1 of Chapter 2 of Council Regulation (EC) 104/2000 imposes requirements regarding the provision of information about the commercial designation, production method and catch area of certain fishery and aquaculture products offered for retail sale to the final consumer. It further provides for Member States to draw up and publish a list of commercial designations for at least the species listed in Annexes I to IV of the Regulation. Commission Regulation (EC) 2065/2001 describes in more detail the information to be provided to consumers and the exemptions that may be allowed. It also provides for the necessary information to be provided at each stage of the marketing process.

These Regulations:

(a) provide an updated Schedule of the commercial designations required to be drawn up by the United Kingdom (regulation 4 and the Schedule) and further provide for the granting of provisional commercial designations (regulation 8);

(b) make provision as to the relaxation of the requirements in certain circumstances in relation to information about the production method (regulation 5); in the case of direct sales of small quantities to consumers by fishermen or aquaculture producers (regulation 6) and with regard to the inclusion of additional information about catch area (regulation 7);

(c) create offences and prescribe penalties (regulation 3), specify enforcement authorities (regulation 9) and incorporate specified provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990 (regulation 10);

(d) revoke the Fish Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 2003 and the Fish Labelling (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2006 (regulation 11).

A full regulatory impact assessment, which includes a compliance cost assessment of the effect which these Regulations will have on business costs, has been prepared for these Regulations and placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Copies may be obtained from the Food Standards Agency (Scotland), 6th Floor, St Magnus House, 25 Guild Street, Aberdeen AB11 6NJ.