Title, application and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Animal Feed (Basic Safety Standards) (England) Regulations 2019, apply in relation to England only, and come into force on 17th April 2019.

Interpretation

2.-(1) In these Regulations-

"the Directive" means Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom laying down basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation, and repealing Directives 89/618/Euratom, 90/641/Euratom, 96/29/Euratom, 97/43/Euratom and 2003/122/Euratom(9);

"feed authority" means an authority identified in section 67(1) of the Agriculture Act 1970 as having the duty to enforce Part IV of that Act within its area or district as the case may be;

"radioactive substance" means any substance that contains one or more radionuclides the activity or activity concentration of which cannot be disregarded from a radiation protection point of view;

"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; and

" Regulation 767/2009" means Regulation (EC) No 767/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the placing on the market and use of feed, amending European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 and repealing Council Directive 79/373/EEC, Commission Directive 80/511/EEC, Council Directives 82/471/EEC, 83/228/EEC, 93/74/EEC, 93/113/EC and 96/25/EC and Commission Decision 2004/217/EC(10).

(2) For the purpose of these Regulations, "importation" and "exportation" have the same meanings as they have for the purposes of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979(11), and "import" and "export" shall be construed accordingly.

(3) Except to the extent that paragraph (1) and (2) provide otherwise, any expression used in these Regulations, Regulation 178/2002, Regulation 767/2009 and in the Directive has the meaning in these Regulations that it bears in Regulation 178/2002, Regulation 767/2009 and in the Directive, as the case may be.

Prohibition of practices

3.  No person shall intentionally add a radioactive substance in the production of animal feed.

4.  No person shall import or export any animal feed in respect of which a radioactive substance has been intentionally added in the production of that feed.

Offences and penalties

5.  Any person who contravenes regulation 3 or regulation 4 is guilty of an offence and liable to the penalties referred to in section 74A(3) of the Agriculture Act 1970(12).

Enforcement

6.  It is the duty of a feed authority within its area to enforce these Regulations.

Amendment of the Animal Feed (Hygiene, Sampling etc. and Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2015

7.-(1) The Animal Feed (Hygiene, Sampling etc. and Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2015(13) are amended in accordance with paragraph (2).

(2) In Schedule 1, in the table, after the entry for "The Animal Feed (Hygiene, Sampling etc. and Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2015", insert-

"The Animal Feed (Basic Safety Standards) (England) Regulations 2019".

Amendment of the Official Feed and Food Controls (England) Regulations 2009

8.-(1) The Official Feed and Food Controls (England) Regulations 2009(14) are amended in accordance with paragraph (2).

(2) In Schedule 2, after paragraph (f), insert the following paragraph-

"(g)the Animal Feed (Basic Safety Standards) (England) Regulations 2019.".

Review

9.-(1) The Food Standards Agency must from time to time -

(a)carry out a review of the operation and effect of regulations 3 to 6 inclusive;

(b)set out the conclusions of the review in a report; and

(c)publish the report.

(2) In carrying out the review the Food Standards Agency must, so far as is reasonable, have regard to how the EU instruments implemented or enforced and executed by these Regulations are implemented or executed and enforced in other Member States.

(3) The report must in particular-

(a)set out the objectives intended to be achieved by the regulatory system established by these Regulations;

(b)assess the extent to which those objectives are achieved; and

(c)assess whether those objectives remain appropriate and, if they do, the extent to which they could be achieved with a system that imposes less regulation.

(4) The first report under this regulation must be published before the end of the period of five years beginning with the day on which these Regulations come into force.

(5) Reports under this regulation are afterwards to be published at intervals not exceeding five years.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations provide for the transposition in England of the requirements of Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom of 5th December 2013 laying down basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation, and repealing Directives 89/618/Euratom, 90/641/Euratom, 96/29/Euratom, 97/43/Euratom and 2003/122/Euratom (OJ L 13, 17.1.2014, p. 1).

In particular, the Regulations provide that a person commits an offence if they intentionally add any radioactive substance to animal feed during production of the feed.

The Regulations also provide that a person commits an offence if they import to, or export from, the United Kingdom and animal feed to which, during production, a radioactive substance has been intentionally added.

A full impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available from the Animal Feed, Foodborne Disease Control, Allergy and Intolerance Branch of the Food Standards Agency, Clive House, 70 Petty France, London SW1H 9EX and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside the instrument on the OPSI website.