Citation, commencement and interpretation

1. -�

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Imported Food and Feedingstuffs (Safeguards against Cholera) Regulations 1991 and shall come into force on 5th November 1991.

(2) In these Regulations-�

"the Act" means the Food Safety Act 1990;

"affected country" means Colombia, Ecuador or Peru;

"CERPER" means El Centro de Certificaciones Pesqueras in El Callao, Peru;

"fish" includes crustaceans and molluscs other than bivalve molluscs;

"pH value" means the negative decimal logarithm of hydrogen ions expressed in moles per litre;

"product" means anything derived from a fish, fruit, mollusc or vegetable by any process of preparation;

"proper authority" means-�

"relevant fruit" means-�

"relevant vegetable" means-�

(3) For the purposes of these Regulations-�

(a)a fish product is from an affected country if it consists of, or is derived from, any fish which has been landed there, subjected there to any process of preparation or consigned from there by way of export;

(b)a bivalve mollusc is from an affected country if it has been landed there, subjected there to any process of preparation or consigned from there by way of export;

(c)a relevant fruit or vegetable is from Peru if it has been harvested there, subjected there to any process of preparation or consigned from there by way of export.

(4) In these Regulations-�

(a)a reference to a numbered regulation or Schedule is a reference to the regulation or Schedule in these Regulations which bears that number;

(b)a reference in a regulation to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph of that regulation which bears that number.

Prohibition on importation of fish products from Peru

2. -�

(1) No person shall import into Great Britain-�

(a)any bivalve mollusc from Peru or any product thereof;

(b)any fish product intended for human or animal consumption which consists of, or is derived from, fish landed in Peru in the course of artisanal fishing, that is to say fishing carried on by an individual mainly for the purpose of providing fish for consumption by the individual and his family.

(2) Subject to paragraphs (3), (4) and (5) no person shall import into Great Britain for human consumption, or consumption by an animal, any fish product from Peru.

(3) The prohibition imposed by paragraph (2) does not apply to a fish product if it is accompanied by a numbered and dated certificate issued by, and signed by an authorised officer of, CERPER containing the particulars mentioned in paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 and the declaration mentioned in paragraph 2 of that Schedule.

(4) The prohibition imposed by paragraph (2) does not apply to rainbow trout (salmo gairdneri) prepared for sale by Piscifactorias de Los Andes S.A. in the province of Concepcion in Peru imported as or as part of a consignment which is accompanied by

(a)a certificate from CERPER containing the declaration and particulars referred to in paragraph (3); and

(b)a certificate from the Peruvian Ministry of Health that at the date of despatch of the consignment no case of Vibrio cholera had been detected in the provinceof Concepcion.

(5) The prohibition imposed by paragraph (2) does not apply to fishmeal.

Prohibition on importation of fish products from Ecuador and Colombia

3. -�

(1) Subject to paragraph (2) no person shall import into Great Britain for human consumption any fish product or bivalve mollusc from Ecuador or Colombia.

(2) The prohibition imposed by paragraph (1) does not apply to fish products or bivalve molluscs from Ecuador or Colombia intended for human consumption which are imported as, or as part of, a consignment which is accompanied by a numbered and dated document issued by the proper authority in that country, signed by an authorised officer of that authority and containing the particulars set out in Schedule 2. Prohibition on importation of fruit and vegetables from Peru

4. -�

(1) No person shall import into Great Britain for human consumption or consumption by an animal any relevant fruit or relevant vegetable which has been harvested or prepared for sale in Peru unless the consignment of which it forms part is accompanied by the documents referred to in paragraph (2).

(2) The documents required by paragraph (1) are a numbered and dated document issued by, and signed by an authorised officer of, CERPER containing the particulars mentioned in paragraph 1 of Schedule 3 and the declaration mentioned in paragraph 2of that Schedule, and a numbered certificate issued by the Peruvian Ministry of Health that the consignment is free of Vibrio cholera

.

Prohibition on export to other Member States of fish products and bivalve molluscs originating in an affected country and of fruit and vegetables from Peru

5. -�

(1) Subject to paragraph (2) no person shall consign for export to another Member State any fish product or bivalve mollusc which is from an affected country or any relevant fruit or relevant vegetable from Peru which is intended for human or animal consumption.

(2) The prohibition imposed by paragraph (1) does not apply to goods to be exported-�

(a)by sea, if they are to be sent from a port in Great Britain to a port in another Member State and the latter port has facilities for inspection of imports;

(b)by air, if they are to be sent from an airport in Great Britain to an airport in another Member State and the latter airport has facilities for inspection of imports.

Offences

6. Any person who contravenes regulation 2(1) or (2), 3(1), 4(1) or 5(1) shall be guilty of an offence triable only summarily, and liable on conviction to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to both.

Application of provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990

7. -�

(1) The following provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990 shall apply for the purposes of the Regulations as they apply for the purposes of sections 8, 14 and 15 of that Act and unless the context otherwise requires a reference in them to the Act shall be construed as a reference to these Regulations: section 2 (extended definition of "sale" etc.); section 3 (presumptions that food intended for human consumption); section 20 (offences due to fault of another person); section 21 (defence of due diligence); section 30(8) (which relates to documentary evidence); section 33 (obstruction etc. of officers); section 36 (offences by bodies corporate).

(2) Section 49(4) of the Act shall apply to a certificate given by a proper authority, CERPER or the Peruvian Ministry of Health for the purposes of these Regulations as it applies to documents authorised or required to be given by a food authority, but as if the words "under this section" were omitted.

Enforcement and execution

8. -�

(1) Subject to paragraph (2) these Regulations shall be enforced and executed-�

(a)as respects each London borough or district in England and Wales, by the council of that borough or district;

(b)as respects the City of London (including the Temples), by the Common Council;

(c)as respects each islands area or district in Scotland, by the islands or district council.

(a)by an order under section 2 or 7 of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984(4) to a port health authority;

(b)by an order under section 172 of the Public Health (Scotland) Act 1897(5) to a port local authority; these Regulations shall be enforced by that authority within its area and not by the authority mentioned in paragraph (1).

Revocation

9. The Imported Food (Peruvian Foodstuffs) Regulations 1991(6) are hereby revoked.

Regulation 2(3)

SCHEDULE 1CONTENTS OF CERTIFICATE FROM CERPER FOR FISH PRODUCTS

1. The following particulars-�

(a)a description of the consignment;

(b)a description of the nature of the preparation which it has undergone;

(c)the registrationand approval number assigned to the factory by CERPER.

2. A declaration that-�

(a)the factory at which the preparation took place is subject to inspection by CERPER;

(b)the processing methods at the factory meet the standards laid down in the circular issued by CERPER on 21st February 1991.

Regulation 3(2)

SCHEDULE 2PARTICULARS TO BE CONTAINED IN DOCUMENTS RELATING TO FISHAND BIVALVE MOLLUSCS FROM COLOMBIA AND ECUADOR

1. A description of the consignment.

2. A description of the processing to which the consignment has been subjected.

3. The licence number assigned to the exporter by the proper authority.

Regulation 4(2)

SCHEDULE 3CONTENTS OF DOCUMENT FROM CERPER RELATING TO FRUIT ANDVEGETABLES FROM PERU

1. The following particulars-�

(a)the name and address of the factory at which the fruit or vegetable has been prepared for sale;

(b)a description of the consignment;

(c)a description of the nature of the preparation which it has undergone;

(d)the number of the certificate issued by the Peruvian Ministry of Health in accordance with regulation 4(2).

2. A declaration that-�

(a)conditions at the factory are sufficient to ensure the hygienic handling of the fruit or vegetable;

(b)the factory has a system for the chlorination of waste water;

(c)the factory at which the preparation took place is subject to inspection by CERPER.

Explanatory Note

(This Note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations prohibit (subject to certain exceptions) the importation into Great Britain of fish products (including fish and molluscs) which have been harvested or processed in Colombia, Ecuador or Peru, unless they are accompanied by appropriate documentation from the food control authorities in the country where they were harvested or prepared for sale. (Regulations 2 and 3 and the Schedules).

They also prohibit absolutely the importation into Great Britain of bivalve molluscs from Peru and products of artisanal fisheries in Peru. (Regulation 2(1)).

The prohibitions contained in regulation 2 give effect to Commission Decision 91/146/EECconcerning protective measures against cholera in Peru (OJ No. L73 20.3.91, p.34), as amended by Commission Decision 91/393/EEC (OJ No. L209 31.7.91, p.42) which modifies the prohibition in relation to certain processed rainbow trout. The exception from the prohibition on importation of fish products and molluscs from Ecuador and Colombia gives effect to Commission Decision 91/281/EEC concerning importations of fishery and aquaculture products from Ecuador (OJ No. L142 6.6.91, p.43) and Commission Decision 91/282/EEC concerning importations of fishery and aquaculture products from Colombia (OJ No. L142 6.6.91, p.44). ed by a certificate from CERPER as to the standards met bythe production plant and one from the Ministry of Health in Peru certifying the absence of Vibrio cholera in the consignment. (Regulation 4 and Schedule 3).

The re-export from Great Britain to another Member State of fish products and bivalve molluscs which are from affected countries, and relevant fruit and relevant vegetables from Peru, and intended for human or animal consumption, is prohibited unless the receiving port or airport has facilities for the inspection of imports. This gives effect to Commission Decisions 91/146/EEC and 91/147/EEC concerning protective measures against cholera in Peru (OJ No. L73 20.3.91, p.34 and p.35 respectively), 91/281/EEC concerning importations of fishery and aquaculture products from Ecuador (OJ No. L142 6.6.91, p.43) and 91/282/EEC concerning importations of fishery and aquaculture products from Colombia (OJ No. L142 6.6.91, p.44). (Regulation 5).

Contravention of the various prohibitions contained in the Regulations is an offence. (Regulation 6). Various provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990 are applied for the purposes of the Regulations. (Regulation 7).

The Regulations are to be enforced in England and Wales by district councils, London borough councils and the Common Council of the City of London, and in Scotland by district and islands councils, except within the area of port health authorities or port local authorities, where they are instead to be enforced by those authorities. (Regulation 8).

The Regulations also revoke the Imported Food (Peruvian Foodstuffs) Regulations 1991 which made other provision in respect of the importation of these products from Peru. (Regulation 9).

The circular issued on 21st February 1991 by CERPER, the regulatory authority for fish products from Peru (compliance with which on the part of the factory of production is a prerequisite for the importation of most fish products from Peru), and a translation of the circular, may be obtained from the Departmental Library, Department of Health, Hannibal House, Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, London SE1 upon payment of the standard charge imposed by the Library for photocopying (presently 14 pence per page).