Title and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Crops, Food and Feeding Stuffs) Regulations 1994 and shall come into force on the day after the day on which they are made.

Interpretation: general

2.-(1) In these Regulations-�

"product" means any crop, food or feeding stuff specified in Schedule 2;

"putting into circulation", in relation to any product, means any handing over, whether or not for a consideration, of that product-�

(2) Any reference in these Regulations to a Schedule or to a Regulation shall be construed as a reference respectively to a Schedule to these Regulations or to a Regulation in these Regulations.

(3) Any reference in a Schedule to any product, figure or pesticide includes any qualifying words relating to that product, figure or pesticide in that Schedule.

Interpretation: pesticide residue

3. Any reference in these Regulations to a pesticide residue left or contained in any product after the application to that product or to land on which it is grown of a pesticide named in column 1 of Schedule 1 is a reference to the substance named in column 2 of that Schedule opposite that pesticide.

Maximum residue levels

4. The maximum level of any pesticide residue which may be left in any product named in Part I of Schedule 2 after the application to that product or to land on which it is grown of any pesticide shall be the number of milligrammes of the pesticide residue per kilogramme of the product (if any) specified opposite the name of that product under the name of that pesticide.

5.-(1) No person shall put into circulation any product named in Part 2 of Schedule 2 which, after the application to that product or to land on which it is grown of any pesticide, contains a level of pesticide residue greater than the number of milligrammes of that pesticide residue per kilogramme of the product (if any) specified opposite the name of that product under the name of that pesticide.

(2) Any person who without reasonable excuse, contravenes, or causes or permits any other person to contravene any provision of this Regulation shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable-�

(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; and

(b)on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(3) In any proceedings for an offence under this Regulation it is a defence for the person charged to prove that when the product in question was put into circulation-�

(a)it was so put with the intention of its being exported to a country which is not a Member State and the offence was caused by a treatment applied to that product being a treatment-�

(i)required by the country of destination in order to prevent the introduction of harmful organisms into its territory, or

(ii)necessary to protect the product from harmful organisms during transport to the country of destination and storage there, or

(b)it was so put with the intention that-�

(i)it be used in the manufacture of things other than foodstuffs and animal feed, or

(ii)it be used for sowing or planting.

(4) Section 19 of and Schedule 2 to the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 shall apply for the purposes of this Regulation as it applies for the purposes of that Act taking references therein to that Act or any part of it to be references to this Regulation.

Seizure or disposal of crops, food or feeding stuffs

6. If any product has in it, after the application of any pesticide named in column 1 of Schedule 1, a level of pesticide residue above that permitted to be in it by either regulation 4 or 5(1), the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretary of State shall each have power-�

(a)to seize or dispose of the consignment containing that product or any part of it, or to require that some other person shall dispose of it, or

(b)to direct some other person to take such remedial action as appears to the said Minister or to the Secretary of State, as the case may be, to be necessary.

Sampling and analysis

7. In determining for the purposes of regulation 4 or 5 whether the level of pesticide residue left or contained in any product exceeds the maximum permitted-�

(a)the whole or such part only of that product shall so far as is practicable, be taken into account as specified in column 3 of Schedule 3 opposite the name of that product in column 2 of that Schedule,

(b)the procedure laid down in Part 5 of the Codex Recommendations Concerning Pesticide Residues(6) shall so far as is practicable be followed, and

(c)in the case of any product named in paragraph 3, 4 or 5 of Schedule 2 which has been dried that Schedule shall have effect as if for the number of milligrammes of each pesticide residue specified opposite the name of that product there were substituted that number of milligrammes divided by the fraction of 1 kilogramme to which 1 kilogramme of the product is reduced by the drying process.

Extent

8. These Regulations do not extend to Northern Ireland.

Revocation

9. The Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Food) Regulations 1988(7) are hereby revoked.

Regulation 3

SCHEDULE 1

Regulation 4

SCHEDULE 2

PART I

Regulation 5

SCHEDULE 2

PART 2

Regulation 7

SCHEDULE 3

Note: The word "fresh" is taken to extend to products which have been chilled.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations, which do not extend to Northern Ireland, are made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 and Part III of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 and supersede the Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Food) Regulations 1988. They specify new maximum levels of pesticide residues which may be left in crops, food and feeding stuffs in accordance with Council Directives made subsequently to the making of the superseded Regulations. They also prescribe how much of a particular product is to be taken into account in determining whether a maximum level has been exceeded.

To the extent that the Regulations are made under the European Communities Act 1972 they implement in Great Britain, Council Directive 90/642/EEC (O.J. No. L350, 14.12.90, p.71) as amended by Council Directive 93/57/EEC (O.J. No. L211, 23.8.93, p.1) and Council Directive 93/58/EEC (O.J. No. L211, 23.8.93, p.6).

Council Directive 90/642/EEC as so amended prescribes how much of a particular product is to be taken into account to identify a breach of the Regulations and prescribes maximum levels of pesticide residues in and on certain products of plant origin including fruit and vegetables.

Council Directive 93/57/EEC amends and extends Council Directives 86/362/EEC and 86/363/EEC on the fixing of maximum levels for pesticide residues in and on cereals, and in and on foodstuffs of animal origin (namely meat and milk and products derived therefrom) (O.J. No. L221, 7.8.86, pages 37 and 43 respectively).

To the extent that these Regulations are made under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985, they apply in relation to crops, food and feeding stuffs not the subject of the said Council Directives but make the same provisions as are required by the Directives.

Regulation 3 and Schedule 1 identify certain pesticide residues which will be left in a crop, food or feeding stuff following the application to it or to land on which it is grown of certain named pesticides.

Regulation 4 relates to crops, food and feeding stuffs which are not the subject of Council Directives. It is made under section 16(2)(k) of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 and accordingly it does no more than specify the maximum amount of pesticide residues which may be left in the relevant product. Offences and penalties for contravention of regulation 4 are prescribed respectively by sections 16(12) and 21(3) of that Act.

Regulation 5 relates to crops, food and feeding stuffs which are the subject of Council Directives. Accordingly, it does more than specify maximum residue levels. It prohibits the putting into circulation of any relevant product where the limits are exceeded, creates offences, specifies penalties and confers enforcement powers corresponding to those contained in the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985. Paragraph (3) of regulation 5, which has no counterpart in regulation 4, provides defences where products are being exported to third countries, or are being used in manufacture or as seed for planting.

In relation to regulations 4 and 5, in any case where no entry appears against a product in Schedule 2, no maximum residue level applies for that pesticide/product combination.

Regulation 6 enables either the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food or the Secretary of State to seize or dispose of any crop, food or feeding stuff containing a residue level in excess of any maximum residue level, or to require some other person to dispose of that crop, food or feeding stuff. He may also direct some other person to take such remedial action as appears to him to be necessary.

Regulation 7(a) and Schedule 3 prescribe how much of the product in question has to be taken into account in determining whether a maximum residue level has been exceeded. This is in accordance with Council Directive 90/642/EEC as amended by Council Directive 93/58/EEC in relation to certain products of plant origin including fruit and vegetables.

In accordance with regulation 7(b) the level of residue in any product is to be determined inter alia by reference to Part 5 of the Codex Alimentarius Guide to Codex Recommendations Concerning Pesticide Residues.

Regulation 7(c) increases the maximum residue levels to take account of concentration when a product is dried.

The Regulations revoke the Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Food) Regulations 1988 (S.I. 1988/1378).

Copies of the Codex Guide and Recommendations are available for inspection at the Library of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Whitehall Place, London SW1A 2EY, and at the Library of the Scottish Office, New St. Andrew's House, St. James' Square, Edinburgh EH1 3TE.

The Compliance Cost Assessment relating to these Regulations is available in the Library of each House of Parliament.