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Scotland Food Standards Training Manual Foreword The standard and quality of food is important to all consumers and food businesses across Scotland. Consumers must have confidence that food they buy and eat will be what they expect, will not be harmful and that they are protected from fraud. This manual provides information to authorised officers on these areas. The Food Standards Agency in Scotland has worked closely with the Scottish Government to ensure that the reputation of Scottish food and drink is upheld as part of Scotland’s National Food and Drink Policy. The Food Standards Training manual was first issued by the Food Standards Agency Northern Ireland in order to assist authorised officers with the challenging area of food standards. In 2007, the Agency’s sector-specific simplification project1 considered the potential for expanding the use of this manual. In Northern Ireland the manual is now in its third successful year, and evaluation of the manual has further determined the need for this type of resource. Work began in Scotland to produce a Scottish version of the manual in partnership with local authority authorised officers, based on the positive feedback received on the Northern Ireland manual from District Councils and to address issues raised by audits undertaken in Scotland. Partnership is key in the development of Agency projects and a working group was established to take this project forward with members of the Scottish Food Enforcement Liaison Committee Food Standards Sub Committee. The group offered invaluable expertise and experience in producing the Scottish edition of this training manual, and kept the main objective in focus, to provide a practical training and reference tool for authorised officers. In addition to input from local authority colleagues, Scottish Public Analysts were also consulted on this document. The aim of this manual is to provide a reference document for the wide range of food standards legislation in force in Scotland and the associated codes of practice and relevant guidance notes. It is not the intention that the manual will provide a detailed account of each piece of legislation but it is hoped that it will go some way to assisting authorised officers to become more familiar with food standards legislation and associated guidance. It is also intended to give authorised officers an insight into some of the practical applications of food standards enforcement and to identify other sources of useful information. Food legislation and guidance is ongoing and changes constantly. It is our aim to produce the most accessible and up to date training information. Given the ever evolving nature of food legislation it will be necessary to update the manual. Updates will be issued on a regular basis, and we would welcome comments and suggestions. Charles Milne Food Standards Agency 1 http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/simplifysectorrep.pdf 3 Contents Section 1 - Introduction and Enforcement 1.1 General Introduction to Enforcement 1.2 Food Standards Inspection Overview 1.3 Principles of Enforcement 1.4 Detention and Seizure of Food 1.5 Sampling of Food and Ingredients 1.6 Food Control Primary Legislation 1.6.1 The Food Safety Act 1990 1.6.1.1 Part 1 - Introduction 1.6.1.2 Part 2 - Main Provisions - General Enforcement Provisions - Defences 1.6.1.3 Part 3 - Administration and Enforcement - Sampling of Food - Powers of Entry - Offences 1.6.2 The General Food Regulations 2004 1.6.2.1 Article 14 (Food Safety Requirements) 1.6.2.2 Article 16 (Presentation) 1.6.2.3 Article 18 (Traceability) 1.6.2.4 Article 19 (Product Recall) 4 Section 2 - Training Notes on Legislation 2.1 Food Labelling Regulations 1996 2.1.1 Introduction 2.1.2 Principal Provisions 2.2 The General Labelling Requirements 2.2.1 Name of the Food 2.2.1.1 Prescribed Name 2.2.1.2 Reserved Descriptions 2.2.1.3 Customary Name 2.2.1.4 Descriptive Name 2.2.1.5 Protected Food Names 2.2.1.6 Additional Specific Requirements with Regard to the Name of a Food • Trademarks, Brand Names or Fancy Name • Processes and Treatments • Use of Terms like ‘Roasted’, ‘Smoked’ etc • Use of Terms such as ‘Fresh’, ‘Pure’, ‘Natural’ 2.2.2 List of Ingredients 2.2.2.1 Foods which do not require a list of ingredients 2.2.2.2 Heading of list of ingredients 2.2.2.3 Order of Ingredients 2.2.2.4 Names of Ingredients 2.2.2.5 Flavouring 2.2.2.6 Additives listing • ‘Specific Names’ and ‘Serial Numbers’ for Additives • Specific Name should be used for an Additive • Serial Number should be used for an Additive • Carry-over Additive • Processing Aids 2.2.2.7 Compound Ingredients 5 2.2.2.8 Added Water 2.2.3 Quantities of Certain Ingredients or Categories of Ingredients 2.2.3.1 Quantitative Ingredient Declarations 2.2.3.2 Scope of the Quid Requirement 2.2.3.3 Products to which the QUID Requirement do not apply 2.2.3.4 Formula used to calculate QUID 2.2.3.5 Position of QUID declaration 2.2.4 Appropriate Durability Indication 2.2.4.1 Date Marking Provisions 2.2.4.2 Form used for the ‘Best Before’ Date Mark 2.2.4.3 Form used for the ‘Use By’ date 2.2.4.4 Flexibility in Application 2.2.4.5 Abbreviation of Indication of Minimum Durability Details 2.2.4.6 Foods that should carry a ‘Use By’ date 2.2.4.7 Storage conditions given with the Date Mark 2.2.4.8 Sale of food with expired shelf life 2.2.4.9 Alteration of Date Marks 2.2.5 Special Storage Conditions and Conditions of Use, and Instruction for Use 2.2.5.1 Meaning of ‘Special Storage Conditions or Conditions of Use’ 2.2.5.2 Instruction for Use 2.2.5.3 Name and Address 2.2.6 Origin 2.2.6.1 Origin Labelling 2.2.6.2 Avoid Misleading Labelling in relation to origin labelling 2.2.7 Omission of Certain Particulars 6 2.2.7.1 Pre-packed 2.2.7.2 Pre-packed for Direct Sale 2.2.7.3 Flour confectionery 2.2.7.4 Labelling requirement for food which is not pre-packed or which is pre- packed for direct sale 2.2.7.5 Non pre-packed foods and the presence of additives 2.2.7.6 Food sold in Small Packages 2.2.7.7 Certain Food sold at Catering Establishments 2.2.7.8 Food sold in Seasonal Selection Packs 2.2.8 Additional Labelling Requirements 2.2.8.1 Additional Labelling Requirements for food sold from Vending Machines 2.2.8.2 Additional Labelling Requirements for Alcoholic Drinks 2.2.8.3 Sale of Raw Milk is not permitted in Scotland 2.2.8.4 Additional Labelling Requirement for Skimmed Milk with Non-Milk Fat 2.2.8.5 Packaging Gases 2.2.8.6 Additional Labelling Requirements for Foods Containing Sweeteners Aspartame or Polyols 2.2.8.7 High Caffeine Content 2.2.8.8 Additional labelling requirements for food containing glycyrrhizinic acid and its ammonium salts 2.2.9 Allergen Labelling 2.2.9.1 Form of Allergen Labelling 2.2.10 Manner of Marking and Labelling 2.2.10.1 Additional manner of marking requirements applying to pre-packed food 2.2.10.2 Food Sold Otherwise than to the Consumer 2.2.10.3 Manner of Marking Requirements that Apply to Food which is not Pre- Packed or Pre-Packed for Direct Sale 7 2.2.11 Claims, Nutrition Labelling and Misleading Descriptions 2.2.11.1 Prohibited claims 2.2.11.2 Restricted claims 2.2.11.3 Nutritional claims 2.2.11.4 Nutritional rules for some foods 2.2.11.5 Nutrition Declarations 2.2.11.6 Other Nutrients which may be declared 2.2.11.7 The Amount of Food the Declaration should relate to 2.2.11.8 Prescribed Layout to be followed 2.2.11.9 Order of Nutritional Information 2.2.11.10 Health Claims 2.2.11.11 Misleading Descriptions on Food 2.2.11.12 Wine 2.2.12 Labelling Requirement for Alcoholic Drinks 2.2.12.1 The Name of the Food 2.2.12.2 List of Ingredients 2.2.12.3 Appropriate Indication of Minimum Durability (Date Mark) 2.2.12.4 Special Storage Conditions or Conditions of Use 2.2.12.5 Name or Business Name and an Address 2.2.12.6 Place of Origin of the Product 2.2.12.7 Instructions for Use 2.2.12.8 Indication of Alcoholic Strength by Volume 2.2.13 Labelling Of Genetically Modified Foods (GM) 8 Section 3 - Legislation Guidance - Alphabetical Order Section 4 - List of Food Standards Legislation currently not available on the Legislation web site Arsenic in Food (Scotland) Regulations 1959 (SI No. 928) Caseins and Caseinates (Scotland) Regulations 1986 Chloroform in Food (Scotland) Regulations 1980 (SI No. 289) Erucic Acid in Food (Scotland) Regulations 1977 (SI No. 1028) 9 1.1 General Introduction and Enforcement The key pieces of primary legislation dealing with Food Standards Law enforcement are: • Food Safety Act 1990 Responsibility for enforcement of the majority of the food standards, composition and labelling regulations under the Food Safety Act 1990 rests with Local Authorities (Section 26). In Scotland Local Authorities appoint authorised officers specifically in writing to enforce the legislation on their behalf. Food Authorities should be aware that law relating to food is not necessarily made under the Food Safety Act 1990 and that separate authorisation is required.