The Food (Northern Ireland) Order 1989

Certain additions not to be made to milk and certain liquids not to be sold as milk

29.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3), a person who—

(a)adds any water or colouring matter, or any dried or condensed milk or liquid reconstituted from it, to milk intended for sale for human consumption; or

(b)adds any separated milk, or mixture of cream and separated milk, to unseparated milk intended for sale for human consumption; or

(c)sells, or offers or exposes for sale, or has in his possession for the purpose of sale, for human consumption, any milk to which any addition has been made in contravention of the provisions of this paragraph,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) A person who sells, or offers or exposes for sale, or has in his possession for the purpose of sale, as milk any liquid in the making of which any separated milk or any dried or condensed milk has been used, shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) The prohibitions contained in paragraph (1)(a) and (c), in so far as they relate to the adding of any water to milk or the sale, offering or exposure for sale or possession of milk to which water has been added shall not apply in any case where water is added to milk in the course of any process of direct heat treatment by steam authorised under the Marketing of Milk Products Act (Northern Ireland) 1958(1) or the Milk (Northern Ireland) Order 1983(2) (whichever is applicable), where the process is conducted in accordance with regulations made in that behalf by the Department of Agriculture under that Act or, as the case may be, that Order.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(c), a person shall be deemed to retain the possession of milk which is deposited in any place for collection until it is actually collected; but nothing in this paragraph shall be taken as prejudicing the defence available under Article 41(10) or, as the case may be, under Article 42(8), to a person charged with an offence in respect of a sample of milk taken after the milk has left his possession.