Title, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Food (Animals and Animal Products from Belgium) (Emergency Control) Order (Northern Ireland) 1999 and shall come into operation on 5th June 1999.

(2) In this Order—

“the 1991 Order” means the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991;

“animal” includes any bird;

“the Commission Decision” means the Commission Decision 1999/363/EC on protective measures with regards to contamination by dioxins of certain animal products intended for human or animal consumption(2);

“dairy products” means raw milk, heat treated drinking milk and milk based products as defined by Council Directive 92/46/EEC(3) as amended;

“free circulation” shall be construed in accordance with Article 23.2 of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

“member State” means a member State of the European Community other than Belgium or the United Kingdom;

“relevant animal or animal product” means—

and also includes pork, beef and dairy products of Belgium origin which is derived from an animal reared in Belgium as it includes poultrymeat derived from domestic fowl reared there.

Prohibitions

2.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, no person shall carry out commercial operations with respect to any relevant animal or animal product.

(2) Paragraph (1) above shall not be taken to prohibit the bringing into Northern Ireland from a member State of any relevant animal or animal product in free circulation in that member State.

Enforcement

3.—(1) It shall be the duty of each district council to enforce and execute this Order within its district.

(2) Each district council shall give such assistance and information to the Department as it may request for the purpose of its duties under Article 12 of the 1991 Order.

Application and modification of various provisions of the 1991 Order

4.—(1) Article 8 of the 1991 Order (inspection and seizure of suspected food) shall apply for the purposes of this Order, subject to the following modifications—

(a)paragraphs (1) and (2) shall extend to food and food sources which appear to an authorised officer to come within the definition of “relevant animal or animal product”;

(b)paragraphs (3) to (9) thereof shall apply—

(i)to any food or food source falling within sub-paragraph (a) above as it applies to food which appears to an authorised officer to fail to comply with food safety requirements or to be likely to cause food poisoning or any disease communicable to human beings, and

(ii)to any relevant animal or animal product as if it were food which failed to comply with food safety requirements,

save that where a notice under paragraph (3)(a)(i) is given in relation to a food source, the notice is to relate to food which may come to be derived from the food source, that paragraph (6) thereof shall apply in relation to the destruction or disposal of a food source so as to prevent food which may come to be derived from it being used for human consumption, and that a justice of the peace shall decline to condemn food or food sources falling within sub-paragraph (a) above under paragraph (6) thereof if and only if it is proved to him that they do not comprise relevant animals or animal products.

(2) The following provisions of the 1991 Order shall apply for the purposes of this Order and any reference in those provisions to the 1991 Order shall be construed for the purposes of this Order as a reference to this Order—

(a)Article 34 (obstruction etc. of officers); and

(b)Article 36(1) (punishment of offences) in so far as it relates to offences under Article 34 as applied by sub-paragraph (a) above.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order.)

This Order is made under Article 12 of the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 in consequence of it appearing to the Department of Health and Social Services that the carrying out of commercial operations with respect to animals and animal products originating from Belgium may involve imminent risk of injury to health.

The Order also provides for the implementation in Northern Ireland, in relation to food and food sources, of the Commission Decision of 3rd June 1999 on protective measures with regards to contamination by dioxins of certain animal products intended for human or animal consumption in so far as that Decision affects animals and animal products for human consumption.

The Order—

(a)defines “relevant animal or animal product” and prohibits the carrying out of commercial operations with respect thereto (Articles 1 and 2);

(b)specifies the enforcement authority (Article 3); and

(c)applies, with modifications, provisions of the 1991 Order (Article 4).

Contravention of the Order is an offence under Article 12(2) of the 1991 Order.