Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Sweeteners in Food (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 and shall come into operation on 2nd June 2003.

Amendments to the Sweeteners in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

2.—(1) The Sweeteners in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(4) shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraphs.

(2) In paragraph (1) of regulation 2 (interpretation), for the definition of “permitted sweetener” there shall be substituted the following definition –

““permitted sweetener” means the sweetener salt of aspartame–acesulfame so far as it satisfies the purity criteria for it set out at pages 19 to 21 of the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Compendium of Food Additives Specifications Addendum 8 (2000) FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 52 Addendum 8 and any sweetener specified in Column 2 of Schedule 1 which satisfies the specific purity criteria for that sweetener set out –

(3) The following sub–paragraph is substituted for sub-paragraph (c) of regulation 2(2) –

“(c)in column 4, the maximum usable dose indicated in relation to a food is –

(i)in the case of all permitted sweeteners except cyclamic acid and its Na and Ca salts, saccharin and its Na, K and Ca salts and salt of aspartame-acesulfame, the maximum amount, in milligrams, of permitted sweeteners per kilogram or, as the case may be, per litre of that food which is ready to eat having been prepared according to any instructions for use, and

(ii)in the case of cyclamic acid and its Na and Ca salts and saccharin and its Na, K and Ca salts, the maximum amount of free acid contained in the cyclamic acid and its Na and Ca salts or, as the case may be, saccharin and its Na, K and Ca salts present in that food which is ready to eat having been prepared according to any instructions for use, measured in milligrams per kilogram or, as the case may be, per litre of the food.”.

(4) In paragraph (3) of regulation 3 (sale and use of sweeteners), for “paragraph (4)” there shall be substituted “paragraphs (4) and (5)”.

(5) The following paragraph is inserted immediately after paragraph (4) of regulation 3 –

“(5) The prohibition on using aspartame and acesulfame K in or on any food which is imposed by virtue of paragraph (3) shall apply equally in relation to the use of salt of aspartame-acesulfame in or on that food.”.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations further amend the Sweeteners in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (“the principal Regulations”) by –

(a)granting authorisation for the marketing and use as a sweetener of salt of aspartame–acesulfame, as permitted by Article 5 of Directive 89/107/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the member States concerning food additives authorised for use in foodstuffs intended for human consumption (O.J. No. L40, 11.2.89, p. 27). Article 5 permits member States to authorise sweeteners for the marketing and use within their own territories, pending consideration for inclusion in Directive 94/35/EC on sweeteners for use in foodstuffs (O.J. No. L237, 10.9.94, p.3, as amended) (regulation 2(2) and (5));

(b)clarifying the meaning of “maximum usable dose” as used in relation to cyclamic acid and its Na and Ca salts and saccharin and its Na, K and Ca salts (regulation 2(3)); and

(c)making a consequential change to regulation 3(3) of the principal Regulations (regulation 2(4)).

Copies of the Food and Agriculture Organisation documents referred to in the new definition of “permitted sweetener” which is substituted by regulation 2(2) may be obtained from the Stationery Office (TSO), PO Box 29, St Crispins House, Norwich NR3 1GN. Alternatively copies may be obtained online from www.tso.co.uk.