Food Safety Act 1990

SupplementalU.K.

53 General interpretation.E+W+S

(1)In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

• “the 1984 Act” means the Food Act 1984;

• “the 1956 Act” means the M1Food and Drugs (Scotland) Act 1956;

• “advertisement” includes any notice, circular, label, wrapper, invoice or other document, and any public announcement made orally or by any means of producing or transmitting light or sound, and “advertise” shall be construed accordingly;

• “analysis” includes microbiological assay and any technique for establishing the composition of food, and “analyse” shall be construed accordingly;

• “animal” means any creature other than a bird or fish;

• “article” does not include a live animal or bird, or a live fish which is not used for human consumption while it is alive;

• “container” includes any basket, pail, tray, package or receptacle of any kind, whether open or closed;

• “contravention”, in relation to any provision, includes any failure to comply with that provision;

• “cream” means that part of milk rich in fat which has been separated by skimming or otherwise;

• “equipment” includes any apparatus;

• “exportation” and “importation” have the same meanings as they have for the purposes of the M2Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, and “export” and “import” shall be construed accordingly;

• “fish” includes crustaceans and molluscs;

• “functions” includes powers and duties;

• “human consumption” includes use in the preparation of food for human consumption;

• “knacker’s yard” means any premises used in connection with the business of slaughtering, flaying or cutting up animals the flesh of which is not intended for human consumption;

• “milk” includes cream and skimmed or separated milk;

• “occupier”, in relation to any ship or aircraft of a description specified in an order made under section 1(3) above or any vehicle, stall or place, means the master, commander or other person in charge of the ship, aircraft, vehicle, stall or place;

• “officer” includes servant;

• “preparation”, in relation to food, includes manufacture and any form of processing or treatment, and “preparation for sale” includes packaging, and “prepare for sale” shall be construed accordingly;

• “presentation”, in relation to food, includes the shape, appearance and packaging of the food, the way in which the food is arranged when it is exposed for sale and the setting in which the food is displayed with a view to sale, but does not include any form of labelling or advertising, and “present” shall be construed accordingly;

• “proprietor”, in relation to a food business, means the person by whom that business is carried on;

• “ship” includes any vessel, boat or craft, and a hovercraft within the meaning of the M3Hovercraft Act 1968, and “master” shall be construed accordingly;

• “slaughterhouse” means a place for slaughtering animals, the flesh of which is intended for sale for human consumption, and includes any place available in connection with such a place for the confinement of animals while awaiting slaughter there or for keeping, or subjecting to any treatment or process, products of the slaughtering of animals there;

• “substance” includes any natural or artificial substance or other matter, whether it is in solid or liquid form or in the form of a gas or vapour;

• “treatment”, in relation to any food, includes subjecting it to heat or cold.

(2)The following Table shows provisions defining or otherwise explaining expressions used in this Act (other than provisions defining or explaining an expression used only in the same section)—

(3)Any reference in this Act to regulations or orders made under it shall be construed as a reference to regulations or orders made under this Act by [F8the Secretary of State].

(4)For the purposes of this Act, any class or description may be framed by reference to any matters or circumstances whatever, including in particular, in the case of a description of food, the brand name under which it is commonly sold.

(5)Where, apart from this subsection, any period of less than seven days which is specified in this Act would include any day which is—

(a)a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day or Good Friday; or

(b)a day which is a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in the part of Great Britain concerned,

that day shall be excluded from that period.

[F955 Water supply: England and Wales.E+W

Nothing in Part 2 of this Act or any regulations or order made under that Part shall apply in relation to the supply of water to any premises, whether—

(a)by a water undertaker;

(b)by a [F10water supply licensee] (within the meaning of the Water Industry Act 1991); or

(c)by means of a private supply (within the meaning of Part 3 of that Act).]

56 Water supply: Scotland.E+W+S

(1)Nothing in Part II of this Act or any regulations or order made under that Part shall apply in relation to the supply of water to any premises, whether by [F11Scottish Water] or by means of a private supply (within the meaning of Part VIA of [F12the Water (Scotland) Act 1980]).

(2)In the following provisions of that Act, namely—

• section 76A (duties of water authorities with respect to water quality); and

• section 76B (regulations for preserving water quality),

for the words “domestic purposes”, wherever they occur, there shall be substituted the words “ domestic or food production purposes ”.

(3)In subsection (2) of section 76F of that Act (general functions of local authorities in relation to water quality), for the words “domestic purposes” there shall be substituted the words “ domestic or food production purposes ” and for the words “those purposes” there shall be substituted the words “ domestic purposes ”.

(4)In subsection (1) of section 76G of that Act (remedial powers of local authorities in relation to private supplies), for the words “domestic purposes”, in the first place where they occur, there shall be substituted the words “ domestic or food production purposes ”.

(5)In subsection (1) of section 76L of that Act (interpretation etc. of Part VIA), after the definition of “analyse” there shall be inserted the following definition—

““food production purposes” shall be construed in accordance with subsection (1A) below;”.

(6)After that subsection there shall be inserted the following subsection—

“(1A)In this Part references to food production purposes are references to the manufacturing, processing, preserving or marketing purposes with respect to food or drink for which water supplied to food production premises may be used; and in this subsection “food production premises” means premises used for the purposes of a business of preparing food or drink for consumption otherwise than on the premises.”

57 Scilly Isles and Channel Islands.E+W+S

F13(1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2)Her Majesty may by Order in Council direct that any of the provisions of this Act shall extend to any of the Channel Islands with such exceptions and modifications (if any) as may be specified in the Order.

58 Territorial waters and the continental shelf.U.K.

(1)For the purposes of this Act the territorial waters of the United Kingdom adjacent to any part of Great Britain shall be treated as situated in that part.

(2)An Order in Council under [F14section 11 of the Petroleum Act 1998](application of civil law) may make provision for treating for the purposes of food safety legislation—

(a)any installation which is in waters to which that section applies; and

(b)any safety zone around any such installation,

as if they were situated in a specified part of the United Kingdom and for modifying such legislation in its application to such installations and safety zones.

(3)Such an Order in Council may also confer on persons of a specified description the right to require, for the purpose of facilitating the exercise of specified powers under food safety legislation—

(a)conveyance to and from any installation, including conveyance of any equipment required by them; and

(b)the provision of reasonable accommodation and means of subsistence while they are on any installation.

(4)In this section—

• “food safety legislation” means this Act and any regulations and orders made under it and any corresponding provisions in Northern Ireland;

• “installation” means an installation to which subsection (3) of the said [F15section 11] applies;

• “safety zone” means an area which is a safety zone by virtue of Part III of the M5Petroleum Act 1987; and

• “specified” means specified in the Order in Council.

59 Amendments, transitional provisions, savings and repeals.U.K.

(1)The enactments mentioned in Schedule 3 to this Act shall have effect subject to the amendments there specified (being minor amendments and amendments consequential on the preceding provisions of this Act).

(2)[F16the Secretary of State] may by order make such modifications of local Acts, and of subordinate legislation (within the meaning of the M6Interpretation Act 1978), as appear to them to be necessary or expedient in consequence of the provisions of this Act.

(3)The transitional provisions and savings contained in Schedule 4 to this Act shall have effect; but nothing in this subsection shall be taken as prejudicing the operation of sections 16 and 17 of the said Act of 1978 (which relate to the effect of repeals).

(4)The enactments mentioned in Schedule 5 to this Act (which include some that are spent or no longer of practical utility) are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

60 Short title, commencement and extent.U.K.

(1)This Act may be cited as the Food Safety Act 1990.

(2)The following provisions shall come into force on the day on which this Act is passed, namely—

• section 13;

• section 51; and

• paragraphs 12 to 15 of Schedule 2 and, so far as relating to those paragraphs, section 52.

(3)Subject to subsection (2) above, this Act shall come into force on such day as the Ministers may by order appoint, and different days may be appointed for different provisions or for different purposes.

(4)An order under subsection (3) above may make such transitional adaptations of any of the following, namely—

(a)the provisions of this Act then in force or brought into force by the order; and

(b)the provisions repealed by this Act whose repeal is not then in force or so brought into force,

as appear to the Ministers to be necessary or expedient in consequence of the partial operation of this Act.

(5)This Act, except—

• this section;

• section 51,

• section 58(2) to (4); and

• paragraphs 7, 29 and 30 of Schedule 3 and, so far as relating to those paragraphs, section 59(1),

does not extend to Northern Ireland.