FIR webinar
Dominic Watkins
Head of food group and partner at law firm DWF, Dominic Watkins, said the new food labelling rules would change the goalposts when they come into force on December 13 2014.
In our first gallery he tackled questions from Asda, Greencore and the Compass Group.
The other questions he chose to answer were:
“Has the offence related to selling after use by date changed?” Nino Binns, consultant, NB Consulting
“Will it have to be proved that food is unsafe when past its use by date in order to establish an offence?” Trevor Gray, principal food officer, West Yorkshire Trading Standards
Watkins: “Yes, it will be different under the new regime. Currently there is a specific offence under the Food Labelling Regulations which makes it an offence to sell food after its use by date.
“When the FIC (EU law)/ FIR (UK law containing the criminal offences for failing to comply with the FIC) come into force the Food Labelling Regulations will be repealed and the only offences that remain will be those found in the FIR and those which can be made out through other legislation – such as safety issues.
“The current draft of the FIR does not contain an offence in relation to selling a food after its use by date. The consultation document for the FIR explained that this was because a use by date should only be applied to a product that becomes microbiologically unsafe after the use by date. The chain of logic is that it therefore follows is that if a product has been sold after the use by date, it is therefore unsafe and can be prosecuted using one of the provisions that prohibit the sale of unsafe food.”
“Are there any more changes within the FIR which are due to come out before it is implemented in December 2014?” Rebecca Bassett, food safety technologist, Selfridges
Watkins: “The FIR (ie the domestic enforcement Regulations) could change before they come into force as they are still draft and held up in Whitehall.
As far as the FIC is concerned it is not expected that the text itself will change, however, the EU has to publish a number of reports and sets of implementing rules, some of which may occur before December. The FIC sets dates for the Commission to submit a range of reports on food labelling, including regarding the mandatory indication of the country of origin or place of provenance for the following foods:
- Types of meat other than beef, swine, sheep, goat and poultry;
- Milk and milk used as an ingredient in dairy products;
- Unprocessed foods;
- Single ingredient products;
Ingredients that constitute over 50% of a food.”
“Does the FIR apply to foodservice products?” Mukund Mehta, technical and new product development manager, Tims Dairy
Watkins: “Yes, it does, to a limited extent. Hidden towards the back of the FIR is the requirement that the foodservice industry provides allergen declarations. This is quite a tricky provision and worth looking at closely. Otherwise, the EU has left it to member states to regulate this area.”