Office of Public Sector Information

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

1.  These Regulations further amend the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 (“the principal Regulations”) in so far as they apply in relation to England. The principal Regulations extend to the whole of Great Britain.

2.  These Regulations implement in England Commission Directive No. 2007/68/EC (OJ No. L310, 28.11.2007, p.11) amending Annex IIIa to Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards certain food ingredients. The ingredients in question are those that are likely to cause an allergic reaction in some consumers.

3.  The Regulations amend the principal Regulations in respect of the labelling requirements for foods containing allergenic ingredients, including labelling exemptions for certain processed forms of those ingredients, and provide a transitional period for foods that are marked, labelled or sold before the 31st May 2009.

4.  A full impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available from the Labelling, Standards and Allergy Division of the Food Standards Agency, Aviation House, 125 Kingsway, London WC2B 6NH and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside the instrument on the OPSI website.