S.I. No. 173/1978:

FOOD STANDARDS (FRUIT JUICES AND FRUIT NECTARS) (EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES) REGULATIONS, 1978.

FOOD STANDARDS (FRUIT JUICES AND FRUIT NECTARS) (EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES) REGULATIONS, 1978.

I, DESMOND O'MALLEY, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 2 of the Food Standards Act, 1974 (No. 11 of 1974), having consulted the Minister for Agriculture and the Minister for Health and such organisations as appear to me to be interested to a substantial extent in the subject matter, hereby make the following Regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Food Standards (Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars) (European Communities) Regulations, 1978.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 19th day of November, 1978.

2. (1) In these Regulations--

"the Council Directive" means Council Directive No. 75/726/EEC of 17th November, 1975^(a);

^(a)O.J. No. 1311, 1.12.1975.

"dilution", in relation to concentrated fruit juice, means

( a ) in case the juice is intended for direct consumption, dilution with the quantity of water which is appropriate having regard to the statement referred to in paragraph (1) (e) of Article 11 of the Council Directive and required by the said Article 11 to be on the package, container or accompanying documents,

( b ) in any other case, such dilution as is appropriate.

(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Council Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the meaning in these Regulations that it has in that directive.

3. (1) Subject to paragraph (2) of this Regulation, these Regulations apply to the following products--

( a ) fruit juice, concentrated fruit juice, fruit nectar and dried fruit juice intended (after dilution or reconstitution where such is appropriate) for direct consumption.

( b ) concentrated fruit juice intended for use in the production of such fruit juice, such fruit nectar or such dried fruit juice.

( c ) fruit juice intended for use in the production of such concentrated fruit juice, such fruit nectar or such dried fruit juice.

(2) Nothing in these Regulations shall be construed as applying to any product which is either a dietary product or a product intended for export to a country or territory which is not a member of the European Economic Community.

4. A person shall not sell any food intended for human consumption as being fruit juice, concentrated fruit juice, fruit nectar or dried fruit juice unless the food is a product described in the definition of fruit juice, concentrated fruit juice, fruit nectar or dried fruit juice, as may be appropriate, contained in Article 1 of the Council Directive.

5. (1) Subject to Regulation 6 of these Regulations, a person shall not sell a product to which these Regulations apply unless the provisions of paragraph (3) of this Regulation and the following requirements are complied with in relation to it, namely:

( a ) it shall conform to the definitions laid down in the Council Directive (including the Annex thereto) and, subject to paragraph (2) of this Regulation, the rules so laid down, in so far as they apply, shall be complied with by or in relation to it, and

( b ) in case the sulphur dioxide content is greater than 10mg per litre, the words "contains preservative" or "contains permitted preservative" (or the equivalent in the Irish language) or a statement to the like effect shall be used on the package or container which contains the product, or on a label attached to such package or container, and such words or statement shall be indelible, readily legible and in distinctive characters of uniform colour and size.

(2) Where a product to which these Regulations apply is offered for sale in or from a vending machine, the labeling requirements of this Regulation shall be regarded as having been complied with if there is clearly and legibly used either--

( a ) on the package or container which contains the product, or

( b ) in a prominent position on the front of the machine and either on the machine itself or on a label attached to the machine, the description reserved for the product by Article 3 of the Council Directive or, in the case of a product obtained from two or more kinds of fruit, the description specified in Article 11 (1) (a) (ii) of that directive.

(3) Information required to be given by this Regulation, other than the particulars mentioned in subparagraph (d) or (f) of Article 11 (1) of the Council Directive, shall be in at least the Irish language or the English language.

6. (1) Subject to paragraph (2) of this Regulation, where--

( a ) in the production of fruit juice or concentrated fruit juice from apples, oranges, grapefruit, pineapples, grapes, lemons or limes, a substance mentioned in the first indent of Article 4 (2) (b) of the Council Directive, is used as a preservative; and

( b ) the proportion of the preservative contained in the juice, expressed as sulphur dioxide, does not exceed--

(i) in case the juice is produced from apples, oranges, grapefruit, grapes or pineapples, 50mg per litre,

(ii) in case the juice is produced from lemons or limes, 350mg per litre,

then these Regulations shall not be construed as prohibiting the sale for human consumption of the juice by reason only of the use of such substance.

(2) Paragraph (1) of this Regulation shall, in so far as it applies to the production of fruit juice or concentrated fruit juice from grapes, cease to have effect on and after the 20th day of November, 1979.

(3) Where--

( a ) (i) in the production of a fruit juice, concentrated fruit juice or fruit nectar mentioned in column (1) of the Schedule to these Regulations any acid, or where appropriate any one or more acids, specified in column (2) of that Schedule opposite the mention of such juice or nectar is or are added, and

(ii) the amount per litre of juice or nectar (after dilution if appropriate) of the added acid does not exceed the appropriate quantity specified in column (3) of that Schedule opposite such mention, or

( b ) (i) in the production of any such juice or nectar, any acid or acids so specified in the said column (2) opposite such mention together with citric acid is or are added (the addition of citric acid being in accordance with the Council Directive), and

(ii) the amount per litre of juice or nectar of the aggregate of the added acids does not exceed 100, when each amount of an added acid is expressed as a percentage of the amount specified in the said column (3) such as regards that acid,

then these Regulations shall not be construed as prohibiting the sale for human consumption of the juice or nectar by reason only of such addition.

(4) Where in the production of concentrated fruit juice there is used fruit juice which is--

( a ) fruit juice obtained otherwise than from grapes, citrus fruit, pineapples, pears, peaches or apricots, and

( b ) fruit juice in the production of which a diffusion process is employed,

these Regulations shall not be construed as prohibiting the sale of the concentrated fruit juice by reason only of such use.

(5) Where in the production from pineapples of fruit juice or concentrated fruit juice dimethylpolysiloxane is used as an anti-foaming agent and the amount (after dilution if appropriate) thereof per litre of juice does not exceed 10mg, these Regulations shall not be construed as prohibiting the sale of the juice by reason only of such use.

(6) Where in the production of fruit nectar obtained exclusively from fruit purée derived from peaches or pears, from concentrated fruit purée so derived or from a mixture of any two or more of such fruit purées and concentrated fruit purées, honey and sugar are added in a proportion not exceeding 20 per cent by weight of the finished product, the added sugar content being calculated as dry matter, these Regulations shall not be construed as prohibiting the sale of the nectar by reason only of such addition.

SCHEDULE

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 26th day of June, 1978.

DESMOND O'MALLEY,

Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The purpose of these Regulations, which come into operation on 19th November, 1978 is to give legal effect to Council Directive 75/726/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning fruit juices and certain similar products. The Council Directive lays down requirements in regard to the composition and labelling of fruit juices and fruit nectars. From 19th November, 1978 the sale of such products, which do not conform to the provisions of that Directive, is prohibited.

These Regulations are in addition to, and not in substitution for, the Health (Preservatives in Food) Regulations, 1973 ( S.I. No. 147 of 1973 ) and the Health (Antioxidant in Food) Regulations 1973 ( S.I. No. 148 of 1973 ).