STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS.

S.I. No. 179 of 1999.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (PESTICIDE RESIDUES) (PRODUCTS OF PLANT ORIGIN, INCLUDING FRUIT AND VEGETABLES) REGULATIONS, 1999.

S.I. No. 179 of 1999.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (PESTICIDE RESIDUES) (PRODUCTS OF PLANT ORIGIN, INCLUDING FRUIT AND VEGETABLES) REGULATIONS, 1999.

I, JOE WALSH, Minister for Agriculture and Food, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 ( No. 27 of 1972 ), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive 90/642/EEC of 27 November 1990 ¹ as amended by Council Directive 93/58/EEC of 29 June 1993² and the corrigenda to Council Directive 93/58/EEC³ , Council Directive 94/30/EC of 23 June 1994⁴ , Council Directive 95/38/EC of 17 July 1995⁵ and the corrigenda to Council Directive 95/38/EC⁶ , Council Directive 95/61/EC of 29 November 1995⁷ , Council Directive 96/32/EC of 21 May 1996⁸ , Council Directive 97/41/EC of 25 June 1997⁹ , Commission Directive 97/71/EC of 15 December 1997¹⁰ and Commission Directive 98/82/EC of 27 October 1998¹¹ , hereby make the following Regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Pesticide Residues) (Products of Plant Origin, including Fruit and Vegetables) Regulations, 1999.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of August 1999.

2. (1) In these Regulations

“authorised officer” means an officer of the Minister authorised in writing by the Minister for the purposes of these Regulations;

“controlled products” means the portion of the products of plant origin, including fruit and vegetables, listed in the third column of Annex I, the products obtained from those products after drying or processing and the composite foods in which they are included;

“designated analyst” means an appropriately qualified officer of the Minister who is authorised in writing by the Minister for the purposes of these Regulations;

“the Directive” means Council Directive 90/642/EEC of 27 November 1990 ¹ , as amended by Council Directive 93/58/EEC of 29 June 1993² and the corrigenda to Council Directive 93/58/EEC³ , Council Directive 94/30/EC of 23 June 1994⁴ , Council Directive 95/38/EC of 17 July 1995⁵ and the corrigenda to Council Directive 95/38/EC⁶ , Council Directive 95/61/EC of 29 November 1995⁷ , Council Directive 96/32/EC of 21 May 1996⁸ , Council Directive 97/41/EC of 25 June 1997⁹ , Commission Directive 97/71/EC of 15 December 1997¹⁰ ; and Commission Directive 98/82/EC of 27 October 1998¹¹ ;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Agriculture and Food;

“Annex I” (which is set out in Part 1 of the First Schedule) means Annex I to Directive 90/642/EEC as inserted by Directive 93/58/EEC;

“Annex II” (which is set out in Part 2 of the First Schedule) means Annex II to Directive 90/642/EEC as inserted by Directive 93/58/EEC, amended by Directive 94/30/EC, by Directive 95/38/EC, by Directive 95/61/EC, by Directive 96/32/EC, by Directive 97/41/EC, by Directive 97/71/EC and by Directive 98/82/EC;

“pesticide residues” means residues of pesticides and of their metabolites and breakdown or reaction products as defined in Annex II which are present in or on the products listed in column 2 of Annex I or the parts of products described in column 3 opposite reference to such products in column 2, within the groups specified in column 1;

“putting into circulation” means any post-harvest handing over, whether or not for a consideration;

“the State Chemist” means the head of the State Laboratory or persons authorised in writing by the State Chemist to perform the functions assigned to the State Chemist under Regulation 10.

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

(3) In these Regulations, unless otherwise indicated--

(a) a reference to a Regulation is to a Regulation of these Regulations,

(b) a reference to a Schedule is to a Schedule to these Regulations,

(c) a reference to a paragraph is to the paragraph of the Regulation in which the reference occurs.

3. (1) These Regulations shall apply to products within the groups specified in Column 1 of Annex I, examples of which are given in Column 2 of Annex I, insofar as products in these groups, or parts of product described in Column 3 of Annex I, may contain certain pesticide residues. These Regulations shall also apply to the same products after drying or processing or after inclusion in a composite food in so far as they may contain certain pesticide residues.

(2) These Regulations shall apply without prejudice to the operation of the European Communities (Detailed Provisions on the Control of Additives, other than Colours and Sweeteners, for use in Foodstuffs) Regulations, 1997 -- S.I. No. 128 of 1997 ; the European Communities (Pesticide Residues) (Feedingstuffs) Regulations, 1992 -- S.I. No. 40 of 1992 ; the European Communities (Feedingstuffs) (Tolerances of Undesirable Substances and Products) Regulations, 1998 -- S.I. 283 of 1998; the European Communities (Pesticide Residues) (Fruit and Vegetables) Regulations, 1989 -- 1998 -- S.I. No. 105 of 1989 , S.I. No. 218 of 1997 and S.I. No. 563 of 1998 ; the European Communities (Pesticide Residues) (Cereals) Regulations, 1999; the European Communities (Infant Formulae and Follow-on Formulae) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 243 of 1998 ) and the European Communities (Processed Cereal-Based Foods and Baby Foods for Infants and Young Children) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 241 of 1998 ).

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this Regulation, these Regulations shall not apply, as regards the maximum levels of pesticide residues prescribed in Annex II, to products which are being exported to a third country, and in respect of which it is shown to the satisfaction of the Minister that, either a particular treatment is specifically requested by the third country of destination in order to prevent the introduction of harmful organisms into its territory, or the treatment is necessary to protect the products against harmful organisms during transport to the third country of destination and storage there.

(4) These Regulations shall not apply to the products described in paragraph (1) of this Regulation, which are shown to the satisfaction of the Minister, to be intended either for the manufacture of products other than foodstuffs and animal feeds, or for sowing or planting.

4. (1) A person shall not put into circulation any controlled product if--

(a) the product contains within it or on it a pesticide residue, and

(b) the level of such pesticide residue, found in a representative sample taken in accordance with Regulation 5(1)(c)(ii), exceeds the maximum specified in relation to the controlled product in the second column of Annex II opposite the mention of such pesticide residue in the first column of the said Annex II.

(1A) In the case of dried and processed products, produced from products to which these Regulations apply, the maximum level of pesticide residue present shall be the level specified in Annex II adjusted to take account of the residue concentration caused by the drying process or the residue concentration or residue dilution resulting from processing; and

(1B) In the case of composite products, which contain products to which these Regulations apply and which have been incorporated into the composite products, the maximum levels of pesticide residue present shall be the levels specified in Annex II adjusted to take account of the dilution or concentration of the pesticide residue in the agricultural products resulting from incorporation in the composite food.

(2) A person who contravenes the provisions of paragraphs (1), (1A) and (1B) of this Regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both.

5. (1) Subject to paragraph (3), an authorised officer may at any reasonable time enter--

(a) any place or premises including farms in which he or she has reasonable grounds for believing that a controlled product is being produced, put into circulation, processed, stored or used, or

(b) any railway wagon, vehicle, ship, vessel, aircraft, container or other thing in which he or she has reasonable grounds for believing that such a product is being transported, stored or used, or

(c) any premises in which he or she has reasonable grounds for believing that there are any books, documents or records, relating to any business whose activities consist of or include the putting into circulation, processing or storage of any controlled product,

and there or at any other place as he or she may consider appropriate--

(i) make such examinations, tests and inspections, and

(ii) take samples in accordance with the methods described in the Annex to Commission Directive 79/700/EEC of 24 July 1979¹² or the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme, Codex Alimentarius Commission, Recommended method of sampling for the determination of Pesticide Residues (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations CAC/PR5 1984), where relevant; and in accordance with other internationally accepted procedures in other cases, of any product which he or she finds in the course of his or her inspection and which he or she believes is or may be products to which these Regulations apply.

(2) A person who has in any place or land or on any premises or in any railway wagon, vehicle, ship, vessel, aircraft, container or other thing, a controlled product, shall at all reasonable times--

(a) afford to an authorised officer such facilities and assistance as are reasonably necessary for an inspection and taking of samples pursuant to this Regulation;

(b) give an authorised officer any information which he or she may reasonably require regarding the purchase, importation, processing, production, sale or use of any such product and which is within the person's knowledge or procurement, and

(c) produce to an authorised officer any document relating to any such product which the authorised officer may reasonably require and when produced, permit the officer to inspect and take extracts from or copy such document.

(3) Where a sample is taken in accordance with the methods referred to in Regulation 5(1)(c)(ii), the authorised officer shall--

(a) divide the sample into three parts, each of which he or she shall seal and mark,

(b) give one part thereof to a designated analyst for analysis under paragraph (4),

(c) leave with, or send by registered post to the defendant or his or her agent, a second part thereof, and

(d) gives the third part of the sample to the State Chemist for analysis under paragraph (4).

(4) Where a designated analyst or the State Chemist receives a sample from an authorised officer taken in pursuance of these Regulations he or she shall make analyses thereof using validated analytical methods.

(5) In any proceedings for an offence under these Regulations, evidence of the result of any analysis of, or any report on a sample taken pursuant to this Regulation, shall not be adduced unless it is proved that before the proceedings were instituted one of the parts into which the sample was duly divided was left with, or sent by registered post to, the defendant or his or her agent.

(6) (i) In any proceedings for an offence under these Regulations, a certificate in the form set out in the Second or Third Schedule showing the results of an analysis shall, until the contrary is shown, be sufficient evidence of the facts certified to therein in relation to the presence of any pesticide residues and the level of such pesticide residues within or on a controlled product, and a document purporting to be such a certificate shall be deemed, until the contrary is shown, to be such a certificate.

(ii) In any proceedings for an offence under these Regulations, each of the documents referred to in paragraph (1) (ii) and paragraph (4) may be proved by the production of a copy thereof.

(7) Any person who--

(a) fails to comply with a requirement of paragraph (2), or

(b) obstructs or interferes with an authorised officer in the course of exercising a power conferred on him or her by this Regulation

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or both.

(8) The Minister shall furnish an authorised officer with a certificate of his or her appointment, and when exercising any power conferred on him or her by these Regulations, the officer shall, if requested by a person affected, produce that certificate to that person.

(9) A designated analyst shall be furnished with a warrant of his or her appointment by the Minister to carry out analyses as required by these Regulations.

6. (1) An authorised officer may seize and retain or seize, remove and retain any controlled product in relation to which the officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting that there is or has been a failure to comply with these Regulations.

(2) An authorised officer who has seized any controlled product pursuant to this Regulation may by a notice in writing, given to the owner or to the person in apparent charge or control of the product, require either--

(a) specified things to be done in relation to the product before it is released by the officer, or

(b) the disposal of the product by the owner, or the person in apparent charge or control of the product, in a manner and within a time specified in the notice and at the expense of the owner, such disposal to be such as will prevent the product being used for human or animal consumption,

and in either case, the authorised officer shall retain control of the product to which the notice relates until the requirements of the notice have been complied with.

(3) Where there has been a failure to comply with a requirement of a notice given under paragraph (2) (b), an authorised officer who in pursuance of this Regulation has seized any product, may, on giving notice in writing to the owner, or to the person in apparent charge or control of such product of his intention to do so, apply to the District Court in the District Court district in which the notice has been served for an order directing that the product be disposed of (by destruction or otherwise) in a manner, specified in the order, that will prevent its being used for human or animal consumption.

(4) Where an application is made under paragraph (3) to the District Court for an order directing the disposal of a controlled product, the Court, if it is satisfied that--

(i) the controlled product to which the notice relates contains within it or on it a pesticide residue in excess of the maximum specified in relation to that product under these Regulations, or

(ii) if such product were released, it might be put into circulation contrary to Regulation 4, or

(iii) such product if consumed would constitute a danger to human or animal health.

shall order that the product be disposed of (by destruction or otherwise) in a manner, specified in the order, that will prevent its being used for human or animal consumption.

(5) Where an order is made by the District Court under paragraph (4), the order may provide that the product to which it relates shall be disposed of in the manner specified in the notice given under paragraph (2)(b), or in such other manner as may be specified in the Court's order and which, in the opinion of the Court, will prevent the product being used for human or animal consumption.

(6) Where an order made by the District Court under paragraph (4), requires that a product to which it relates be disposed of by an authorised officer, the cost of disposing of the relevant product pursuant to and in accordance with the order, shall be recoverable by the Minister as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction from the person who was either the owner, or in apparent charge or control of the product, at the time it was seized.

(7) Any person who obstructs or interferes with an authorised officer in the course of exercising a power conferred on him under this Regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or both.

7. (1) Where a product is seized pursuant to Regulation 6(1), a person shall not tamper with, or without the permission of an authorised officer, move, dispose of or otherwise interfere in any way with the product.

(2) A person who contravenes paragraph (1) of this Regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or both.

8. If any person fraudulently --

(a) tampers with anything so as to procure that any sample taken pursuant to these Regulations does not correctly represent the product sampled, or

(b) tampers or interferes with any sample taken under these Regulations,

he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or imprisionment for a term not exceeding twelve months or both.

9. (1) An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Minister.

(2) Where an offence under these Regulations is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, the director, manager, secretary or other officer or any person purporting to act in such capacity shall, as well as the body corporate, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

10. (1) Where an appeal is made to the District Court concerning the results of an analysis made by a designated analyst under Regulation 5 (4), the results of the sample analysed by the State Chemist (Section 5 (4)) shall be considered by the Court to be the referee sample.

(2) The State Chemist shall in making an analysis under this Regulation issue a certificate in the form set out in the Third Schedule to the defendant and to the designated analyst concerned.

11. (1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2), the Minister may from time to time establish the maximum levels of pesticide residues which may be contained in and on specified controlled products brought into the territory of the State from a Member State of origin.

(2) Maximum levels of pesticide residue shall not be established under the provisions of paragraph (1) where harmonised pesticide residue levels have already been established by the European Community--

(a) pursuant to the procedures provided in the Directive, or

(b) in accordance with Article 4(1)(f) of Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991¹³ concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market.

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this Regulation, such levels established shall not apply to controlled products brought into the territory of the State from a Member State of origin and, which are shown to the satisfaction of the Minister to be in transit to another Member State of the European Communities or a third country.

(4) In this Regulation--

“Member State of origin” means a Member State of the European Communities in whose territory a controlled product is either legally produced and marketed or put into free circulation.

12. The following Regulations are hereby revoked:--

(i) the European Communities (Pesticide Residues) (Products of Plant Origin, including Fruit and Vegetables) Regulations, 1997 ( S.I. No. 221 of 1997 );

(ii) the European Communities (Pesticide Residues) (Products of Plant Origin, including Fruit and Vegetables) (Amendment) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 71 of 1998 );

and

(iii) the European Communities (Pesticide Residues) (Products of Plant Origin, including Fruit and Vegetables) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 564 of 1998 ).

FIRST SCHEDULE

Part 1 Annex i

List of products and the portion of the products to which the maximum residue levels apply

Note: The word “fresh” is taken to extend to products which have been chilled or frozen and in the case of dried fruit and vegetables for which maximum levels are not fixed, the maximum level applicable will be that laid down in the Directives taking into account the residue concentration caused by the drying process.

Part 2 Annex II

Pesticide residues and maximum residue levels (mg/kg)

(a) (b) (c) (d) Should levels not be adopted by 1 July 2000 for aldicarb and amitraz, the following maximum levels shall apply as indicated thereafter:

(a) 0.01^*

(b) 0.02^*

(c) 0.05^*

(d) 0.1^*

Pesticide residues and maximum residue levels (mg/kg)

(a) (b) (c) (d) Should levels not be adopted by 30 June 1999 for benfurocarb and benalaxyl, the following maximum levels shall apply as indicated thereafter:

(a) 0.01^*

(b) 0.02^*

(c) 0.05^*

(d) 0.1^*

Pesticide residues and maximum residue levels (mg/kg)