proposals for regulation five of the Meat Products Regulations
2003
Regulation five of the Meat Products
Regulations (MPR) 2003 is currently estimated to cost business in
England around £11.2 million annually. As part of its policy to
reduce the administrative burden of regulation, the Food Standards
Agency (FSA) is consulting on proposals to reduce these costs.
Regulation five, which is a national
provision, contains an information obligation in relation to meat
products which have the appearance of a cut, joint, slice, portion
or carcase of meat or cured meat. Where these products contain
added water and/or other added ingredients (other than those listed
in Schedule three of the Regulations), these ingredients must
be declared in the name of the food. This is to ensure that
consumers are not misled.
The consultation document outlines four
potential options for which comments and observations are sought.
These are:
- do nothing
- removal of all of Regulation five and Schedule three
of the MPR
- retention of key provisions (for added water and animal
proteins) as part of an amendment of the MPR
- leave the legislation unchanged but issue revised and expanded
guidance on compliance
Even if the requirements of
Regulation five are removed, a business will still have to
ensure that the product is named in accordance with the Food
Labelling Regulations which provide that the name of the food has
to be sufficiently precise to inform a purchaser of the true nature
of the food and to enable the food to be distinguished from
products with which it could be confused. Furthermore under the
Food Safety Act 1990, the General Food Law Regulation and the
Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 it is an
offence to sell a food with a misleading description.
