European Communities (Marketing Standards For Eggs) Regulations, 2009

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 140/2009
• Year: 2009

S.I. No. 140 of 2009

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (MARKETING STANDARDS FOR EGGS) REGULATIONS 2009

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 17th April, 2009.

I, BRENDAN SMITH, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries 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 Regulation (EC) No. 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 1 as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No. 361/2008 of 14 April 2008 2 in as far as it concerns eggs and to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 589/2008 of 23 June 2008 3 as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 598/2008 of 24 June 2008 4 , hereby make the following regulations:

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Marketing Standards for Eggs) Regulations 2009.

Interpretation

2. (1) In these Regulations—

“authorised officer” means—

(a) a person appointed under Regulation 5, or

(b) a person who, immediately before the making of these Regulations, was an authorised officer within the meaning of the European Communities (Marketing Standards for Eggs) Regulations 2007 ( S.I. No. 810 of 2007 );

‘Commission Regulation’ means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 589/2008 of 23 June 2008 as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 598/2008 of 24 June 2008;

‘Council Regulation’ means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1234/2008 of 22 October 2007 as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No. 361/2008 of 14 April 2008;

“Minister” means Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;

“premises” includes land, buildings, vehicle, wagon, aircraft and vessel.

(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Council Regulation or the Commission Regulation has the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Council Regulation or in the Commission Regulation.

(3) These Regulations do not apply to eggs sold directly by a producer to the final consumer in accordance with part A.I.2 of Annex XIV of the Council Regulation provided that, if the producer has a flock of more than 50 hens, the eggs are marked with the producer code or, if the producer has a flock of up to 50 hens, the name and address of the producer are indicated at the point of sale.

Compliance with Regulations

3. (1) A person shall not market eggs to which the Council Regulation or the Commission Regulation apply unless they comply with all the requirements of those Regulations applicable to them and they are marketed in compliance with those Regulations.

(2) A person shall not operate a packing centre unless the centre is authorised for the purposes of Article 5(2) of the Commission Regulation.

(3) A person shall not grade, pack or label eggs except in an authorised packing centre.

(4) A person shall not collect eggs unless he or she is registered as a collector under the European Communities (Food and Feed Hygiene) Regulations 2005 ( S.I. No. 910 of 2005 ).

(5) A person shall not market eggs unless the eggs have been produced in an establishment that is registered in the register maintained pursuant to Regulation 10 of the European Communities (Welfare of Farmed Animals) Regulations 2008 ( S.I. No. 14 of 2008 ).

(6) A person shall not market eggs described or labelled as “free range” or “barn” or that bear an indication of how the laying hens are fed unless the eggs have been produced under and in accordance with an approval under Regulation 4.

(7) A person shall not market Class B eggs unless they are marked with the producer code and with one of the indications described in Article 10 of the Commission Regulation unless such eggs are being marketed exclusively within the State.

Authorisations and approvals

4. (1) The Minister may authorise a packing centre if the Minister is satisfied that it has premises and technical equipment that are suitable for the purposes of the Council Regulation and the Commission Regulation.

(2) The Minister may enter the name and address of a person on the register of authorised packing centres and on the register of approved free range producers, barn producers or producers of eggs that bear an indication of how the hens were fed, refuse an application or revoke an entry in the register.

(3) An application for authorisation shall be made in a form, be accompanied by any material and contain any particulars that the Minister specifies.

(4) The Minister shall not consider an application if the application does not contain all the material and particulars sought by the Minister.

(5) The Minister may attach conditions to an authorisation, revoke or vary a condition or attach a new condition.

(6) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (2) the Minister may refuse an application or revoke an authorisation if—

(a) he or she is satisfied that the applicant or registered person has failed to comply with a condition of authorisation,

(b) an application or authorisation relates to a packing centre that is not approved under the European Communities (Food and Feed Hygiene) Regulations 2005,

(c) the Council Regulation, the Commission Regulation or these Regulations has not been complied with,

(d) the applicant or registered person is not, in the opinion of the Minister, a fit and proper person to be authorised, or

(e) in relation to paragraph (3), information required has not been furnished or information that is, in the opinion of the Minister, false or misleading in a material particular has been furnished.

(7) If the Minister proposes to revoke an authorisation or to refuse an application he or she shall—

(a) notify the holder of the authorisation in writing of the proposal and of the reasons for the proposal and that he or she may make representations to the Minister in relation to the proposal within 14 days of the date of the notification,

(b) consider representations made before deciding whether to proceed with, modify or annul the proposal, and

(c) notify the person in writing of the decision and the reasons for the decision.

(8) A person to whom an authorisation is granted shall make such returns to the Minister as and when, and in a form that, the Minister may specify.

Authorised officers

5. (1) The Minister may, by instrument in writing, appoint such and so many persons as he or she thinks fit to be authorised officers for the purposes of some or all of these Regulations.

(2) The Minister may terminate the appointment of an authorised officer appointed by him or her, whether or not the appointment was for a fixed period.

(3) An appointment as an authorised officer ceases—

(a) if it is terminated pursuant to paragraph (2),

(b) if it is for a fixed period, on the expiry of that period, or

(c) if the person appointed is an officer of the Minister, upon the person ceasing to be such an officer.

(4) Nothing in paragraph (3) is to construed so as to prevent the Minister from reappointing as an authorised officer a person to whom that paragraph applies.

(5) An officer of the Minister shall furnish an authorised officer with a warrant of appointment as an authorised officer and when exercising any power conferred on him or her by these Regulations such officer shall, if requested by a person affected, produce the warrant to that person.

Functions of authorised officer

6. (1) If an authorised officer has reasonable cause to suspect that—

(a) eggs are being marketed, produced, stored, packed, graded, marked, handled, imported or exported on a premises,

(b) an application for an authorisation under Regulation 4 has been or should be made in respect of the premises, or

(c) a document, label or packaging relating to eggs is present, was present or may be present on a premises, the authorised officer may enter the premises and he or she may—

(i) search the premises,

(ii) stop a person, vehicle, vessel or container,

(iii) board and search a vehicle, vessel or container,

(iv) examine eggs, vehicle, vessel, container or other thing that may be used in connection with eggs,

(v) take, without payment, samples of eggs, feed or other thing or an article, substance or liquid as he or she may reasonably require and carry out or cause to be carried out on a sample such tests, analyses, examinations or inspections as he or she considers necessary or expedient,

(vi) require the production of a document or thing relating to eggs, feed, vehicle, vessel, container, premises or other thing,

(vii) retain a document or thing (for so long as is necessary),

(viii) give a direction to, or request information of, a person regarding eggs, feed, vessel, vehicle, container, premises or other thing as he or she considers necessary,

(ix) require the name and address of a person and the name and address of any other relevant person,

(x) require of a person the ownership, identity and origin of eggs, or

(xi) mark or otherwise identify eggs or a sample taken under subparagraph (v).

(2) If an authorised officer has reasonable cause to suspect that—

(a) an offence is being or has been committed under these Regulations, or

(b) evidence of an offence is or has been on a premises—

the authorised officer may, in addition to the powers exercisable by him or her under paragraph (1)—

(i) search a person, where the authorised officer considers it necessary,

(ii) seize and detain eggs, labels, packaging, document or other thing that he or she believes to be evidence of an offence, or

(iii) deal with or...