FSA Consultation letter, 19 September 2002

LABELLING / COMPOSITIONAL STANDARDS - The Meat Products (England) Regulations 2003

In November 2001, the European Community agreed Commission Directive 2001/101, to introduce a Europe-wide definition of 'meat'; for labelling purposes. The new definition is narrower than the current definition provided by the Meat Products and Spreadable Fish Products Regulations 1984 (MPSFPR), and is thought to match more closely the consumer's perception of meat.

This and other changes in EU food labelling law mean that a revision of the UK regulations is necessary.

The Agency has, therefore, prepared the various documents on which comments would be appreciated.

The Meat Products (England) Regulations 2003

The new Meat Products Regulations (MPR) retain as many of the consumer protection measures of the MPSFPR, while bringing the national provisions into line with recent European legislation on labelling and relating to the new EC definition of meat.

The new Regulations will apply in England only. Separate but equivalent legislation will also be made by Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland who will be holding separate consultation exercises on those Regulations.

What are the provisions of the new Regulations?

The new MPR carry forward most of the compositional requirements of the MPSFPR. In summary, the new Regulations will:

• Continue to prohibit the use of certain offals in uncooked meat products;
• Continue the requirement to provide meat content information to consumers on loose, non-prepacked meat products including those sold by butchers, delicatessens, etc. The meat content declaration will now be given in line with QUID requirements. As is currently the case, foods sold in catering establishments are not required to provide a meat content declaration;
  
• Maintain the reserved descriptions for the most important meat products such as burgers, sausages, pies, corned meats, luncheon meat, etc. The required minimum meat content for each reserved description is now based on the new European definition of meat. In the majority of cases, the minimum required meat content for each reserved description is numerically lower than in the MPSFPR. This is because the minima have been adjusted to take account of the stricter limits for fat in the European definition. However, the new minima require an equivalent amount of lean meat content to be present in the various products;
  
• Maintain, but simplify, the requirements to declare added water and certain other ingredients in the name of the food for meat products having the appearance of a cut, joint or slice of meat. There will no longer be a requirement to quantify the amount of added water in the name of the food because this information will be provided by the general provisions of QUID on meat content. Existing provisions which exempt the mention of certain ingredients in the name of the food will continue, but full information will be given in the list of ingredients in line with general labelling requirements; and,
  Modify an existing provision so that any animal ingredient used, which is different from the species of the meat ingredients used to make up the cut, joint, slice etc, is now required to be declared in the name of the food. This will address the recent issue of informing consumers about the presence of pork and/or beef proteins in chicken breast, for example.

Guidance Notes

The Agency has produced the attached Guidance Notes which provide practical advice for businesses and enforcement bodies, with the aim of achieving consistent application and enforcement of the new provisions. The Guidance Notes describe how meat products should be labelled under the new provisions (including the provision of QUID declarations) and explain the compositional requirements of the new MPR.

The Guidance also includes two methods for calculating the declarable meat content of products, as well as determining any excess fat or connective tissue. These methods enable manufacturers to base their calculations either on established typical values for fat and connective tissue, using the accepted visual lean system; or on analytical values for the ingredients used in the recipe.

It is important to note that the Guidance Notes are non-statutory, providing advice on best practice and should be read in conjunction with the relevant legislation. They should not be taken as an authoritative statement or interpretation of the law as only the Courts have this power.