Food Law News - UK - 1999

21 January 1999: MILK - Draft Dairy Products (Hygiene) Regulations 1999


JFSSG Letter, 21 January 1999

Draft Dairy Products (Hygiene) Regulations 1999

The letter is a consultation concerning draft regulations to update amend and consolidate the Dairy Products (Hygiene) Regulations 1995, as amended The 1995 Regulations implement Directive 92/46/EEC on milk hygiene in England and Wales.

The regulations cover the production and placing on the market of raw milk heat-treated milk and milk-based products-from the milk of cows sheep goats and buffaloes Provisions in the earlier regulations will remain largely unchanged The proposed new provisions include:

More detail about the proposed amendments is contained in a Regulatory Impact Assessment and revised drafts of a statutory Code of Practice (No 18) and Guidance to Enforcement Officers. Comments are also specifically requested on these documents. Food authorities should note that the Code of Practice No 18 will also be reviewed as pail of the general exercise to consolidate Food Safety Act Codes of Practice when the Food Standards exercise is established.

Regulation 20 of the draft regulations lays down certain controls on imported milk and milk-based products from third countries that are essentially unchanged from those in the Dairy Products (Hygiene) Regulations 1995. However, certain of these provisions have been overtaken by harmonised EC rules that are currently applied by port health authorities administratively, and which will be implemented by Dairy Products (Import Conditions) Regulations as soon as possible. Public consultation on these draft import regulations will take place before they come into force

Regulation (EC) 2597/97 sets new freezing point controls for cows drinking milk from 1 January 1999, and the requirements for the checking of added water in raw milk and heat-treated drinking milk under the Dairy Products (Hygiene) Regulations 1999 are being adjusted accordingly. Regulation 2597/97 is enforced by the Drinking Milk Regulations 1998. Separate guidance about developments on the new EC controls on the freezing point controls applying to cows' drinking milk can be obtained from MAFF

The policy as regards the sale of raw cows' drinking milk has been under review and the Minister announced the outcome in reply to a written Parliamentary Question on 20 January 1999. The MAFF Press Release 23/99 of the same day also refers. The legislative changes required as a result of the review will be subject to separate public consultation.


To go to current UK Food Law News page,
click here.
To go to main Food Law Index page, click here.