The Bread and Flour Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2024

Made: 18th December 2024

Laid before the Scottish Parliament: 20th December 2024

Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1

The Scottish Ministers have had regard to relevant advice given by Food Standards Scotland in accordance with section 48(4A)[^f00003] of the Food Safety Act 1990.

Citation, commencement, interpretation and extent

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Bread and Flour Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2024.

• (2) These Regulations come into force in accordance with paragraphs (3) and (4).

• (3) The following regulations—

• (a) this regulation,

• (b) regulation 2(1), for the purpose of commencing the regulations mentioned in sub-paragraphs (c) and (d),

• (c) regulation 2(2),

• (d) regulation 2(3),

come into force on 3 February 2025.

• (4) The following regulations—

• (a) regulation 2(1), for the purpose of commencing the regulations mentioned in sub-paragraphs (b) and (c),

• (b) regulation 2(4),

• (c) regulation 2(5),

come into force on 13 December 2026.

• (5) In these Regulations, “the 1998 Regulations” means the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998[^f00004].

• (6) These Regulations extend to Scotland only.

Amendment of the 1998 Regulations

2

• (1) The 1998 Regulations are amended as follows.

• (2) In regulation 2(1) (interpretation)—

• (a) after the definition of “bread”, insert—

• “common wheat” means Triticum aestivum L.;

• (b) after the definition of “third country”, insert—

• “wholemeal flour” means flour consisting of the whole of the product obtained from the milling or grinding of cleaned cereals.

• (3) In regulation 4 (composition of flour)—

• (a) in paragraph (1)—

• (i) for “Subject to paragraph (2)”, substitute “Subject to paragraphs (1A) and (2)”,

• (ii) before “wheat” insert “common”,

• (b) after paragraph (1), insert—

(1A) The requirements specified in paragraph (1) do not apply in the case of— (a) wholemeal flour, (b) flour produced by a small mill. (1B) For the purposes of paragraph (1A), a “small mill” is a production site which has a maximum annual production capacity of 500 metric tonnes of flour, and has produced less than 500 metric tonnes of flour for each of the last three calendar years.

• (c) in paragraph (2), omit sub-paragraph (a),

• (d) for paragraph (3), substitute—

(3) The substances specified in items 2-4 of Schedule 1 must be added where such addition is necessary in accordance with the conditions prescribed in column 2 of that Schedule.

• (4) In regulation 7 (offences and penalties), at the end, insert—

(4) A person is to be considered not to have contravened or failed to comply with regulation 4(4) in the following circumstances— (a) the composition of the flour complies with regulation 4, as read with Schedules 1 and 2, of these Regulations, as these Regulations have effect, immediately prior to 13 December 2026, (b) the flour is placed on the market or labelled no later than 13 December 2026.

• (5) For schedule 1 (essential ingredients of flour), substitute the schedule of these Regulations.

SCHEDULE

Signed

JENNI MINTO — Authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers — 18th December 2024

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations amend the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1998/141) (“the 1998 Regulations”).

Regulation 2(2) inserts new definitions of “common wheat” and “wholemeal flour” in regulation 2(1) of the 1998 Regulations.

Regulation 2(3) amends regulation 4 of the 1998 Regulations concerning the composition of flour. Exemptions to the requirements of regulation 4(1) of the 1998 Regulations are provided for wholemeal flour and flour produced by a small mill. A definition of a small mill is inserted into regulation 4 of the 1998 Regulations.

Regulation 2(4) amends regulation 7 of the 1998 Regulations concerning offences and penalties to provide that transitional provision applies in certain specified circumstances.

Regulation 2(5) substitutes Schedule 1 of the 1998 Regulations, which makes provision concerning the essential ingredients of flour, with a new Schedule 1 as set out in these Regulations.

Regulation 2(2) and 2(3) of these Regulations come into force on 3rd February 2025. Regulation 2(4) and 2(5) of these Regulations, and new Schedule 1 of the 1998 Regulations, come into force on 13th December 2026.

A Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared for these Regulations and placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. A copy of this may be obtained from Food Standards Scotland, Pilgrim House, Old Ford Road, Aberdeen, AB11 5RL and online at www.legislation.gov.uk.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1990 c. 16. Section 16(1) and section 48(1) were amended by paragraph 8 of schedule 5 of the Food Standards Act 1999 (c. 28) (“the 1999 Act”). Amendments made by schedule 5 of the 1999 Act which extend to Scotland are to be taken as pre-commencement enactments for the purposes of the Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46) by virtue of section 40(2) of the 1999 Act. The functions conferred on the Secretary of State under sections 16(1)(e) and 48(1) of the 1990 Act, so far as within devolved competence were transferred to the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46).

[^f00002]: EUR 2002/178, to which there are amendments, but none are relevant to these Regulations.

[^f00003]: Section 48(6) was amended by paragraph 3 of the schedule of the 2015 Act, in its application to Scotland, so that references to the Food Standards Agency in section 48 are to be read as references to Food Standards Scotland. Section 48(4A) was inserted by paragraph 21 of schedule 5 of the 1999 Act.

[^f00004]: S.I. 1998/141 as relevantly amended by S.S.I. 2021/477.

[^f00005]: EUR 2012/231.

[^f00006]: The British Pharmacopoeia 1973 may be inspected at the University of Edinburgh, Main Library, George Square, Edinburgh.

[^f00007]: The British Pharmacopoeia 2023 may be inspected at Food Standards Scotland, Pilgrim House, Old Ford Road, Aberdeen.