UK Offence Report

The Bread and Flour (Wales) Regulations 2025

Welsh Statutory Instrument 2025 No. 88 — creates 1 criminal offence.

1offences created
0recorded in force
0revoked
Made
27 January 2025
In force from
Not determined
Extent
Not stated
Subject
Food, consumer protection, trading standards, product safety and age-restricted sales
Made under
(EC) No. 178/2002, Agency as required by section 48(4A) of the Food Safety Act 1990, Food Safety Act 1990

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — published with the instrument by the department that made it. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

These Regulations make provision in relation to bread and flour that is to be sold in, or imported or moved into, Wales. These Regulations revoke and replace (with amendments) the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1998/141) insofar as those regulations apply in relation to Wales. Regulation 3 and Schedules 1 to 3 make provision in relation to essential ingredients for flour derived from common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), whether or not mixed with other flour. Regulation 3(2) and (3) prohibits the sale by persons producing flour in the course of a business, and the import or movement into Wales by persons acting in the course of a business and subsequent sale by them, of flour derived from common wheat that does not comply with the mandatory fortification requirements. The mandatory fortification requirements for flour derived from common wheat are prescribed by regulation 3(4), and Schedules 1 to 3. Schedule 1, paragraph 1, provides that flour derived from common wheat must be fortified with specified amounts of the prescribed forms of calcium carbonate and folic acid. There are specific and limited exceptions to the calcium carbonate fortification requirement. The folic acid fortification requirement applies from 13 December 2026. Schedule 1, paragraph 2(1), provides that flour derived from common wheat must contain minimum levels of iron, niacin and thiamin. Paragraph 2(2) makes provision in relation to the addition of prescribed forms of those substances where fortification is required to meet the minimum levels. Schedule 2 contains the specification for the permitted form of calcium carbonate. Schedule 3 contains the specification for one of the permitted forms of iron (iron powder). Specific exemptions from the mandatory fortification requirements for wholemeal flour, flour produced by small mills, and flour for use in certain specified products, are set out in regulation 3(5). See also regulations 6 and 7 for applicable general exemptions. Regulation 4 prohibits the use (by any person) of flour bleaching agents as food additives in the preparation of bread or flour (subject to the general exemptions in regulations 6 and 7). Regulation 5 imposes requirements on the use, as part of the name of bread (in the sale, advertising or labelling of the bread), of the terms “wholemeal” and “gwenith cyflawn”, “wheat germ” and “bywyn gwenith”, and equivalents to those terms in other languages (subject to the general exemptions in regulations 6 and 7). Regulations 6 and 7 contain general exemptions from regulations 3 to 5 for bread and flour produced for the following exempted uses— bread or flour that is not for human consumption; bread or flour that is for export to a third country, or for use in the production of food that is for export to a third country. Regulation 8 prohibits the use, by businesses in the production of food, of bread and flour that is exempted by regulations 3(5)(c), 3(5)(d), 6 or 7 other than for the exempted uses. Regulation 9 specifies that food authorities in Wales are responsible for the enforcement of the Regulations in their areas. Regulation 10 makes provision for authorised officers of the food authorities to use improvement notices to enforce the requirements of the Regulations. Regulation 11 provides that a failure to comply with an improvement notice is a criminal offence. Regulation 12 provides for appeal to a magistrates’ court against an improvement notice. Regulation 13 applies (with modifications) the following provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990 to these Regulations— section 3 – the presumption that food is intended for human consumption; section 20, to enable proceedings for an offence under regulation 11 to be taken against a person other than the person who has failed to comply with an improvement notice, where the failure to comply is due to the act or default of that other person; section 21(1) and (5), to provide for a defence of due diligence; section 30(8), to provide for certificates as to the results of analysis of a sample to be accepted, in enforcement proceedings under these Regulations, as evidence of the facts stated in the certificate; sections 33 and 35(1) and (2), to make it an offence to intentionally obstruct persons acting in execution of these Regulations, or to fail to give such persons assistance or information when reasonably required to do so, or to give false or misleading information; sections 36 and 36A, as to how the offences apply to bodies corporate etc; section 44, to provide protection for authorised officers of food authorities acting in good faith in the enforcement of these Regulations; section 50, to apply requirements as to proper issuing of an improvement notice, and the date on which a notice is issued where that notice has been issued by post. Regulation 14 revokes, in relation to Wales, the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998. Regulation 15 makes transitional provision that has effect until the end of 12 December 2026, to enable flour to continue to be produced and placed on the market in Wales during the transitional period, in compliance with any of the fortification requirements of the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 as they applied immediately before these Regulations came into force. Regulation 16 makes further transitional provision that takes effect from 13 December 2026 – the date that the folic acid fortification requirement comes into force. The provision enables stocks of bread and flour lawfully placed on the market or labelled before that date to continue to be marketed until the stocks are exhausted. The British Pharmacopeia 1973 and 2023, referred to in Schedule 1, may, for 1973, be inspected at the British Library Lending Division Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, L23 7BQ Tel 01937 546 060 and, for 2023, at shelfmark (B) 615.1141 in the Science 3 Reading Room, British Library, St Pancras site, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB. Further information, including in relation to documentation referenced in these Regulations, can be obtained from the Food Standards Agency in Wales, 4th Floor, Welsh Government Building, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ or by writing to regulated.products.wales@food.gov.uk. The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, a regulatory impact assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations. A copy can be obtained from the Food Standards Agency in Wales (see above).

Offences created by this instrument

What Parliament said about it

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