UK Offence Report

Application of various provisions of the Act

regulation 5(2) of The Novel Foods (Scotland) Regulations 2017

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

2 The authorised officer may either—

a give notice to the person in charge of the novel food that, until the notice is withdrawn, the novel food—

i is not to be used for human consumption; and

ii either is not to be removed or is not to be removed except to some place specified in the notice; or

b seize the novel food and remove it in order to have it dealt with by

a sheriff; and any person who knowingly contravenes the requirements of

a notice under paragraph (a) above is guilty of an offence.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
contravening a requirement of the instrument
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (knowingly).

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: knowingly.

What would breach regulation 5(2)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. On these words an offence is committed where a person knowingly contravenes the requirements of a notice under paragraph (a) above.
  2. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Novel Foods (Scotland) Regulations 2017, whatever the reason for doing it.
  3. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
23 November 2017
In force from
1 January 2018
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations provide for the enforcement and execution of certain specified provisions of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EC) 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulation (EC) 1852/2001. Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 revises the requirements for placing novel foods on the market. The requirements have been updated in accordance with technical and scientific progress and include an updated definition of what constitutes a “novel food” and the European Commission will establish a European Union list of approved novel foods. Food business operators must verify that the food they intend to put on the market falls within the scope of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 and, where they are unsure, they are under an obligation to consult the Member State where they first intend to place the food on the market. Regulation 3 makes food authorities responsible for the enforcement of these Regulations. Regulation 4 provides for offences and penalties. Regulation 5 applies specified provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990 (1990 c.16) (with modifications) to these Regulations. Regulation 6 revokes the Novel Foods and Novel Food Ingredients Regulations 1997 (S.I. 1997/1335) and the Novel Foods and Novel Food Ingredients (Fees) Regulations 1997 (S.I. 1997/1336) in relation to Scotland. A full business and regulatory impact assessment of the effect these Regulations will have on the costs for the business sector has been prepared and placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Copies may be obtained from Food Standards Scotland, Pilgrim House, Old Ford Road, Aberdeen, AB11 5RL.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”
Confidence
0.92 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source