UK Offence Report

Condemnation of food containing mineral hydrocarbon

regulation 5 of The Mineral Hydrocarbons in Food Regulations 1966

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

5 Where any food is certified by

a public analyst as being food in the composition or preparation of which any mineral hydrocarbon has been used which it is an offence against the foregoing provisions of these regulations to use, permit to be used, sell, consign or deliver, or import into England and Wales, that food may be treated for the purposes of section

9 of the Act (under which food may be seized and destroyed on the order of

a justice of the peace) as being unfit for human consumption.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
selling or supplying something the instrument restricts
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that a person meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

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

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision.

What would breach regulation 5?

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. Selling the goods under the Mineral Hydrocarbons in Food Regulations 1966 where the instrument prohibits the sale outright.
  2. Supplying without carrying out a check the instrument requires first, even where the sale would otherwise be lawful.
  3. Offering for sale counts as well as selling: displaying stock is enough where the provision reaches an offer.

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
12 August 1966
In force from
27 August 1966
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, which supersede the Mineral Hydrocarbons in Food Regulations 1964, apply to England and Wales only, and come into operation on 27th August 1966. The regulations prohibit (subject to certain exemptions relating to dried fruit, citrus fruit, sugar confectionery, food of which dried fruit, citrus fruit or sugar confectionery is an ingredient, lubricants, the rind of pressed cheese, and eggs) the use of any mineral hydrocarbon in the composition or preparation of food, the sale of food containing any mineral hydrocarbon, and the consignment, delivery or importation of any food containing any mineral hydrocarbon (regulation 4). The regulations do not apply to any food intended for exportation to any place outside the United Kingdom (regulation 3). The regulations lay down revised specifications for mineral hydrocarbons the use of which is regulated in relation to the permitted exemptions, including a test for limits of content of certain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (regulation 3(2) and Schedule). The regulations also make provision for the following:— the condemnation of food containing mineral hydrocarbons in contravention of the regulations (regulation 5); penalties for infringement of the regulations (regulation 6); enforcement by food and drugs authorities or (as regards the provisions of regulations 4 and 5 in so far as they relate to importation) by port health authorities (regulation 7); and application of certain sections of the Food and Drugs Act 1955) relating to legal proceedings (regulation 8).

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

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 0.90.

Basis
the provision says “it is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.90 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