UK Offence Report

Offences and enforcement

regulation 28(1) of The Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula (Wales) Regulations 2007

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

1 If any person contravenes or fails to comply with regulation 3, 4, 13, 21(1), 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 or 27 he or she will be guilty of an offence and will be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceedingly level 5 on the standard scale.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
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 28(1)?

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. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula (Wales) Regulations 2007, whatever the reason for doing it.
  2. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
Unlimited
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

level 5 is unlimited in England and Wales for offences committed on or after 12 March 2015 (LASPO 2012 s.85, S.I. 2015/664).

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
18 December 2007
In force from
Not determined
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 apply in relation to Wales, give effect to Commission Directive 2006/141/EC on infant formula and follow-on formula and amending Directive 1999/21/EC (OJ No. L401, 20.12.2006, p.1) and Council Directive 92/52/EEC on infant formulae and follow-on formulae intended for export to third countries (OJ No. L179, 1.7.1992, p.129). These Regulations make provision for a purpose mentioned in section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 (1972 c. 68) and references to Annex to Directive 2006/141/EC are to be construed as references to that Annex as amended from time to time (regulation 2(6)). These Regulations— prohibit marketing of infant formula and follow-on formula which contravenes or fails to comply with specified regulations (regulation 3); prohibit marketing or otherwise representing a product as suitable for satisfying by itself the nutritional requirements of normal healthy infants during the first months of life until the introduction of appropriate complementary feeding unless that product is infant formula (regulation 4); provide that infant formula and follow-on formula must not contain any substance in such quantity as to endanger the health of infants and young children (regulation 5); provide that infant formula must be manufactured from specified protein sources and other suitable food ingredients (regulation 6); provide that follow-on formula must be manufactured from specified protein sources and other suitable food ingredients (regulation 7); provide that infant formula must comply with specified compositional criteria (regulation 8); provide that follow-on formula must comply with specified compositional criteria (regulation 9); provide that in order to make infant formula or follow-on formula ready for use nothing more must be required than the addition of water (regulation 10); provide that the use of food ingredients in infant formula and follow-on formula must observe specified prohibitions and limitations (regulation 11); provide that only specified substances may be used in the manufacture of infant formula and follow-on formula in order to satisfy specified requirements of Directive 2006/141/EC and that those substances must meet specified purity criteria (regulation 12); prohibit a food business operator placing an infant formula on the market that has not yet been placed on the market in the United Kingdom unless that food business operator has given prior notice to the Food Standards Agency (regulation 13); provide that infant formula and follow-on formula may not contain pesticide residues above specified levels (regulation 14); provide that infant formula may only be sold under certain names (regulation 15); provide that follow-on formula may only be sold under certain names (regulation 16); provide for the labelling of infant formula (regulation 17); provide for the labelling of follow-on formula (regulation 18); provide that infant formula and follow-on formula must be labelled to make a clear distinction between such products so as to avoid any risk of confusion between them (regulation 19); apply the provisions of specified regulations to the presentation of infant formula and follow-on formula (regulation 20); prohibit advertising of infant formula except in specified publications unless the advertisement complies with the provisions of specified regulations (regulation 21(1)); impose restrictions on the content of advertisements for infant formula (regulation 21(2) and (3)); prohibit advertising of follow-on formula where the advertisement contravenes or fails to comply with the provisions of specified regulations (regulation 22); impose restrictions on the promotion of infant formula (regulation 23); impose restrictions on the production or publication of informational or educational material dealing with the feeding of infants and intended to reach pregnant women and mothers of infants and young children (regulation 24(1), (2) and (3)); prohibit donation of informational or educational equipment or materials by manufacturers or distributors of infant formula unless certain conditions are met (regulation 24(4)); impose restrictions on what an institution or organisation may do with infant formula that it has received free of charge or at a reduced rate (regulation 25); prohibit export to a third country of infant formula which contravenes or fails to comply with specified regulations, a specified international standard or the Food (Lot Marking) Regulations (S.I. 1996/1502) (regulation 26(1)); prohibit export to a third country of a product represented as suitable for satisfying by itself the nutritional requirements of normal healthy infants during the first four to six months of life unless that product is infant formula (regulation 26(2)); prohibit export to a third country of follow-on formula which contravenes or fails to comply with specified regulations, a specified international standard or the Food (Lot Marketing) Regulations 1996 (regulation 27); provide that a person who contravenes or fails to comply with specified regulations is guilty of an offence and provide a penalty for contravening or failing to comply with those regulations (regulation 28(1)); provide that each food authority must enforce and execute these Regulations within its area (regulation 28(2)); apply specified provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990 (1990 c. 16) with modifications (regulation 29); amend the Medical Food (Wales) Regulations (S.I. 2000/1866 (W.25)) (regulation 30); and revoke the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations (S.I. 1995/77) in so far as they apply in relation to Wales (S.I. 1995/77 applies in relation to the whole of Great Britain) and provide transitional arrangements with regard to S.I. 1995/77 (regulation 31). A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have has been prepared. Copies may be obtained from the Food Standards Agency, 11th Floor, Southgate House, Wood Street, Cardiff, CF10 1EW.

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”; the provision states liability on summary conviction
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