What is the Food Protection Act 1990?

Answer 1

Food safety act 1990

This says that it is illegal to sell food which has been contaminated or adulterated or is unfit for human consumption or is labelled or advertised in a way that misleads the customer. The aim of the food safety act is to:
· ensure that all food produced for sale is safe to eat, of high quality and not misleadingly presented
· provide legal powers and penalties
· enable this country to fulfil its responsibilities in the European Community, and the Single Market
· keep pace with technological change


The Act covers:

food
sources from which food is derived e.g. crops and animals
articles which come into contact with food e.g. wrappings, mixing vats

'Food' includes:

ingredients e.g. colour, sweetener, preservatives
animals eaten live e.g. oyster
drink
slimming aids and dietary supplements
water used in food production

It does not cover animal feed or medicines.

The law says that it's an offence to sell any food, which is "not of the nature, substance or quality demanded by the purchaser" i.e. if you ask for cod in batter, you shouldn't be given anything else; your piece of cod shouldn't contain any foreign bodies like glass, metal or insects; and it shouldn't be rancid or mouldy. If you asked your butcher for 500g of pork sausages and he sells you 450g then that's an offence under the Weights and Measures Act. If the sausages weren't pork but a mixture of beef, pork and other odd scraps, then he could be prosecuted under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 or the Food Safety Act 1990. There's a certain amount of overlap between the Acts and several laws can affect one transaction or sale.

The Food Safety Act 1990 covers four main areas:

Labelling
Additives and Contaminants
Composition (or Content)
Public Health and Hygiene