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Draft Commission Regulation foods suitable for people intolerant to gluten (Scotland)

Wednesday 23 July 2008

We seek your views and comments on the Draft Commission Regulation concerning the composition and labelling of foods suitable for people intolerant to gluten.

All comments and views should be sent to:

Russell Napier

Food Standards Agency Scotland
St Magnus House
25 Guild Street
Aberdeen
AB11 6NJ

Tel: 01224 285155
Fax: 01224 285168
E-mail: Russell.Napier@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

Responses are requested by: 30 September 2008

Summary of responses is now available

PDF Document (pdf 16KB)

Consultation details

The key proposals are set out in the following documents: A draft Commission Regulation concerning the composition and labelling of gluten-free foods and a partial Regulatory Impact Assessment.

Background

The proposed Commission Regulation will put in place compositional criteria related to the claims ‘gluten free’ and ‘very low gluten’ for foods which have been specifically manufactured to satisfy the particular nutritional requirements of people who are intolerant to gluten as provided by Commission Directive 89/398/EEC (as amended) on foods for particular nutritional uses.

In addition, the proposed Regulation will also introduce a provision to allow foods that are naturally free of gluten (i.e. those for normal consumption) to be labelled as ‘gluten free’ as long as the foods meet certain compositional requirements in relation to the levels of gluten.

This Regulation should ensure that all foods which are labelled to indicate their suitability for people intolerant to gluten will use harmonised labelling terms thereby reducing consumer confusion about these products. In addition, this new regime will facilitate better consumer understanding about how much gluten there is in the foods that they buy and thereby help to improve the health of these consumers. This Regulation will also align the EC legislation with the recently agreed Codex international standard for foods targeted at people intolerant to gluten thereby facilitating international trade.

Once in force the Regulation will apply in all EU Member States. Provision as to execution and enforcement will be made in national Regulations for Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Partial Regulatory Impact Assessment
The Partial Regulatory Impact Assessment, or ‘RIA’ provided in Annex F of this consultation, considers the impact of Regulation (in terms of cost, benefits and risks) on consumers, businesses, the public sector, charities and the voluntary sector.

The RIA provided in Annex F of this consultation aims to quantify the impact of:

The Agency would welcome comments and evidence from stakeholders in those areas highlighted throughout the partial RIA. In summary, the Agency would welcome comments from stakeholders regarding:

Further information

This consultation has been prepared in accordance with the (External) HM Government Code of Practice on Consultation , which states that a consultation must follow better regulation best practice, including carrying out an Impact Assessment (Regulatory Impact Assessment in Scotland). The assessment is included in the consultation documents.

We are interested in what you thought of this consultation and would therefore welcome your general feedback on both the consultation package and overall consultation process. If you would like to assist us to improve the quality of future consultations, please feel free to share your thoughts with us by using the consultation feedback questionnaire.

Download word Consultation feedback questionnaire  (Word)

Download pdf Consultation feedback questionnaire  (pdf)

Publication of personal data and confidentiality of responses

In accordance with the FSA principle of openness our Information Centre at Aviation House will hold a copy of the completed consultation. Responses will be open to public access upon request. The FSA will also publish a summary of responses, which may include personal data, such as your full name and contact address details. If you do not want this information to be released, please complete and return the Publication of Personal Data Form. Return of this form does not mean that we will treat your response to the consultation as confidential, just your personal data.

Download word Data protection form  (Word)

Download pdf Data protection form  (pdf)

Publication of response summary

Within three months of a consultation ending we aim to publish a summary of responses received and provide a link to it from this page.

If, after three months, the summary is still not showing, please contact the person who was responsible for the original consultation. Alternatively, you can contact Judith Taylor, the FSA Consultation Co-ordinator, on 020 7276 8633.
Email: judith.taylor@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

Related links

Draft Commission Regulation foods suitable for people intolerant to gluten (Scotland) Read the full consultation documents

Download pdf  (pdf 136KB) (External) Get Adobe Acrobat reader You may need the free Acrobat Reader to view a pdf

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