The use of dual health marks on dairy products

The request was successful.

Dear Food Standards Agency,
Could you please advise the legal position regarding the use of dual health marks on dairy products (milk drinks), namely:
1. is this allowed
2. on what products is it allowed
3. what restrictions / additional information is required to be added if used.

Yours faithfully,

Ian Simpson

Benedict Duncan, Food Standards Agency

Dear Mr Simpson,

 

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 requesting information about the legal position
regarding the use of dual health marks on dairy products (milk drinks).

 

Your request is for the type of information that can be handled as part of
normal business; therefore, we are responding to your request outside the
terms of the Act.

 

I am in discussion with a number of colleagues in different teams to
provide a response, but, due to resourcing pressures I apologise that I am
not able to provide a response for you today.  I want to assure you that I
am progressing this issue and hope to provide a response next week.

 

Yours sincerely,

Benedict

 

Benedict Duncan

Food Hygiene Policy Team I Food Policy I Food Standards Agency

 

[1]www.food.gov.uk

 

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Dear Benedict Duncan,

I am still waiting for a reply

Thanks

Yours sincerely,

Eyedontknow

Food Hygiene Policy, Food Standards Agency

Dear Mr Simpson,

 

Health marks are applied to the carcases of domestic ungulates (cattle,
sheep, pigs etc.), certain farmed game mammals and large wild game to
indicate that official controls have been carried out in accordance with
Retained Regulation (EU) 2019/627. Health marks are only applied by the
FSA, under the supervision of an official veterinarian in slaughterhouses
and game handling establishments.  Carcases that carry a health mark have
been deemed fit for human consumption.

 

As such, health marks are not used for dairy products.

 

Other products of animal origin such as dairy products carry
identification marks (ID Marks) which indicate that the product has been
manufactured in accordance with Retained Regulation (EC) 853/2004 in an
establishment registered and approved by the competent authority. These
may be applied directly to the product, the wrapping, or packaging, or be
printed on a label affixed to the product, the wrapping, or the packaging
of the product. In some cases, this may not be practical, and an
irremovable tag made of a resistant material is permitted.

 

The ID mark must be legible and indelible, and the characters must be
easily decipherable. It must be clearly displayed for the Competent
Authority and must include the approval number of the establishment as
appropriate. When applied in an establishment in GB, it must be oval in
shape and must include the abbreviation “UK” or “GB” or the words “United
Kingdom” in lower case when applied in an establishment located in Great
Britain.   

 

There is an established practice within the dairy industry to apply
multiple ID marks to the packaging of dairy products to aid production.
Retained Regulation (EC) 853/2004 provides a derogation for dairy products
that ‘rather than indicating the approval number of the establishment, the
identification mark may include a reference to where on the wrapping or
packaging the approval number of the establishment is indicated’.  This
must be done in a way that does not compromise traceability, for instance
by clearly indicating which of the approval numbers listed applies to the
product.

 

If you require further information about specific products we would
recommend you contact your [1]Local Authority Food Safety team for further
clarification.

 

Yours sincerely,

Benedict

 

Benedict Duncan

Food Hygiene Policy Team I Food Policy I Food Standards Agency

 

[2]www.food.gov.uk

 

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From: Benedict Duncan <[3][email address]>
Sent: 18 January 2022 17:32
To: [4][FOI #816797 email]
Subject: The use of dual health marks on dairy products

 

Dear Mr Simpson,

 

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 requesting information about the legal position
regarding the use of dual health marks on dairy products (milk drinks).

 

Your request is for the type of information that can be handled as part of
normal business; therefore, we are responding to your request outside the
terms of the Act.

 

I am in discussion with a number of colleagues in different teams to
provide a response, but, due to resourcing pressures I apologise that I am
not able to provide a response for you today.  I want to assure you that I
am progressing this issue and hope to provide a response next week.

 

Yours sincerely,

Benedict

 

Benedict Duncan

Food Hygiene Policy Team I Food Policy I Food Standards Agency

 

[5]www.food.gov.uk

 

P Help us to save paper- please think before you print this e-mail

 

 

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