Additives, vitamins, minerals and flavourings

The Bread and Flour (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024

The Bread and Flour Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 (referred to below as ‘The Bread and FlourRegulations’) lay down specific labelling and compositional rules for bread and flour in Northern Ireland.

The regulations primarily mandate the fortification of non-wholemeal wheat flour with added calcium, iron,thiamin, and niacin for the protection of public health. The Bread and Flour Regulations are mirrored across therest of the UK nations.
The proposed draft Statutory Regulation will update The Bread and Flour Regulations.
The provisions make technical changes which take into account developments in other food legislation,clarifying definitions and providing for the fortification of non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid, while alsointroducing exemptions to avoid disproportionate impacts for businesses.
A change to the enforcement approach - providing for the use of improvement notices as a frontlineenforcement option - is also being incorporated in the regulations.
A change to allow flour millers to place unfortified flour on the Northern Ireland market, subject to it beingdestined for countries outside the UK or used in products destined to be sold outside of the UK.