Explanatory note

These Regulations revoke and replace the Kava-kava in Food Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003.

These Regulations prohibit the sale, possession for sale, offer, exposure or advertisement for sale of any food consisting of, or containing Kava-kava (being a plant, or an extract from such a plant, belonging to the species Piper methysticum) (regulation 3). Any such food may be treated as being unfit for human consumption and liable to be seized and destroyed (regulation 5(3)).

These Regulations provide for an exception to the prohibition imposed above where the food is imported from an EEA State, if it originates from such a State but is in free circulation in member States (within the meaning of Article 23.2, as read with Article 24, of the EC Treaty), and is being, or is to be exported to an EEA State other than the United Kingdom (regulation 3(2)).

The European Commission was notified of these Regulations in accordance with Article 8 of the European Parliament and Council Directive 98/34/EC laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations and of rules on Information Society services (O.J. No. L204, 21.7.1998, p. 37), as amended by the European Parliament and Council Directive 98/48/EC (O.J. No. L217, 5.8.1998, p. 18).