{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/organic-products-regulations-northern-ireland-2020/regulation-16",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/organic-products-regulations-northern-ireland-2020/regulation-16.json",
  "legislation": "nisr/2020/272",
  "legislation_title": "The Organic Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/organic-products-regulations-northern-ireland-2020",
  "path": "regulation/16",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "16",
  "heading": "Obtaining samples and analysis etc",
  "text": "(1) An authorised officer may, for the purposes of ascertaining whether any offence under these Regulations has been committed, purchase or take a sample of any organic product.\n(2) An authorised officer who considers that the sample should be analysed, examined or tested, must submit it for that purpose to the public analyst for the district in which the sample was purchased or taken. If in any case where a sample is proposed to be submitted for analysis the office of public analyst for the district in question is vacant, the sample may be submitted to the public analyst for another district.\n(3) The public analyst must then—\n(a) ensure that the sample is analysed, examined or tested as soon as practicable; and\n(b) give the person who submitted the sample a certificate specifying the result.\n(4) In any proceedings, the production by one of the parties—\n(a) of a document purporting to be a certificate under paragraph 3(b), or\n(b) of a document supplied to the party by the other party as being a copy of such a certificate,\nis evidence of the facts stated in it unless, in a case falling within sub-paragraph (a), the other party requires that the public analyst be called as a witness.\n(5) In any such proceedings, if a person charged or summoned intends to produce a certificate of a public analyst or require, under paragraph (4), the public analyst to be called as a witness, written notice of intention together with a copy of the certificate (if appropriate) must be given to the other party at least three clear days before the hearing or trial.\n(6) If such a notice is not given, the court may adjourn the proceedings on such terms as it thinks fit.\n(7) In this regulation “public analyst” has the same meaning as in article 27 of the Food Safety (Northern Ireland) Order 1991.",
  "extent": "N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "Reg. 16 in operation at 31.12.2020, see reg. 1"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "S.I. 1991/762 (N.I.7), to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2020/272/regulation/16",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T00:41:45.607814+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}